The intra-urban
NM-area "Bülowstrasse / Wohnen am Kleistpark" in the district of Tempelhof - Schöneberg adjoins the NM-area Magdeburger Platz (borough Mitte). The north of Schöneberg is a home to roughly 17,000 people with one out of ten living in the large housing estate "Pallasseum". Two-thirds of the residents in this area have a migration background, and one out of five is under 18 years old. More than one-third of the population depend on transfer income.
This densely developed area has few public green spaces, there is a lack of outdoor sports facilities. There is heavy traffic on the main roads, however, it is easy to get around with public transport. The north of Schöneberg is a vibrant and colourful neighborhood with an eventful history, but it lacks a spatial and functional center. The "Potsdamer Strasse", leading north to the Potsdamer Platz, is the central north-south axis. It used to be a prestigious shopping street with pulsating nightlife and entertainment.
Nowadays, street prostitutes solicit for business in the zone between Frobenstrasse and Kurfürstenstrasse bordering the NM-area. Street prostitution has increased in recent years, whereas the drug scene seems less present at the moment.
The Bülowstrasse is the connection with City West and Kreuzberg. The most infamous casinos of Berlin were situated around the Bülowbogen in the 1920's. Where the legendary "Sportpalast" used to be until 1973, the large housing estate "Pallasseum" today dominates the area. Large-scalestructural improvements were made under urban redevelopment programs, however, during the squatter movement of the 1980's, the area hit the headlines.
Under the "Socially Integrated City" program, more than Euro 11,000,000 have been earmarked for this neighborhood since 1999. Whereas the initial phase focused on structural measures to enhance the living environment, the share of socio-cultural projects in different areas of intervention gradually increased.
Selection of projects carried out to date
Various structural improvements to enhance the living environment were implemented in1999, playgrounds and squares were renovated and newly created, courtyards were redesigned and school and day care centre yards were reconstructed in cooperation with children, artists and parents. In 2009, substantial improvements at the playground of the Nelly-Sachs-Park were enabled by Neighborhood Fund IV funding.
From the outset, much emphasize has been laid on involving residents and local actors in the development process and strengthening of local networks. Instruments of decentralized participation include the Prevention Council, Kiez discussions, the Neighborhood Council and the Advisory Committee. Improving community life have had positive side-effects on the development of the area.
People get to know and learn to respect each other in the family and neighborhood centers. Some achievements were made due to longterm and ongoing networking and neighborhood initiativesin the "Pallasseum" area and Steinmetzstrasse, such as the neighborhood, youth and arts project at the Kulmer Kiez or the reading project "Fairy-tales from the Kulmer Kiez". The first neighborhood festival in 2009 also contributed considerably to motivate actors to keep up their commitment.
A variety of activities strives to support local business in general, and the business location Potsdamer Strasse in particular. Today's Potsdamer Strasse has a multi-ethnic character and is lined with small shops and restaurants. Hotels and galleries where added to the picture in recent years and are situated mainly in the northern part, whereas large companies left the area. Media companies formed the interest group °mstreet under the umbrella of the IU Potsdamer Strasse.
The project "Potsdamer Strasse kompakt" supports the development of tourism through capacity buildings for catering staff and information material production. "Business talks" contribute to intensified networking at the site and support ongoing dialogue and the development of new ideas and trends.
Numerous health and violence prevention related projects offer meaningful ways to young and older people of using their spare time. Female senior citizens of Turkish nationality learn how to swim and become advocates in their families for their female grandchildren to be allowed to attend the swimming lessons at school.
Early learning projects support young families. Youth from the neighborhood are trained as "peer helpers" and "box mentors" and learn how to integrate sports activities with violence prevention for peaceful coexistence on a basis of tolerance. The situation around Kurfürstenstrasse, which has been increasingly tense due to the rise in street prostitution has relaxed to some extent owing to the "Interpreter"-project targeting prostitutes from Eastern Europe which has been supported in cooperation with the NM
Magdeburger Platz.
Projects like "Lernlust" (love to learn) and "Hauptsache Schule" (major subject: school) offer important education opportunities for the individual promotion of children and parents' support. It is hoped that in the long run, parents with a migration background and families with a low level of education will get more involved in their children's educational issues. "Ambassadors of Education" work with youth and adults following a peer helper approach. Events such as the "Long Day of Education" help to make the area more attractive as a center of education.
