Mainz falls to 7th place: The region's best future prospects!

Mainz falls to 7th place: The region's best future prospects!

In Germany there are clear winners and losers when it comes to the future viability of the regions. Currently it shows Future Atlas 2025, created by the renowned economic research company Prognos, where the journey is headed. Mainz has particularly positive reasons to be happy, having managed in a remarkable way to climb from 45th place to 7th place in 2022. This makes the city the best placed in the entire Rhine-Main region.

But how do these rankings come about? The Future Atlas evaluates the future viability of all 400 German districts and independent cities based on criteria such as demographics, labor market and social situation. New this year: aspects of renewable energies were also covered. This development shows how important sustainability has become in regional planning. Nevertheless, there are also dark clouds on the horizon: In Hesse, 10 of 26 districts have fallen in the ranking, which underlines the challenges on the job market and in the economy.

Top positions and challenges

The further positions of the Rhine-Main region become clear in a detailed analysis. Darmstadt has fallen from 7th place to 13th, while Frankfurt has slipped from 20th to 28th. However, the Offenbach district, previously in 48th place, has improved and is now in 39th place.

The study also mentions that the general economic situation in Germany is characterized by a “lack of dynamism” and unemployment has increased. This makes many regions fear for their place in the future. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Future Atlas, the districts were able to submit their own future projects. A few projects from Hesse stood out:

• Darmstadt: Umweltdaten-Dashboard zur kommunalen Digitalisierung
• Landkreis Offenbach: Projekt „Fast Lane Fachkräfte“ zur Gewinnung ausländischer Arbeitskräfte
• Kreis Bergstraße: „digi_space” für Jugendliche zur Erprobung digitaler Technologien

Long-term trends and new challenges

The Prognos future atlas also analyzes long-term trends and challenges, such as demographic changes and digitalization. The study emphasizes the current recession as a test run for the regions' resilience. Many federal states, including Hesse, have lost jobs and are falling behind, while others such as Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were able to maintain or even expand their top positions.

Overall, the report shows that the labor market situation has deteriorated in almost 380 of 400 districts. At the same time, there were declines in employment growth in 90 regions. On the positive side, the atlas also provides an overview of regions with medium and high future prospects, including the district of Munich and the city of Erlangen, which were able to successfully defend their top positions.

Finally, the underlines Future Atlas 2025 that strong innovative strength and the expansion of renewable energies are clear indicators of the future strength of a region. This not only gives hope for Mainz, but for many other cities that want to successfully meet the challenges of the future.