The more than 2,100 small towns in Germany are of their own type. They are home to over 24 million people and an essential pillar of the German polycentric settlement system. Nevertheless, little attention has so far been given to small towns.

Small towns also compete for young people, families, jobs, purchasing power and tax revenue. Small towns in particular are under pressure when it comes to preserving the local economy and making their own town more attractive (living, working ...). There are no comprehensive, systematic and evidence-based analyzes on the economic structures of German small towns and their effects on cities and urban development.

The ExWoSt project is formally divided into 3 areas, which are strongly related in terms of content and therefore have strong cross-references in the processing process and must be brought together in the presentation of results. The proportions of quantitative, data-based analyzes and qualitative case studies are to be weighted differently in the three areas and therefore require different skills:

1. In the quantitatively oriented section, the importance of companies, corporate and branch structures for different city and location types with a special view of the small towns are to be presented by means of data research, preparation and analysis.

2. In the qualitatively oriented part, 4 to 6 explorative individual case studies (contrasting examples) are to be carried out,

3. Furthermore, at least one method and system for characterizing small towns according to economic and / or company and / or branch structures should be developed.

See service description.