This German city may limit the number of kebab shops

According to one local political party, their proliferation creates a “negative magnet effect”

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, which is the largest political faction at the Heilbronn city council, wants to put an upper limit on the number of local kebab establishments citing the increased concentration of such shops in the city centre as an issue causing “negative magnet effect” in terms of urban development.

According to CDU, that effect refers to the increased concentration of kebab shops, which also leads to an increased concentration of barbershops, nail salons and betting establishments. In other words, the Heilbronn conservatives are worried that kebab shops lead to whatever the opposite term for gentrification would be.

The Christian Democrats want to have a city centre that is as diverse as possible, with a wide range of offerings. The shops should be better distributed and not all of them should open in the city centre. Existing shops would not be affected by the upper limit.

Business diversity in the urban scene or market interference?

The motion proposed by the CDU will be debated after the summer holiday, however, as can be expected, its political rivals (the Social Democrats and the FDP) aren’t supportive at all.

The counterarguments held up by the SDP are that the proposal cannot be justified legally. While it is possible to define areas where certain types of food establishments can be excluded, that would mean that banning kebab shops would also mean banning currywurst shops and pizza stands.

All in all, according to the SDP, if this regulation is passed it would be a "crass intervention in the market economy".

Likewise, the FDP wonders what would happen if there were no demand for other types of establishments and if that means that ground-level business properties should then simply stay vacant.