Bremen Specials

Since 1999, the municipal program "Living in Neighborhoods" (WiN), together with the federal and state urban development programs, has formed an integrated approach to a long-term, cross-departmental social urban development policy in the city of Bremen. The program is cross-departmental in its orientation.

WiN serves the

• Improving everyday living conditions in disadvantaged neighborhoods
• Developing engagement and participation of residents
• Cooperation of local stakeholders

About the program

The state program "Lively Neighborhoods" was launched in 2020 to strengthen neighborhoods in Bremen and Bremerhaven. The program is administered by the Senator for Labor, Social Affairs, Youth and Integration. The Senate Chancellery is responsible for the supplementary "Innovation Fund.".

The state program supports local initiatives and institutions while also expanding and strengthening social infrastructure. Current funding streams of the "Lively Neighborhoods" state program in the city of Bremen include: LLQ Neighborhood Centers, LLQ Special/Small Areas, LLQ Neighborhoods in Development, and LLQ Senior Citizens.

About the program

The AiQ advice centers provide guidance, support, and assistance to refugees who are already living in their own homes. These centers are located in nine particularly affected neighborhoods in Bremen. Since 2019, their mission has been to offer (referral) advice to refugees who have moved into their own accommodation after their stay in transitional housing.

Furthermore, the AiQ staff perform important networking work in the neighborhood and develop projects for and with refugees, such as language cafés and courses. Funding comes from the Bremen Senate's integration budget for immediate aid for the accommodation and care of refugees, as well as from the state program "Lively Neighborhoods." Organizationally, the AiQ staff are assigned to the Office for Social Services.

About the program

The health professionals provide advice and information on general health-related issues. They work closely with local stakeholders and existing networks to do this.

The project "Health Professionals in the Neighborhood" is funded and overseen by the Senator for Health, Women and Consumer Protection. The State Association for Health and Academy for Social Medicine of Lower Saxony (Landesvereinigung für Gesundheit und Akademie für Sozialmedizin Niedersachsen e.V.) is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the project.

Their responsibilities include, among other things:

• Dissemination and communication of tailored health information,
• Support or (co-)initiation of health-related services and projects,
• Participation in neighborhood-based networks and collaboration with local stakeholders,
• Assessment of health-related needs.

About the program

The city of Bremen has numerous designated development areas where programs specifically support positive neighborhood development. These areas are selected through political decision-making based on monitoring conducted every few years.

Typically, predominantly consumption-based programs aimed at promoting social participation (such as the municipal program "WiN") are combined with investment-based urban development funding (e.g., the federal-state program "Social Cohesion"). In addition, employment promotion programs (e.g., BiWAQ, LOS) can also be implemented in these areas.

The integrated and coordinated support of disadvantaged urban areas through municipal, national and European funding instruments is a special feature of social urban development in Bremen.

Current funding areas are Aumund, Bahnhofsvorstadt, Blumenthal, Grambke, Gröpelingen, Grohn, Hemelingen, Huchting, Huckelriede, Kattenturm, Lüssum, Marßel, Neue Vahr, Oslebshausen, Schweizer Viertel, Tenever Überseestadt.

The neighborhood management offices in the funding areas provide information about the application procedures for the programs.

About the program

Under the umbrella brand "Social City Bremen," a wide variety of projects, urban development measures, and citizen participation initiatives are implemented directly on-site. The neighborhood management teams act as organizers, facilitators, and project developers, and are organizationally affiliated with the social service centers of the Office for Social Services.

In 14 funding areas currently distributed throughout the city, neighborhood managers work directly on site to ensure that various funding programs from the state, federal government and EU are implemented in order to support a positive development of housing and living conditions in rather disadvantaged areas.

Overview of the neighborhood managers in Bremen
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The social space coordination team is part of the Youth Services department and works closely with case management. The Youth Welfare Office aims to establish low-threshold, preventative services for families, children, and young people in the neighborhood. The project funds allocated for this purpose are managed by the social space coordinators. They also play a leading role in organizing decentralized networks, such as the Early Intervention Networks.

Overview of social space coordinators in Bremen
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BRISE is Bremen's initiative to strengthen early childhood development. With this initiative, the city of Bremen focuses on the development of children in their first years of life. Bremen is committed to providing even more effective support for children and their families during this phase of life.

Therefore, BRISE is also being scientifically monitored. The long-term study on BRISE will provide important information about the effects and structures of early childhood development. The city of Bremen will gain new insights for its future early childhood support programs, and other municipalities will also be able to learn from the experiences of BRISE. To this end, the city of Bremen and a nationwide research network are collaborating on a project of unprecedented scale in Germany. BRISE is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the City of Bremen, and the Jacobs Foundation.

As part of the BRISE initiative, the city of Bremen has committed to expanding its early childhood education, support, and parent education programs. BRISE aims to improve equal opportunities in education and ensure all children have an equally good start to their school years. The initiative began in 2016 and is currently running until 2025. Support is provided over several years, beginning in the last trimester of pregnancy and continuing through the first year of primary school, and is aimed at families in specific districts of Bremen.

Visit the BRISE website

The development of daycare centers into family centers has proven successful in Bremen, and the service is being made permanent. The KiFaZ service center has been located at the State Institute for Schools (LIS) ! Previously, it was established as a temporary project under the auspices of the Felsenweg Institute of the Karl Kübel Foundation for Children and Families. Now, you will find support services and contact persons permanently at the LIS.

Through KiFaZ, the city of Bremen, together with the Auridis Foundation, supports the social space-oriented cooperation of daycare centers with families and their further development into children's and family centers (KiFaZ) within the framework of the Bremen social pedagogy program.

In the future, children and their families should have low-threshold and needs-based access to tailored support and educational services through their daycare center in their local community.

Visit the KiFaZ Bremen website