GEOGRAPHY: Kreuzberg Ost is an urban community located in the district of Kreuzberg, seven kilometres from the centre of West Berlin. The project area is a sixteen-block area of closely packed five-storey walk-up apartments and factories. It is bounded on the north by Berlin’s shipping artery, the Spree River, on the east by the stark concrete of the Berlin wall, on the south by the walled-in remains of the Gorlitzer railroad yards and on the north-west by the elevated U-Bahn line.
POPULATION: With a population of approximately 16,200, one third of the population is over sixty years of age. An additional third are labourers from Turkey, together with Yugoslavians, Italians, Greeks, Spanish, and Palestinians to expand the German economy. The “guest workers” have become a permanent part of the city’s life and make up a little over one-third of the population. Only two-fifths of the population are economically engaged. Most of the company owners and many of the employees live outside the community. The unemployment rate is six percent, twice that of Berlin.
CHALLENGES: Kreuzberg is known in Germany as an area where the major challenges of urban life are focused. Housing built in the last century and greatly damaged by the bombings of World War II has been massively rebuilt, but in areas such as eastern Kreuzberg, not yet scheduled for reconstruction, housing and re creation space have been pushed to capacity.
Focus was to create continuous education, enable community cohesion in the midst of cultural diversity, and to emphasize local economics. It is a bustling community of colourful shops, wide streets, five-storey apartment houses and a four-block industrial strip of small factories and warehouses. There are 169 retail businesses including small tobacco shops, restaurant-pubs, bakeries, grocers and second-hand stores. Unfortunately, most of the company owners and many of the employees lived outside the community. In order to redevelop community life through the inclusive engagement of the people, the project focused change at the local level and the power of the local peoples’ voice. Except for five new structures, the 400 buildings in the community date from the nineteenth century. Only a few of them have been renovated and brought up to present standards. Eighty-six percent of the homes are heated with coal. There are 138 medium-sized manufacturing plants and warehouses grouped in a four-block strip along the south bank of the Spree River. The U-Bahn and two bus lines make the community readily accessible. Three kindergartens, three elementary schools, one vocational school, a youth centre, a well-baby clinic and two churches are located in the community. The nearest major hospital is twenty five minutes away by public transportation.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Community business life has stabilized through the establishment and support of new local businesses.
The Café Laterne opened and is operated by the community, creating a node for all ages and social groups; it is supported by a limited liability company with investments by community residents, merchants, and companies.
The establishment of the community center and regular meetings have resulted in strong local leadership that is organized as a non-profit legal entity.
Housing rehabilitation has been fostered by many new local groups and the city has designated Kreuzberg-Ost as a demonstration community for the 1984 international building exhibition.
Parks, street beautifications, a bridge, and playgrounds have transformed the environment while the community newspaper tells a continuing story of the community’s progress and struggle.
New facilities for an afterschool program, the printshop, social services for elders, and youth centers have been created. Many cultural events and street celebrations have brought fragmented parts of the community together.
