Case Studies  The Karolinenviertel Case in Hamburg - St. Pauli

Role of the inhabitants

The intensive participation of the inhabitants is an important element and objective of urban regeneration in Hamburg. In the past ten years you can view a change of the mere participation of affected people to the promotion of readiness of co-operation and activation of self initiative of the local protagonists. Procedures, instruments and margin of participation have widened during the time.

Basically, the activation and participation of local protagonists can be divided into three different categories: neighbourhood related co-operation in councils (for example redevelopment advisory board), project related co-operation in study groups (for example music centre) and target group orientated co-operation in initiatives / activist groups (for example children or entrepreneurs).

• Formalised participation: The redevelopment advisory board is the central information, discussion and participation board within the redevelopment procedure. The Karolinenviertel board exists since the beginning of the regeneration procedure in 1985. Formally the board is an advising sub-committee of the District Assembly in Hamburg-Mitte (district parliament). Its authorisation is stipulated and the number of persons entitled to vote is limited. The board represents the inhabitants, entrepreneurs, social facilities, political parties and other groups of the neighbourhood. Every month 25 people come together to the public meetings. STEG writes a report of the meetings. The board directs recommendations to the political city planning committee of the District Assembly Hamburg-Mitte. The decision itself remains with the district and city organs, most of the times they follow the recommendations of the board

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• Project orientated participation: This means participation of interested and committed persons in the development and realisation of concrete projects or measurements. For example study groups were initiated who co-operate with the arrangement of public green, open spaces. Also with the recent planning of the music centre St. Pauli an own network is being created to include entrepreneurs of the music branch as target group for this project at the very beginning.
   
• Target group orientated participation: By specific target group participation procedures different groups in the neighbourhood had been consulted and included in the past. In order to know how children view their neighbourhood a area-explorer-operation was executed. Children walked through the neighbourhood with cameras. A memory-game was developed on the basis of these photos. In another case an elementary school carried out a painting-project for garbage cans. The results were put on garbage cans and placed into the neighbourhood.
   
  Since 1999 a group of shop owners in the Marktstraße has worked together in order to create a mutual marketing strategy for the location Marktstraße. Mutual activities of the entrepreneurs were advertisement-flyers, shopping bags showing a Marktstraße-Logo and a big street fair. The commercial structure of the Marktstraße consists of 70 shops and represents an important factor for the local economy. The shopping street has a stabilising effect on the social connections and dominates the outward appearance of the area. A co-operation with these entrepreneurs is sometimes difficult since the entrepreneurs have their main emphasis on their own business and especially with small businesses there are not enough capacities for a neighbourhood related commitment.

The proceedings of STEG in the redevelopment procedure is highly characterised by its proximity to partners and protagonists at the location. Keeping in touch with many groups, direct or indirect via key-persons, is of great significance. The neighbourhood office in the Karolinenviertel offers weekly consultations and open house by STEG. Four times a year the newspaper ‘Neighbourhood-News’ (Quartiersnachrichten) is being distributed to all households and commercial enterprises which informs about the activities of the redevelopment, projects, offers and important dates for the neighbourhood.

Another important instrument of participation is the neighbourhood disposal fund. 1999 was the first year were the responsible expert-authority BBV placed a fund with 20,000 Euros per annum for the direct and non-bureaucratic conversion of project ideas of the neighbourhood. The redevelopment advisory board decides on the use of the funds. It has formed an own working group for this. With the means of this disposal fund in total 60 measurements and projects have been financed during the past three years.

The experiences in reality show that not all population groups are being reached with these participation offers. For example migrants have hardly participated in the process although they live and work in high numbers in the neighbourhoods. Furthermore, there is the ‘silent majority’ which cannot be activated with the different instruments and offers. The question occurs whether this group can or even has to be neglected because this group does not show any interest.

Over the years a group of more and more ‘professional inhabitant representatives’ has developed within the redevelopment advisory board that does not automatically reflect the interests of the entire neighbourhood and is not necessarily orientated on the living conditions of the people. Against this background it is difficult for ‘normal citizens’ to participate in the process. The advantage of knowledge and dominance of the ‘professionals’ is too big and the process of building an opinion is often already completed in the pre-phase.

Besides the mentioned formal structures, numerous bottom-up initiatives have been founded which assert their influence on the neighbourhood development through the redevelopment advisory board. There have been and still are single inhabitant initiatives which relate to one single building or real estate – for example the initiative for establishing a big inner-block backyard Marktstraße. The ‘interest community Sternstraße’ has successfully supported the reconstruction of Sternstraße to a slow traffic zone. For the entire neighbourhood there is the ‘traffic initiative Karolinenviertel’ which not only discusses traffic problems but also different neighbourhood subjects. Furthermore this initiative has created a website, informing about neighbourhood developments in the internet (www.karo4tel.de). This initiative always appears in various connections – for example as members or participants in the redevelopment advisory board. Out of this group the ‘initiative group Volksbad St. Pauli’ has been established which fights for the conservation of one public indoor pool. There was also a citizen inquiry for an integrated neighbourhood development concept for the entire district of St. Pauli which was not successful.

3.2. Role of the development agency    3.4. Role of private proprietors