Archive: The Capital City of Berlin - Documentation

The building law stipulate that owners, leaseholders, tenants, and any other affected persons have a right of participation in any and all development measure. The law says that those affected must be given extensive opportunities to participate in the process. The responsibility for citizen participation in the capital city development area lies with the Senate Department for Urban Development.

The participation of affected residents has long been a proven component of Berlin's planning culture which calls for the establishment of committees for affected residents and neighbourhoods. These committees are elected by citizens and represent their interests during the planning process. Work in these committees is done on an honorary basis, however the Senate will, to a certain extent, reimburse costs for the rental of office space, the furnishing thereof, running costs, and materials.

In autumn 1993 neighbourhood committees from Wilhelmstraße, the Spreebogen and the Spreeinsel, with a total of 44 members, began their active involvement in the project. These neighbourhood committees and the so-called Development Advisory Board were an important "interface" in the planning process between politicians, public administrators, and citizens for an extended period of time. The development advisory board consisted of individual spokespersons from the neighbourhood committees who regularly met with government administrators to discuss any existing problems. The neighbourhood committees served as a mouthpiece, collecting and transporting current grievances from the citizens to administrators and politicians - and in the reverse direction as well.

The concerns of those affected, often justified, were discussed on all political levels and with public administrators involved in the planning, even if it was not always possible to reconcile differences between residents and planners working on the capital city. And yet, through the neighbourhood committees it was possible for active citizens to effectively bring their worries to the attention of the press, politicians, and public administrators. As time passed there were less and less actions involving citizens due to the near-completion of large areas of the Parliamentary and Government Quarter. In 2005 the neighbourhood committees brought an end to their involvement. Continuing arguments and discussions between citizens and public administrators are now carried out in a more specific and situational fashion.

The development of the capital city was not supposed to be carried out at the expense of residents who live near the Government Quarter. This goal, very important within the overall framework of the development measure, was achieved to a great extent. One residential block on Luisenstraße did have to be removed, however, contrary to the German Bundestag's initial resolution. Several of the tenants living there have now been "relocated" while others were provided with "affordable" housing within the Parliamentary Quarter. In other sections of the Government Quarter housing was converted to other uses, but overall the total amount of housing has only been slightly reduced.

Architectural discussions,
studies, and citizen groups accompany the development process (flyer in German)

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