Cross-border perpectives for the development of Saarlouis

Period: April 20 - July 08, 2020 (12 weeks)

Participants: 8 students

Supervisors: Beate Caesar, Annika Schuster

Languages: German, French

The Saarlouis border region is characterized by the historical development of the Franco-German border and the strong economic and cultural ties. This is particularly visible in the increase in commuter and migration interdependence. Benefiting from the Schengen Agreement, awareness of the importance of the border region has grown. The respective strengths of the neighboring country can provide incentives that improve development in the own region.

The goal of the bachelor project was to advance the Saarlouis border region in an innovative, sustainable and cooperative way. Against this background, a cross-border development concept was developed for the border region with a special focus on the economically strong city of Saarlouis. In particular, cultural, economic and social disparities were identified and the role of borders in the entire study area was reinterpreted. The Corona Pandemic has shed new light on the importance of borders within the Schengen area. Therefore, the project also analyzed the impact of the Corona measures taken in spring on the border region.

Due to the corona pandemic, it was unfortunately not possible to conduct an excursion to the study area this year, but a virtual tour of the communities in the Saarlouis border region was conducted beforehand.