Urban Development Concept Berlin 2030: Status Report: Conclusions

The ecological, functional and aesthetic factors of a city determine the quality of its living environment. In this respect, the quality of life in Berlin is characterised by the expansive and diverse cityscape. The following factors deserve particular emphasis.

Strengths

• Berlin possesses a special atmosphere that makes the city a desirable place to live, attracting people from all over the world
• Berlin possesses an adequate amount of space to allow the city to grow
• polycentrality with short distances between centres and a wide array of local offerings in mixed-use centres in the inner and outer city (U1)
• diverse townscape, rich history of construction and settlement structures
• compact urban region: development of regional urban settlements configured around railway axes and traditional radials, discernible centres
• high-quality local recreational areas by region, landscaped areas connecting city and region (U2)
• extensive open spaces: 44 per cent of the city’s area is parks and recreation areas, public playgrounds, cemeteries, small gardens, athletic fields, fallow land, farmland, forest or water
• diverse cityscape: configured green areas, natural landscapes and spaces created by people
• urban nature with great ecological value

Weaknesses

• separate centres with functional or aesthetic failings in the inner and outer city
• strong air and noise pollution, including areas around main traffic arteries in the inner and outer city (U4)
• low prevalence of renewable energies; an ecological footprint is “left behind” in Brandenburg and globally
• image of the city is impaired, partly due to lack of care for green areas and open spaces

Opportunities

• the city is continually changing and Berlin possesses a high degree of creativity to employ in changing it
• local recreation areas, both urban and regional, with utilisation and upvaluation potential (qualities and networking) (U3)
• cityscape with urban-climatic function: alongside its recreational function, the cityscape plays an important urban-climatic role, which gains in significance as the climate continues to change
• low dependence on fossil fuels and reduction of CO2 emissions through comprehensive efforts related to Berlin’s climate neutrality (2050 goal: “climate-neutral city”), Berlin as a role model for other cities
• post-fossil fuel mobility and multi-mobility as an opportunity to reduce air and noise pollution, traffic costs and CO2 emissions
• Further development of the “city of short distances”

Threats

• progressive wear on the urban infrastructure, maintenance backlog and increasing need for renovation
• concentration processes in retail sales trending towards locations outside the urban centres, local suppliers under pressure
• increasingly diverse and opposing demands for peace and quiet, exercise, experience and productive activities in residential areas as well in open spaces, intensive usage demands on the public realm
• climate change impact: rise in average annual temperature, decrease in annual precipitation, more frequent extreme weather events, increased number of hot days in the inner city and to a lesser degree in the outer city (U5)
• noise pollution in particular areas of the city and region due to airplane traffic (U6)