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

2.4. Example: Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz

The Approach:
A Concept for the Realisation of the Model 'The Socially Integrative City'

The work of the neighbourhood management is based on an “Integrated Action Plan”. This plan itself is based on the image of Berlin as a 'Socially Inclusive City' and identifies domains in which concrete measures for social integration at the level of neighbourhoods are being taken. It contains a SWOT analysis of the area, which was prepared by the Neighbourhood Management Team Boxhagener Platz (a contracted agency) in cooperation with residents, District administrations, local initiatives, landlords, craftsmen and shop keepers. During the first months of work by the neighbourhood management, this draft was refined during an extensive consultation process, then agreed upon by the administration of the District Friedrichshain and confirmed by the District assembly:

• In a cooperative process, a first draft was developed by the neighbourhood management team, based on an activating survey of the residents at the weekly market at Boxhagener Platz, and on discussions with experts from the District administration and local initiatives and associations, in October 1999.
• The District's area coordinator distributed this draft to all departments of the District administration. Thus, the knowledge and experience of all departments could be included in the development of the plan, creating a truly integrated action plan.
• In addition to the District administration, the draft was made available to all initiatives, projects and project executing organisations, so that they also had the opportunity to participate in the development of the document or to point out problems that had not been considered so far.
• In order to sufficiently include the everyday life experiences of the residents into the concept, by mid November 1999 a citizens' forum was held, its results documented and integrated into the concept. The final draft of the integrated operational approach was made public in the context of an exhibition in the local office of the neighbourhood management team.
• In March 2000, the results of this discursive process, in which as many groups of protagonists as possible were included, were agreed upon by the administration of the District Friedrichshain and confirmed by the District assembly's expert committees.

The Team

The Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz works on behalf of the Senate Department of Urban Development and in cooperation with the District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. Contractor is the 'BIS Stadtteilmanagement GmbH'. At regular intervals, a steering committee meets to coordinate the focal points of the neighbourhood management work with the Senate Department of Urban Development and the District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.

Focus on Local Economy

The development strategy for the Neighbourhood Management Area Boxhagener Platz focuses on the following domains:

• Neighbourhood life, Information and Participation
• Family, Children and Young People, Education
• Green Spaces
• Local Culture
• Local Economy

In the following, the aspect of partnership in the approach of the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz, exemplified in the area of local economic development, will be explained. The presentation of the strategies, instruments, concepts, and projects will be based on the central building blocks: management of incoming investment, business location management, labour market integration. The network Boxion for entrepreneurs in the field of cultural economy will be presented as a good practice example for the multidimensional networking of protagonists and targets within the project. See A4 in annex for further examples.

Boxion as a Good Practice Example for a Multidimensional Investment and Start-Up Network Specified to the Area

One of the most obvious problems in the Neighbourhood Management Area Boxhagener Platz was – and still is – the vacancy rate of shops (more than 20 %), a number of premises not or only partially in use, as well as abandoned public infrastructure like schools and kindergartens. This is caused by

• Structural change in retail trade, crafts and the industry
• Unclear ownership titles
• A falling birth rate and (out)migration of families with children

During the development procedure of the Integrated Action Plan, individual residents and groups emphasised the necessity to take action against the vacancy of shops in the area. These vacant shops, they said, were a sign of the economic decline of the area and of the poor quality of the urban environment – dirty, low-lit streets with vacant shops and decaying premises. As a solution, it was suggested to use vacant shops temporarily for artistic and cultural projects, thus blazing a trail for the economic recovery of the area.

This idea was agreed upon by the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz. In cooperation with the Senate Department of Urban Development. The necessary funds were provided by the programme 'The Socially Integrative City'.

Developing a Concept for 'Arts and Culture in Vacant Shops' by Means of a Public Call for Tenders

For the realisation of the temporary use of vacant shops, in October 2000 partners were invited by means of a public call for tenders. Key criteria for the evaluation of the concepts presented by the applicants were:

• a focus on the structurally weak eastern part of the neighbourhood management area
• the continuous use of the vacant shops during the whole year of funding
• the organisation of public relations and events for the inclusion of the local residents
• the number of temporary used shops
• the acquisition of additional funding for the project.

A jury, consisting of representatives of the neighbourhood management, the heads of the District council's culture committee and of the Department of Design of the College of Technology and Economics unanimously chose the concept by 'Spielfeld – Agency for Cultural Consultations'.

The Concept of the Boxion Project and its Realisation in 2001

Within the framework of the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz, the Boxion Project – Arts and Culture in Vacant Shops – tried to achieve two goals: On the one hand, to improve the chances of vacant shops to become rented out again by means of a temporary artistic-cultural use; on the other hand, to vitalise the public space around the shops and to make it more attractive, with the local residents participating in the effort.

The creation of partnerships and networks between landlords, artists, the local population, the project coordinators from Spielfeld, the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz and other partners during 2001 can, slightly simplified, be subdivided into three phases:

Difficulties in the Initial Phase arose on two levels:

• Despite a large number of art projects that applied for using the shops, only few of them were ready or able to contribute appropriately to the shops’ rents.
• The real number of vacant and usable shops had to be scaled back significantly, because during the shop inspections and negotiations with landlords and property managers, it appeared that many units could not be used due to exaggerated rental fee demanded, overdue refurbishment measures, unclear property titles, or the desolate condition of the building – mould & dry rot for example.

During the public events staged by the Boxion project, partnerships with further protagonists from within and beyond the area of neighbourhood development emerged, in particular with

• Media partners in local papers, newspapers, city guides, radio and TV stations
• Other socio-cultural projects
• The District Administration

Shifting of the Focus of the Boxion Project to Culture-Related Businesses for Vacant Shops in 2002

After evaluating the experiences with the Boxion Project in 2001, the Neighbourhood Development Boxhagener Platz and the Senate Department of Urban Development decided to continue the project in 2002. But now, the focus of Boxion 2002 is no longer the limited, sponsoring-dependent temporary use of empty shops, but the support of business start-ups and investments from cultural industries in order to reduce shop vacancies and to create jobs in the area in the longer term.

From October to November 2001, companies of the culture industry that were interested in establishing themselves in the area were invited by a public call for tenders. A total of 45 applications with concepts for the use of vacant shops in the neighbourhood from the lines of fashion design, arts, photography, communications design, music, and product design were handed in.

The choice was up to a jury consisting of representatives of the Spielfeld Agency as responsible project coordinator

• the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz
• the Department of Design of the College of Technology and Economics
• The Culture Committee of the District Council of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
• The JugendLOK as a local competent partner in questions concerning start-ups

 Forms of Partnerships within the Framework of Neighbourhood Management

Within the framework of the Neighbourhood Management Boxhagener Platz, since 1999 more than 250 projects of cooperation with various partners for a well-balanced development of the area have been put into practice. Based on this experience, four basic types of partnerships can be described:

Trading Information

Information is a vital resource for the development and maintenance of partnerships. Therefore, it is of critical importance for the neighbourhood management to enhance the exchange of information and opinions between the protagonists of neighbourhood management – residents, associations and initiatives, landlords, public institutions, crafts and trades.

Strategic Cooperation

The Integrated Action Plan is setting the targets for the Neighbourhood Development Boxhagener Platz. The neighbourhood management as a consignee of the Land Berlin is operating as a service provider, preparing an action programme that is integrating all protagonists. The leading role in the realisation of this strategy lies with the government of the city state of Berlin.

Financial Cooperation

The financial resources for the realisation of the strategy are predominantly provided by public support programmes. The complementary financing by the European Union, the national government and the city state (Land) of Berlin is forming a budget-related partnership. A pilot scheme has been the “neighbourhood fund”, where the citizens had the leading role in such a partnership (see below).

Leadership in Projects

Project-related partnerships that realise concrete measures for the improvement of the quality of life in the neighbourhood provide local protagonists with the greatest opportunities of participation. All these projects are being led by the dedicated protagonists in the neighbourhood – citizens, associations, initiatives, landlords, crafts and trades, or public administrations. The neighbourhood management team acts as a catalyst, turning ideas and suggestions into concrete measures of neighbourhood development.

Development and Maintenance of Networks as a Building Block for Anchoring and Mainstreaming

According to the assignment by the Senate Department of Urban Development, the neighbourhood management team does not act as a representative of the interests and matters of the residents, crafts and trades, initiatives and clubs. Instead, it is to enable the local protagonists in the neighbourhood to stand up for themselves and act responsibly for the development of the area – 'Empowerment'.

Therefore, an important element for the anchoring and mainstreaming of the approach is the development and improvement of networks of local protagonists who can continue the activities initiated by neighbourhood development (sustainability).

Concerning the central domains of neighbourhood development, several networks have emerged in cooperation with neighbourhood development:

Monitoring and Evaluation

For evaluation and monitoring of neighbourhood management in Berlin, three evaluation mechanisms concerning procedures and finances have been installed, separately implemented by the city state (Land) of Berlin, the national government, and the European Union. In order to illustrate the complex mechanisms employed by the sponsors to evaluate the procedures and measures of neighbourhood management, we will describe the contents and methods of the different mechanisms (for details of the procedure see A5 in annex).

These three evaluation mechanisms are being applied in all 17 areas of neighbourhood management in Berlin. For certain areas, further accompanying evaluation is being carried out on behalf of the national government or the Land Berlin. Berlin's neighbourhoods do not lack evaluation and monitoring, but suffer from a structural deficit in coordination and cooperation of the administrations responsible for evaluation and monitoring.

2.3 The Neighbourhood Management Approach: An Integrated Operational Approach for Decentralised Procedures at a Local Level     2.5 The Neighbourhood Fund