Case Studies  The Berlin Case Study: The Socially Integrative City.Wrangelkiez, Boxhagener Platz, Ostkreuz

The Sub-Areas and their Specific Features

Case Studies  The Berlin Case Study: The Socially Integrative City.Wrangelkiez, Boxhagener Platz, Ostkreuz

Wrangelkiez: Poverty, Migrants and Multicultural Flair – with a History of Renewal and Regeneration

The Wrangelkiez is a neighbourhood of the early 20th century. Unlike the other areas mentioned above, it is in the former western part of Berlin. In the 1960s, plans to tear most of the old housing stock in the area down altogether existed – at the time the predominant idea of renewal. However, protest movements and squatters prevented this. Since then, the area has developed a colourful mix of migrants (share of 40% foreigners[7]), most of whom are Turkish foreign workers, and it has a long tradition of alternative lifestyles. Thus, economic activities relate mainly to niche markets. On an average, the residents here are poor – in a citywide ranking based on a “social index”, the neighbourhood came last (position 296 and 298 of 298)^[8]. 35% of the residents live on social welfare, the unemployment rate is about 30%^[9]. With 446 people/ha the neighbourhood is very dense, but the fluctuation – people living here for less than 5 years – is with 38,9% and 34,3% only slightly higher than the citywide average (33,2%)^[10].

View into the Falckensteinstraße with an Wilhelminian building on the left and the famous “Bonjour tristesse” by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, part of the International Building Exhibition, and street scenes in Wrangelstraße

In the 1980s, the area was part of the International Building Exhibition (IBA). The IBA propounded a “cautious approach to urban regeneration”. This new approach was developed as a reaction to the discontent with the earlier slum-clearance-approaches to urban renewal. During this time, parts of the area were traffic-calmed, courtyards were greened, and houses and facades were renovated. Despite these efforts, the public space still looks rather neglected today. The “green lung” of the area is the “ Görlitzer Park ”, situated on a former railway site in the south. Intensively used as it is, it underlines impressively Kreuzberg's multicultural and urban flair.

Boxhagener Platz and its Mix of Work and Housing – with a History of Disinvestments, Squattings and Studentification

In contrast to Wrangelkiez , the Boxhagener Platz area lies in the former eastern part of Berlin in the former district Friedrichshain ^[11] . With its historical five-storey tenement houses and the odd commercial use in the courtyard, the area represents – like Wrangelkiez – the historical “Berlin mixture” of housing and work. Under the GDR regime, most of the buildings were not renewed and consequently became dilapidated, so that by the time of re-unification, many houses were empty and soon squatters moved in and took them over. The German legal principle of restitution after unification aimed at re-establishing the ownership of before 1949. This principle has brought years of unclear ownership relations and only slow investment into the area. In the 1990s this area saw a process of social exchange: By 1999, about half of the residents had not been living here for more than 5 years ^[12]. Many families with children left the neighbourhood during this decade, while young single person households arrived – notably students - , so that the trend has been described by some as “studentification”. Today, residential moves within the area outnumber those moving in from outside ^[13].

Today, Boxhagener Platz is an area full of contradictions: New houses built in the 70s next to renewed old buildings and dilapidated houses, uncountable little cafés and lively streets next to vacant houses and derelict sites. However, these sites bear development potentials, like the former Railway Rolling Stock Repair Shop, Reichsbahnausbesserungwerk (RAW) area, which is derelict and offers green open space and room for cultural uses. A number of social and cultural initiatives are placed here.

The inhabitants of Boxhagener Platz live predominantly in households with low income, whilst unemployment and welfare aid are below the city-wide average. There are no major green spaces here but a few intensively used pocket parks with urban character like the “Boxhagener Platz” itself, which is with its food market and flee market on Sundays a significant point of local identity.

Ostkreuz : Fragmented and Carved Up – a Railway Hub Separating Four Distinct Social Spaces

Ostkreuz , literally East Cross, is identical with the area funded by, and delineated for, the EU Community Initiative URBAN II, located in the former East of Berlin. Named after one of the most important train stations in Berlin where local trains cross, it is characterised by its differentiated structure and its division into four distinct small neighbourhoods: Stralauer Kiez/Rudolfkiez; Victoriastadt; Frankfurter Allee Süd and Weitlingstraße. The aggregate local unemployment rate is 16% ^[14], with 71 people/ha the density is lower than in the other 2 areas, and the rate of migrants living here is only about 8% ^[15] . In the following, a brief description of the four individual areas that make up the URBAN/Ostkreuz area is given to give a fuller picture of its variety.

Stralauer Kiez/Rudolfkiez

The Stralauer Kiez/Rudolfkiez neighbourhood in the district Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is characterised by Wilhelminian buildings. Landlords insist that the flats here show many unusual ground plans because after WW2 they were renovated by the tenants themselves. In the 1990s the area was dominated by vacant properties. Today people start to move into the now renewed houses. A significant landmark here is Oberbaum City in the former light bulb factory Narva . The future of this neighbourhood seems open and will obviously depend on how the surrounding areas will develop economically. Will it become a fast booming residential area with companies moving here? Stagnation with high vacancy rates seems just as likely.

Fragmentation in the Ostkreuz area: View from Warschauer Bridge to Ostkreuz station with the old watertower in the back; The FAS towers overtop Victoriastadt; The Oberbaum City in the Stralauer Kiez

Victoriastadt

The „Victoriastadt “ area was initially the „ Colonie Viktoriastadt “ when founded between 1872 and 1906. The name reminds us of the British Queen Victoria because this area's wealth came from trade with English textiles. This neighbourhood is surrounded and cut up by railway tracks. It includes the irregular square of the Tuchollaplatz with its Italian flair. Because of its historically important building stock, the area was designated as a renewal area already in GDR times. Today, a pressing problem here is the high number of vacancies: 22% of the flats and 42% of the commercial ground floor uses are empty ^[16]. Slowly, people start to move here, and the rate of children and teenagers is even relatively high ^[17], so this neighbourhood seems not too unattractive for families.

Frankfurter Allee Süd

The history of the housing area “ Frankfurter Allee Süd “ to the north of Viktoriastadt is quite different. In 1972, this housing estate was built on a former site for gardening. Today, about 9500 residents live in the 5000 flats. The social structure remained constant until today, which means that there is now a high number of pensioners, which will increase even more within the next years. At the same time, the amount of children and youth is relatively high ^[18]. In the 1990s the buildings were renewed and partly upgraded with concierge-systems, passageways and residents' gardens. With 7% vacancy is not a problem ^[19], but an increasing influx of migrants from Eastern Europe caused some frictions in the last years. Despite the still high share of young people, a problematic amount of ageing is the likely development perspective for this neighbourhood.

Weitlingstraße

The area around Weitlingstraße is characterised by a mix of building substance, style and age: mainly by tenement houses of various epochs. The Nöldnerplatz in the South of the area is in need of organisation and care. The reconstruction of the Max Taut School Hall here will be the flagship project of the URBAN II programme. Because of only little investment during the last years, vacancy here is specifically high, and there is a danger that the problematic housing stock will lead to a generally low standard of housing with negative effects on the development of the social structure as well.

In sum, the URBAN II area is both physically and socially fragmented. The many barriers reinforce the isolation of the neighbourhoods and are an impediment to both mobility and investment. In order to improve this situation, the vision for the implementation of the URBAN II programme is “to overcome barriers”.

Core Problem: Vacant Properties     2. The Policy of Neighbourhood Development in Berlin: "Socially Inclusive Urban Development". 2.1 Elements of "Socially Inclusive Urban Development"