The demographic development has for some time led to increasing differences in spatial development, even within urban regions. In the Bremen region, both growing and shrinking areas are to be found. The effects are in part considerable: growing residential space requirements are opposed to vacancy and overuse. The need for social infrastructure is thus as different as the need for settlements. This small-scale juxtaposition of growth and shrinkage presents the region with far-reaching challenges, which force adjustments to the analysis and planning practices.

This is precisely where the project WEBWiKo sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the "Kommunen innovativ" program is based. The project has set itself the goal of testing new methodological approaches and solutions for the foundations of planning action to ensure the protection of municipal life. For this purpose, OFFIS, under the leadership of the Kommunalverbund Niedersachsen / Bremen eV, is working together with the Statistical Office of the City of Bremen, the regio Institute for Regional Development and Information Systems, as well as the ILS Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research, in order to develop new methods and tools for the preparation of small-scale population projections and effect scenarios.

A small-scale data infrastructure is to be set up in five example communities in the urban region of Bremen. Based on this, a new prognosis and scenario tool will enable planners of the municipalities to forecast the demographic development and their impacts with changeable assumptions. The forecast results are then presented interactively in a dashboard application.