Case Studies  The Karolinenviertel Case in Hamburg - St. Pauli

Balance of power within the partnerships

The recommendations passed by the redevelopment advisory board to the District Assembly most of the time relate to area specific or project related procedures. Since the influence of the advisory board is locally clearly limited, it can happen that conflicts in the objectives between the decisions of the advisory board and the district interests occur by decisions of other political expert committees on higher level. It goes without saying that entire city interests play an important role as well. The formalised structures and protagonists on local and entire city level have certainly more power than the advisory board on neighbourhood level.

A recen example is the controversial discussion in the Karolinenviertel about the planning of a ‘centre for the music economy’ in St. Pauli. The advisory board did not approve the necessary development of an open space in the neighbourhood but the politicians on the district-level voted for the development and ignored the recommendation of the advisory board. The basic interest in the realisation of this project was valued higher than the interest of the advisory board of the conservation of the open space.

In general the district or expert authorities can pull all decisions towards them and can prohibit or promote envisaged measures with respect to their programmatic and precedent objectives, independently from the decisions in the neighbourhood. However, the local government politicians in the redevelopment area are closely confronted with the events and predominant opinions in the neighbourhood. The fact that the inhabitants are also potential voters, who can influence political decisions, probably plays a significant role.

Regarding the question how power is balanced or split between the partners, only a subjective impression can be expressed. From the point of view of the editors the redevelopment advisory board formally has no, respectively only partial power since it does not have any instruments or binding decision authority at its disposal. Informal, however, the council is very influential.

Analysis of partnerships of STEG as area-manager in the Karolinenviertel with other protagonists

Analysis of protagonist structures by practical examples

3.6. Partnerships in the Karolinenviertel    IV. Strategies and structures of the regeneration-process