Main characteristics of the risk management system

This chapter will give a brief overview of the main characteristics of the planning system and the emergency framework of Germany.

Brief introduction to the administrative structure

Germany is a federation (the Bund) and consists of the following 16 federal states (the Länder): Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria (Bayern), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse (Hessen), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Saarland, Saxony (Sachsen), Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia (Thüringen).

The federal principle provides for a dual statehood that assures the Federation and the federal states their own governmental organisation (including Parliament, organs of government and administration, and courts). This structure allows them to exercise their own governmental power (legislation, government and administration, and jurisdiction). To avoid conflicts between the Federation and the federal states, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany governs the distribution of those duties (see Maurer, 2010, p 285). According to Article 30 of the Basic Law, the responsibility for all governmental functions generally rests with the federal states, unless the Basic Law states otherwise. Besides this vertical separation of powers, the Basic Law also includes a horizontal separation of powers between the legislature, executive authority and judiciary (see Art 20 II Basic Law).

Most of the federal states divide their territory into administrative districts (Regierungsbezirke). These districts are further divided into county boroughs (kreisfreie Städte) and rural counties (Landkreise), which are themselves further divided into municipalities. These smaller municipalities and the county boroughs, which also act on the part of municipalities, form the basis of the German state (see Turowski, 2002, p 9).

The responsibilities of the municipalities include local transport and road construction, local land-use planning, technical and social infrastructure, and daily life protection (see Turowski, 2002, p 9). This organisational structure emphasises the principle of subsidiarity, which is an important part of the German polity (see Turowksi, 2002, p 9).

Brief introduction to the spatial planning system

Spatial planning is defined as comprehensive, over-sectoral planning. In compliance with the administrative structure of the country, German spatial planning responsibilities are also divided into three levels (the Federation, federal states and municipalities) (see Turowski, 2005, p 895) and interact with other types of planning, which are partly spatially relevant, such as water management, as illustrated by Table 8.