Guidelines for the Promotion of Sustainable Urban Development – RiLiSE
The guidelines of the state of Hesse for promoting sustainable urban development – RiLiSE – regulate the allocation and use of funding for construction measures in the urban development sector and thus support the sustainable development of cities and municipalities.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
The goal is to improve living, housing, and working conditions through urban renewal and modernization measures, to preserve historic building fabric, and to promote sustainable urban development.
Eligible expenses
- Costs for preparation of measures
- Planning costs
- Construction costs
- Modernization and repair costs
Non-eligible expenses
- Personal administrative costs
- Costs of borrowing
- Input tax amounts (to the extent deductible)
Eligible to apply
- Public Institutions
Funding requirements
- Recipients must be a municipality, a municipal special-purpose association, or a planning association
- The project must be located within a designated urban development funding area
- The creation of an urban development concept is mandatory
Documents required for application
- Application documents
- Construction documents
- Cost calculations
- Expert reports
- Permits
- Space requirements plan
Evaluation criteria
- Cost efficiency
- Sustainability aspects
- Quality of planning
- Compliance with funding conditions
Description
The guidelines for the promotion of sustainable urban development – RiLiSE represent an extensive funding program by the state of Hesse, which supports public institutions in municipalities and regional planning associations in shaping their urban spaces for the future. With the aim of preserving historic building fabric, creating modern infrastructure, and simultaneously reducing the ecological footprint, projects in the fields of urban planning, architecture, and urban renewal are funded with a grant share of 66 2/3% – in justified exceptional cases even up to 90% of the eligible expenses. The program supports investments in the planning, modernization, maintenance, and new construction of buildings, as well as in the expansion of transport access facilities and the redesign of open spaces, in order to create livable and resilient urban structures in the long term.
Grant recipients can be municipal institutions implementing specific projects in designated urban development funding areas. A central element is the preparation of an integrated urban development concept that clearly defines goals, strategies, and measures to improve living, residential, and working conditions. The funding requirements stipulate that the project must fall within a predefined urban area and be accompanied by a functioning governance structure that combines urban planning, social, economic, and ecological competencies. In addition to cost efficiency, the sustainability aspect plays a central role, so that in the selection of measures, social and ecological criteria are evaluated alongside economic ones.
The funding program places great importance on transparency and structured processing, as evidenced by the regular submission of application documents, construction documents, cost calculations, expert reports, and other proofs. Compliance with these requirements is ensured through staged application and approval procedures designed to guarantee the long-term success of the projects. Overall, RiLiSE offers municipalities the opportunity not only to implement structural modernizations but also to realize a comprehensive urban transformation concept that meets both current and future challenges of urban life. Expert advisory centers, including the Economic and Infrastructure Bank of Hesse, are available as contacts and support the implementation of funding measures – a clear step towards sustainable, inclusive, and forward-looking urban development in Hesse.
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