Retours à l’Est : quelle durabilité pour les territoires à l’Est de l’Allemagne ?

Abstract

The paper focuses on the phenomenon of internal migrations in Germany after German Reunification. The eastern part of Germany (former GDR) lost a large share of its population due to internal migration from Eastern to Western Germany. The consequence is a concomitant process of demographic and economic decline. However, in recent years, some places such as metropolitan areas and territories near the former inner-German Border are experiencing a re-migration process (from Western to Eastern Germany), with an economic renewal. To what extent could the re-migration to Eastern Germany be considered as a demographic and economic potential? The aim of this article is to question the sustainability of return movements in the East at three levels: demographic and migratory dynamics, economic transformations, and public policies which support these mutations.

Keywords

• Internal migrations
• Demographic dynamics
• Spatial planning
• Germany