Berlin Case Study - Cities Institute

Strategies for creative spaces 

Berlin 

Case Study 

November 2006

“Berlin is 60% German, 35% New York and 5% jungle”. 

Contents 

(Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic) 

Introduction 3 

1. Economic, political and demographic profile 5 

1.1. Governance and political system 5 

1.2. Economy 6 

1.3. Demographics and population 9 

1.4. Labour market and investment 11 

1.5. Tourism 12 

1.6. Urban regeneration 13 

2. Creative industries 15 

2.1 Creative economy 15 

2.2 Creative enterprise and employment 15 

2.3 Creative clusters 20 

3. Creative industries strategy 24 

3.1 Strength and weaknesses 25 

4. Success factors 27 

4.1 Lessons from Berlin 27 

5. References 29 

Appendix A – Projects and initiatives 31 

Appendix B – Classification 

of creative economic fields 41 

2 

Berlin Case Study

Introduction 

This case study is one of a series of city reports produced as part of 

the Creative Spaces research project. Strategies for Creative Spaces 

is a collaborative initiative between the cities of London and Toronto 

– a joint venture between the London Development Agency (Creative 

London and the Evidence & Evaluation Team), the City of Toronto 

Economic Development and Culture divisions and the Ontario Ministries 

of Economic Development & Trade and Culture. 

Creative Spaces is developing strategies, specific 

to London and Toronto, to enhance the growth and 

development of creative industries in both cities. 

Drawing on international best practices identified 

through a combination of desk and field research, 

the project will identify optimal strategies 

for building the necessary infrastructure and 

environment in which creativity can flourish. 

The Strategies for Creative Spaces project is 

centered on three principal objectives. 

1) The identification and evaluation of international 

best practice in the development of the creative 

city and in particular the creative cluster and 

the leverage of creative assets for broader 

local and regional economic regeneration 

and development. 

2) The delivery of a practical learning experience 

for creative cluster, economic development, public 

policy and academic professionals that provides 

a stimulus to the development or refinement of 

creative cluster interventions. 

3) Developing a deep network of ongoing bi-lateral 

relationships between creative cluster, economic 

development, and public policy practitioners in 

London, Toronto, and other major global creative 

centres around the world. 

In order to meet these objectives, the project 

is framed around answering two key research 

questions. 

• What ‘levers’ can be employed to nurture and 

grow the creative economy and a city’s creative 

assets and/or to make a city a creative/cultural 

centre? 

• How can the value of a city’s creative/cultural 

assets be maximised for the purposes of regional 

economic development? 

The Creative Spaces project is being carried out in 

three phases between early 2005 and mid-2006, 

followed by a programme of dissemination. 

Phase I – Literature review and global scan of 

creative city and cluster strategies, 

policies and interventions. Identification 

and evaluation of the key success factors 

and ‘levers’ that are used internationally 

to pursue and sustain the development of 

the creative cluster. The Phase I Report 

is available to download at: 

www.creativelondon.org. An online 

searchable database of policies and 

publication abstracts is also available at 

www.citiesinstitute.org/creativespaces. 

Berlin Case Study/introduction 

3

Phase 2 – Drawing on the findings from Phase I, 

a comprehensive analysis and evaluation 

of the approaches taken by selected case 

study cities, including study tours of 

Barcelona, Berlin and New York, as well 

as London and Toronto, and how they 

might be transferred and applied to both 

cities. Follow-up with key city and cultural 

agencies has provided up to date economic 

data and project exemplars. This case 

study report on Barcelona is therefore 

published alongside reports on Berlin, 

London, New York, San Francisco and Toronto. 

Phase 3 – The development and refinement of city 

specific strategies for developing and 

sustaining creative spaces and stimulating 

creative industry clusters in London 

and Toronto. The findings will be published 

in the form of a Final Report distilling 

policy implications arising from the 

whole project and outlining ‘Lessons 

Learned’ and transferable good practice 

across key themes developed from the 

Phase I global scan and city fieldwork 

tours. A programme of dissemination will 

then make the evidence and material 

available to a wider user audience at city, 

as well as national and international levels. 

The report concludes with a summary of strengths 

and weaknesses, highlighting Berlin’s key success 

factors and current weaknesses. A selection of 

projects and initiatives is then detailed in Appendix 

A, as examples of innovative and good practice for 

other cities. 

This report has been researched and written by the 

Cities Institute, LondonMet University (Graeme 

Evans and Antje Witting), with acknowledgements 

to Dr Cordula Gdaniec and colleagues at Humboldt 

University; Tanja Mühlhans, Coordinator Creative 

Industries Initiative, Berlin Senate for Economics, 

Labour & Women’s Issues; and participating creative 

enterprises in Berlin. 

This City-Regional Case Study therefore documents 

the approach to development of creative spaces and 

the stimulation of cultural and creative industries 

taken by Berlin, drawing out the success factors and 

lessons, as well as pinpointing areas of weakness. 

Firstly, an overview of the political and economic 

context and background to the city is provided. 

This is followed by a summary of population 

demographics, labour market, locational advantages, 

tourism and investment for the city-region. 

The approach to urban regeneration and 

neighbourhoods is outlined with examples of 

community development projects. The creative 

industries and economy is then detailed in terms 

of employment, trends, sectoral concentration and 

local and regional clusters, followed by a review 

of the recent creative industries strategy and 

supporting analysis and creative business surveys. 

4 

Berlin Case Study/introduction

1. Economic, political and 

demographic profile 

Berlin has experienced major social, political and cultural changes in the 

last century. In its early years it was the political, industrial, scientific, 

academic and cultural centre of Germany. 

1.1. Governance and political system 

It then saw military parades, burning of synagogues, 

books and the exodus of its intellectual avant-garde 

under the rule of the National Socialists; the near 

total destruction of the city centre and its industrial 

districts; and the end of War followed by the Cold 

War and the construction of the Berlin Wall. Two 

generations of Berliners grew up in a divided city. 

While in West Berlin the post-War generation turned 

away from the previous generation and initiated 

a cultural revolution in 1968, the youth in the GDR 

either learned to adjust to the system and its rules 

or went underground. East and West Berliners were 

the centre-point of international attention when the 

Communist block gave in and the Wall came down 

in 1989. Germany was re-unified in 1990 and Berlin 

regained its status as national capital. Since then 

it seems uncertain of where it is going and what it 

wants to be: a unified city, the metropolis it had been 

the beginning of the twentieth century, or the capital 

of Germany. 

In 1999 the renovated Reichstag building was 

officially re-opened and the national parliament 

started to debate there – Germany once again ruled 

from Berlin. However, on the day of the German 

re-unification, Berlin also became an independent 

state as one of three city-states (Stadtstaaten), 

together with Hamburg and Bremen that form 

part of the present sixteen German Federal States 

(Bundeslaender). 

As such it has a Federal State Government 

(Landesregierung), which consists of a Governing 

Mayor (Buergermeister) Klaus Wowereit, Social 

Democratic Party (SPD) and eight Senators of which 

five are from SPD while the remaining three are from 

the Communist Party (PDS), which is in a coalition 

with SPD since the Federal State Election in 2001 (poll 

turnout 68.1 %). The Governing Mayor determines 

the direction of the government’s politics, such 

as local transport, sewerage and town planning, 

building and maintenance of schools, theatres and 

museums, adult education, with the consensus of 

the Senate (Senat). However, each member of the 

Senate is fully responsible and independently runs 

his/her department within the guidelines laid down 

by the federal government policy. 

The House of Representatives (Abgeordneten Haus, 

approximately 150 members) is the representative 

body of the people in Berlin and appoints and 

supervises the government. In which the SPD, 

Christian Democratic Party (CDU), PDS and The 

Greens are represented. 

The House of Representatives will be 

newly elected every five years – the 

next election will take place on 18th 

October 2006. 

Berlin Case Study/part one 5

The electoral mixed system of proportional 

presentation/ first past the post allows innovation 

(a small party can gain seats), but secures a level of 

stability (5% barrier). The current polls suggest that 

the SPD party will remain the ruling party. However, 

much will depend on who will lead the CDU election 

campaign and if the party will find coalition partners. 

At the same time as the House of Representatives 

will be elected, the Borough Assembly 

(Bezirksversammlung, approximately 45 members) 

will be elected by those entitled to vote (incl. European 

citizens). Berlin is subdivided into 12 boroughs 

(Bezirke), which have been combined from the earlier 

23 boroughs with effect from January 2001, in the 

context of the ongoing reform of the administrative 

body. 

Each borough has an average of approximately 

300,000 inhabitants, with a Borough Office 

(Buergerbuero), which is composed of the Mayor and 

the borough councillors. Every borough is allocated 

a lump sum to fulfil its tasks (as defined in the Budget 

Act). The boroughs are therefore fairly self-governed, 

but the Senate issues guidelines and supervises their 

budget allocations. Nevertheless, the policies of the 

boroughs vary according to the local context and 

political makeup. 

Berlin boroughs are part of a very complex 

administrative apparatus, which was inherited from 

the administrative systems of the highly subsidised 

West Berlin and the administrative structures 

which were in place in East Germany when it was 

capital of the GDR (a majority of Civil Servants are 

on permanent contract). Approximately 207,000 

civil servants worked in Berlin in 1991, which is twice 

as much as the federal states benchmark for 2012. 

Berlin’s administration is the subject of an ongoing 

reform process, aiming at expenditure cuts and 

more efficiency (Sen Fi, 2006) and the number has 

gradually decreased to 130,657 in 2005, however 31% 

of Berlin’s budget in 2006 is still allocated to staff 

expenditure (Sen Fi, 2005). 

1.2 Economy 

Table 1. Key economic indicators 

Indicator (year) 

GDP (2004 current prices) 

Value 

Growth rate (2004) 1.3% 

Registered Unemployment rate (2005) 19% 

Economically Active (2005) 53% 

RPI Inflation (1/2005) 1.6% 

Creative Industries/GDP (2002) 11% 

€77,858 million 

Creative Industries Employment (2003) 84,000/8% 

Sources: StaLa Berlin (2006), SenWiArFrau (2005b), IHK (2005), 

Sen WiArFrau/ WiFoKunst (2005) 

Before World War II Berlin was a Metropolitan Centre 

comparable to London and Paris. (BBR, 2005). The city 

lost relevant functions and industries to other cities 

in Germany due to the post-war settlement (Sen 

Stadt, 2006). During the city’s division, its industries 

mainly depended on subsidies, while cities in West 

Germany gained strength. In consequence Germany 

now has a strong polycentric structure. 

From 1991 to 2001, Berlin’s industrial base lost over 

150,000 jobs. Unemployment went from 10% in 

1991 to 19% in 2003 (11.6% nationally) (Sen WiArFrau 

2005b). Two key factors contributed to this: the run 

down of industrial activity in the former East, and 

the ending of subsidies to production in the West, 

both leading to factory closures and relocations to 

lower-cost areas. Manufacturing employment fell 

from 264,000 in 1991 to less than 112,000 in 2001 

(Kraetke, 2004). 

Berlin has not had the manufacturing base which 

inhabits the outer/fringe areas of other German cities. 

Berlin is said to be an expression of a fundamental 

structural weakness throughout the metropolitan 

region. Its renewed role as capital city has seen some 

rebalancing towards service sector activity – the 

software industry has doubled, the advertising 

sector increased by two thirds – but not enough to 

compensate for its structural weaknesses revealed 

post-unification. Other cities have a higher 

concentration of advanced producer services and 

larger enterprises/corporate HQs, which had left 

Berlin on its division. (Figures 1 and 2). 

6 

Berlin Case Study/part one

Figure 1. Relative concentration of advanced producer services 

(exc. Financial sector) by location quotients (Kratke 2004) 


1.44 

Dresden 

Leipzig 

1.02 

1.07 

Hamburg 

1.89 

Munich 

Stuttgart/ 

Esslingen 

1.59 

2.46 

Frankfurt-Main 

Dusseldorf/ 

Cologne/Essen 

1.95 

2.32 

0.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 

0.50 2.50 

Figure 2. German ‘Headquarter cities’: concentration of large 

enterprises by location quotients, 2002 (Kratke 2004) 


Dresden 

Leipzig 

Hamburg 

0.30 

0.14 

0.42 

0.32 

0.54 

0.66 

1.09 

1.60 

Large Enterprises > 50 million 

euros sales 

Large Enterprises > 50 million 

euros sales with external 

subsidiaries/branch plants 

Munich 

Stuttgart/ 

Esslingen 

1.25 

1.94 

1.30 

2.09 


Dusseldorf/ 

Cologne/Essen 

1.85 

1.79 

1.29 

1.82 

0.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 

0.50 2.50 

Berlin Case Study/part one 

7

Nonetheless, Berlin is now rated Germany’s second 

most popular business location after Frankfurt/ 

Main, one place ahead of Munich. Berlin ranks eighth 

in the league table of Europe’s 30 most popular 

business locations. Factors of importance for the 

ranking were, for example: ease of access to the 

market, a ready supply of qualified staff and good 

traffic connections, quality of telecommunications, 

and cost of staff. Berlin ranks in the top ten best cities 

for businesses in terms of qualified staff, quality of 

telecommunications, and value for money of office 

space, languages spoken, and internal transportation 

(Cushman & Wakefield, 2005). 

Berlin is unique in terms of available premises, with 

7 million m 2 of new office space built between 1990 

and 1998 alone, but this speculative over-building 

fuelled by special tax incentives, has left 1.2 million 

m 2 of unoccupied space (including in premium 

locations). This has created an opportunity for cheap 

premises (office rents have fallen by 70% since 1991), 

but also an unused asset, and critically, the legacy of 

a massive debt burden and a lack of faith in the city’s 

politicians (Kratke, 2004). 

Berlin offers a broad and high quality public transport 

infrastructure. It has three airports: Tegel Airport (TXL), 

Schoenefeld Airport (SXF) and Tempelhof Airport 

(THF). 2005 is said to have been the most successful 

year ever for Berlin’s airports. The number of air 

passengers and direct flights to and from Berlin were 

on the increase, including daily Berlin-New York 

flights. In December 2005 Qatar Airways began flying 

directly from Berlin Tegel to Doha, in the Emirate of 

Qatar, which offers connecting flights to destinations 

in Asia and Africa. Negotiations are underway for 

direct flights to Hong Kong, Bejing and the Arab 

Emirates. (Berlin Partners 2007–2008/ 2005, 1/2006). 

The capital is easily reached from all directions by 

rapid InterCityExpress, EuroCity and InterRegio trains 

(www.bahn.de). The new Lehrter Station in Berlin- 

Mitte is expected to link Berlin to other Metropolitan 

Centres in Germany. Motorways: A115 – Leipzig/ 

Munich; A113 – Dresden, A114/111 – Hamburg/ Rostock 

(www.adac.de). The capital’s public transport service 

is reliable, accessible, affordable and of high 

standard (SenVer Stadt, 2003). 

According to the Senate Department for Economics, 

Labour and Women, Berlin’s broadband supply is 

better than the national average (17 %) with a DSL 

supply rate of 26% relative to the number of Berlin 

private households, including alternative broadband 

offers via cable and wireless media (Berlin Partners, 

2007–2008/2005). 74% of households (1.4 million) 

are cabled, with nearly a million having 862MHz 

broadband access. This is due to modernisation of 

the entire telecommunications network after the fall 

of Wall. 

Table 2. Berlin airports passengers (Year to November 2005) 

National European International Total 

Tegel 5,084,817 5,352,227 232,060 10,670,034 

Tempelhof 366,774 110,821 85 494,292 

Schoenefeld 693,338 3,648,895 284,954 4,629,613 

Berlin Total 6,144,929 9,111,943 517,099 15,793,939 

Frankfurt/M 6,495,675 22,883,741 18,813,590 48,205,378 

Source: IHK (2005) 

8 


Berlin has also improved its position in German’s 

metropolitan league table from nine to six, and in 

terms of medical treatment (Berlin is promoted as 

the ‘Life Science’ capital), tourism and transport, 

Berlin occupies the runner-up spot (Berlin Partners, 

9/2005). In 2004 Berlin had the country’s best image 

in the media (news programmes, daily and weekly 

newspapers), well ahead of Hamburg, Munich, 

Frankfurt/Main and Cologne (Berlin Partners, 2/2005). 

1.3 Demographics and population 

Berlin is the largest city in Germany, with 3.4 million 

inhabitants (51.2% female and 48.8% male) and 

covering an area of 892km 2 / 38.8m 2 per capita 

(Statistisches Landesamt Berlin, 2005) – equal to the area 

of Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt/Main combined. 

The metropolitan regional population is 4.3 million 

(2005) and is expected to grow to 4.4m by 2010. 

Reasons for growth from 1990 to 2000 were more 

international than national migration, while from 

1999 onwards domestic migration has increased 

(SenVer Stadt, 2005). 

The average rent of a unit of 60m 2 to 90m 2 , including 

central heating is €7.39/m 2 (Mietspiegel, 2003) – a 

four-bed flat costs the equivalent of a basement 

studio in London (Benoit, 2006). Berlin is more densely 

populated than other German cities, its inner city even 

more densely inhabited than London (Figure 3). 

Berlin is a demographically young city: most recent 

records of the Statistische Landesamt Berlin show 

that 41.4% of Berliners are aged from 18 to 44, while 

26.6% are aged 45 to 64. 16.6 % are aged 65 or over, 

and 10.4% 6 to 17 (Table 3). 

Table 3. Age groups 

Under – 5 5% 

6 to 17 10.4% 

18 to 44 41.4% 

45 to 64 26.6% 

65 and over 16.6% 

Source: StaLaBerlin (2005) 

Berlin is as much a city for singles as it is for families. 

Approximately 50.2% of Berlin’s households are 

single households. Out of 816,800 families, 41.6% 

have children less than 18 years old (Statistisches 

Landesamt Berlin, 2005). A recent survey suggests 

95% of parents have access to all-day care for their 

children (compared with 74% in Munich). This survey 

concludes that the fact Berlin has the highest proportion 

of part-time workers among Germany’s five most 

popular cities suggests that raising children and 

pursuing a career are not incompatible in the capital 

(Prognos Market Research, in Berlin Partners, 12/2005). 

Figure 3. Population density in German cities and London 

 

Population density entire city (p/ha) 

 

Population density inner city (p/ha) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/umwelt/umweltatlas/eda606_01.htm 


9

Berlin is also a well-educated city. In 2005, 141,010 

students were enrolled at 21 universities and colleges 

(including 5,157 enrolled at cultural institutions 

for higher education). A further 56,787 Berliners 

were in vocational training and 15,578 adults were 

enrolled in adult education (Statistisches Landesamt 

Berlin, 2005). Approximately 19,880 international 

students were enrolled at Berlin’s Universities in 

2003. (Sen WiArFrai, 2004). No information was 

available that explains why Berlin is attractive for 

international students. Free Higher Education is 

assumed to be one factor. While fees have already 

been implemented elsewhere in Germany (e.g. 

NRW), Berlin is unlikely to implement fees soon, as it 

has just formalised financial arrangements between 

Senate and universities from 2006 until 2009 

(Hochschulrahmenvertrag 2006–2009). Nevertheless, 

the fiscal situation puts the Senate under pressure 

to implement changes in the long run. Another 

reason is said to be the high reputation of Berlin’s 

universities (e.g. Humboldt University) and the wide 

range of courses offered in the City Region (Sen 

WiFoKu, 2006). 

A majority, 86.6% of Berliners, hold German 

citizenship (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin, 2005). 

Over 450,000 foreign citizens live in Berlin (December 

2005), including 115,300 from Europe, 118,700 Turkey, 

17,400 Africa, 22,700 North/South America, and 

66,400 from Asia. Over 6,500 foreign citizens – 4,132 

European and 2,536 Turkish citizens – became 

German citizens in 2004. 

Berlin is perceived as an open minded city: whatever 

opinion or lifestyle people choose to have, Berlin is – 

despite its proverbial gruffness, a tolerant city hosting/ 

partying on annual events such as Christopher Street 

Day, Carnival of the Cultures, Fete la de Musique 

and the Love Parade (to be relaunched in 2006). 

Launched by a local DJ in 1989, in 1990 2,000 people 

came to dance in the streets, two years later 50,000, 

and by 1995 there were 300,000. By then the route 

was changed to accommodate what by 1999 were 1.4 

million people and over 50 floats. The Berlin Senate 

organises a host of sponsored cultural events around 

the parade – art shows, operas, clubs, films. The city 

sees this event as a draw for youth culture with the 

hope that the visitor (average age is 21) will like it so 

much that they will come back. The event enjoyed 

political demonstration status which allowed the 

city to pay for clean-up (over £100,000). Although a 

largely ‘free’ event, 800,000 spend on average £69. 

Berlin is also a secure city. The total 

number of crimes recorded declined 

from 594,393 in 1996 to 539,667 

in 2004. 

Berliners are also open to new technologies. Berlin is 

Germany’s number one online state with two thirds 

of Berliners registered as internet users (N)online 

Atlas 2005). Berlin is also a diverse and divided city, 

reflected in different district profiles: 

Table 4. Demographic data for selected Berlin boroughs 

Highest Lowest Berlin Total 

Age Group 15–65 % 

Number of inhabitants 

Foreign nationals % 

Average income per 

household 

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg 

77.1% 

Pankow 

350,500 

Mitte 

27.7% 

Steglitz-Zehlendorf 

€1800 

Lichtenberg 

50.4% 

Spandau 

225,700 

Treptow-Koepenick 

3.4% 


€1200 

51.2% 

3.4 million 

13.4% 

€1475 

Source: StaLaBerlin (2005) 

10 


1.4 Labour market and investment 

Berlin’s labour participation rate is however low at 

53% (Statistisches Landesamt, 2005). The population 

in Berlin worked approximately 50 hours more 

than the national average in 2003 (Berlin Partners 

04/2005). Approximately 19.4% of Berliners are 

registered unemployed. Out of 16, only two Federal 

States have higher unemployment rates (Sen 

WiArbFrau, 2005, p.19). 

In terms of access to markets, research by the Berlin 

Business Development Corporation (BBDC) suggests 

that companies in Berlin are significantly more active 

in the new European Union Member States and rate 

the business effects of the EU expansion far more 

positively than the national average. Berlin tries to 

establish itself as the ideal location for any company 

that wants to do business with central and eastern 

European countries. Almost 70% of Berlin’s foreign 

trade-oriented firms are said to currently conducting 

business with partners in the new European Member 

States. Nearly 60% of the companies polled in Berlin 

are hiring personnel from these regions in order to 

develop a basis of country-specific know-how within 

their company, rather than cutting costs (www.wfbi. 

de, 29.04.05). However, the high unemployment in 

(east) Berlin and underemployment of well-educated/ 

skilled (east) Berliners, also reflects a loss and underuse 

of talent, and a lost opportunity to exploit this 

comparative advantage of trade and cultural links 

to the ‘East’. 

The evidence does however suggest that the investments 

in modernising the entire telecommunications and 

transportation infrastructure and the (re-) development 

of new living and working places in the 1990s have been 

paying off. These factors, alongside soft factors such as a 

skilled workforce and image, have been attracting new 

companies and investment to Berlin (IHK, 2005, Berlin 

Partners, 1/2006), for example: 

• MTV Germany moved to Berlin in 2004 

• Publisher Econ Ullstein moved from Munich 

to Berlin-Mitte in 2004 

• Siemens started in 2004 to develop its new HQ 

in Berlin 

• Intercontinental Hotel Group start developing 

first Express by Holiday Inn 

• European Business School of Management 

founded by 25 German companies including 

Allianz, Axel Springer Verlag, BMW, 

DymlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank and Lufthansa 

began training students in January 2006 

• SonyGermany (HQ) joins SonyEurope (HQ) 

in Berlin in 2006 

Another example is the Kircher-Burkhardt newspaper 

design and corporate publishing company established 

in the city in 2000. Relocated from Hamburg, the 

owner admitted: “I needed the best people in the 

field and they would only work for me if I were in 

Berlin”. The firm’s sales have increased five-fold over 

the past two years (Benoit, 2006). 

The number of new business start-ups is higher than 

closures. In Berlin, 80% of new businesses are sole 

traders – one out of three of which is founded by a 

woman. The majority of new businesses are from 

within the services sector. (Sen WiArFrau, 2005b). 

In the past two years an estimated 27,000 companies 

were created, primarily ‘sole traders’ (DIW, 2005). 

The boost in the number of new single person 

businesses is said to be impacted by labour market 

measures such as the ICH-AG – initiative which is a 

three year public funding scheme for new businesses 

that targets jobseekers. Berlin has the lowest trade 

tax levy of the main German cities, and up to 38% 

investment grants for SMEs. 

The latest joint survey by the Chamber 

of Industry and Commerce and the 

Chamber of Handcrafts suggests that 

the Berlin economy will continue to 

grow in 2006 (Berlin Partners, 1/2006). 

Services and tourism are the strongest sectors (IHK 

Berlin, 10/2005, p.10), with exports the main engine 

for growth (Statistisches Landesamt Berlin 2005, Sen 

WiArFrau 2005, IHK 2005). 

An estimated 11,000 companies work in the media 

and related software, communications sectors (wider 

than the ‘creative industries’ as defined, p. ) and 

employ 130,000 (www.berlin-partner.de). Making it 

the fourth most important employment area after 

transport, biotech and medicine/health. It is Berlin’s 

image and concentration of knowledge intensive 

industries, supported by its Higher Education/R&D 

base that represents the city’s economic and creative 

potential (Figure 4). 


11

Figure 4. Concentration of ‘knowledge-intensive’ activity 

by location quotients, 2002 (Germany = 1) (Kratke 2004) 


1,82 

Dresden 

2.07 

Leipzig 

1.69 

Hamburg 

0.96 

Munich 

Stuttgart/ 

Esslingen 

1.26 

1.73 


Dusseldorf/ 

Cologne/Essen 

1.24 

1.06 

0.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 

0.50 2.50 

An active media policy PROJECT FUTURE supports 

firms in the media, music and communications 

sectors (www.berlin.de/projekt-zukunft). Over 30% 

of all venture capital flows into these sectors – 43 

of the 270 companies which receive federal equity 

assistance (technology partnership subsidy) are 

based in Berlin. 

Nevertheless, in political economic terms, Berlin is 

a ‘poor’ city. Factors such as extensive investment in 

its infrastructure and the expensive administration 

have increased the budget deficit to an extent that 

Berlin cannot recover without external help. For 

that reason Berlin has opened a legal case about 

formally recognising its financial status (“Extreme 

Haushatsnotlage”) in order to be able to access further 

federal government funding. The capital’s budget 

deficit was approximately €58.6 million at the end 

of 2005 (Sen Fin, 2006). Less than 50% of the city’s 

annual budget is covered by locally generated taxes. 

Furthermore the capital has the lowest GDP in 

Germany (Sen WiArbFrau, 2005b). From a 10.7% 

growth rate in 1992, this declined rapidly to negative 

growth in 1996–1997, only recovering a small growth 

rate of 1.3% in 2004 (versus 2.3% in Germany). 

Berlin, as a city authority, has the right to raise its own 

taxes, but also receives funding from the Federal 

Government (about 30% of its 2006 budget), such 

as allocations under the financial equalization 

arrangements that apply in every state. Federal state 

responsibilities and revenues are currently being 

reviewed in the context of a fundamental federal 

system reform. Cuts in federal funding are therefore 

being considered and are felt to be unavoidable. 

The Senate therefore defines the following barriers 

to economic growth in Berlin: cuts in public spending, 

low national economic growth, and the threat of 

increasing petrol prices, as well as the unstable Euro 

(Sen WiArFrau, 2005b). 

1.5 Tourism 

In terms of visitor activity, the number of national 

tourist arrivals has increased in 2005. Berlin is also 

becoming more attractive for foreign visitors (see 

Table 5). The growth in Berlin is said to be far higher 

than the national average (Berlin Partners, 9/ 2005). 

Table 5. Overnight stays in Berlin, 

2001 and 2004 

Foreign Visitors 2001 2004 

USA 386,639 423,660 

UK 315,552 504,971 

Italian 240,421 369,729 

Netherlands 221,778 369,069 

Denmark 164,473 241,459 

Sweden 143,953 147,895 

France 142,282 204,914 

Japan 114,382 118,716 

China/Hong Kong 42,578 56,082 

Total 3,029,873 4,224,825 

Source: IHK Berlin (2005c) 

12 


As a cultural tourism destination, Berlin is rich in arts, 

heritage and entertainment with its museum island, 

17 national museums, 300 galleries (200 private), the 

Bauhaus Archive, 150 theatres, three opera houses, 

eight orchestras, and the 76,000 seat Olympic 

stadium completed for the 2006 World Cup. 

The number of day-trippers also increased from 2003 

to 2004 by 64%. From a total of 123 million day-trippers 

in 2004, 25.6 million were business travellers (Berlin 

Tourist Board, in Berlin Partners, 10/2005). According 

to a report from the International Congress and 

Convention Association (ICCA) and the Vienna Tourist 

Office, Berlin is the world’s fourth most popular 

city for congresses and trade fairs, after Singapore, 

Barcelona, and Vienna (Berlin Partners, 07–08/2005). 

The German capital already tops the league table 

of venues for medical conferences. In May 2005 the 

city hosted the biggest ever Metropolis Congress, 

including city mayors and five hundred guests from 

80 cities around the world (Berlin Partners, 6/2008). 

Further international events, fairs and conferences 

include the World Cup in 2006, annual ECHO 

CEREMONYS, IFA, POPKOMM 1 , Buch! (Book Fair) 

Berlin, WOMEX Music Fair, ITB Tourism Fair, and an 

international design festival now in its third year, 

Design Mai (see below), and fashion fairs such as: 

Bread & Butter, Premium and Spirit of Fashion. The 

10 day Berlinale is one of the most prestigious film 

festivals, with 40 screens in 13 cinemas and with 

over 13,000 seats, attracting nearly 400,000 ticket 

buyers in 2005 (tickets cost €7 to €11). In 2006 this 

will incorporate the 3rd Turkish Films Week (Turkish 

language films with German subtitles). The first 

Art Biennale held in 1998/9 attracted over 80,000 

visitors, now several times that number attend; 

Berlin also hosts the annual Transmediale festival 

for art and digital culture, now in its 19th year. 

The Berlin Fashion Week held in late-January 

attracted over 60,000 visitors in 2006. In 2009 Berlin 

will host the World Athletics Championships, the 

third largest sporting event after the Olympic Games. 

The €30 million culture programme in the build 

up to and during the 2006 World Cup has featured 

football in Fashion Week and in art galleries – the 

upmarket Martin Gropius-Bau gallery filled with 

football shorts, videos, fan memorabilia and a 

mini-pitch laid out in the main gallery. The World 

Cup promotion is being used to lever a larger image 

campaign, including an exhibition of 70 artists from 

20 countries, a football opera, business campaigns 

and worldwide football road shows, and the first 

ever Olympic-style opening ceremony to the World 

Cup itself. 

1.6 Urban regeneration 

In recent years, economic difficulties, increasing 

poverty, and outward migration of the middle classes 

have caused changes in the social structure of some of 

Berlin’s districts, often worsened by ethnic problems. 

EU Structural Funding 

Berlin has been allocated €1.2 billion between 2000 

and 2006 from European Structural Funds (ERDF). 

The funds are managed by the Senate Department 

for Economy, Labour and Women. Berlin also expects 

further funding from 2007 to 2013. 70% of the 

funding is used for the structural improvement of 

the former eastern half of Berlin (€0.72 billion). 11.5% 

of the funding is used for the economic and social 

transformation of districts with structural problems 

in parts of West Berlin (€ 0.4 billion), whilst 12.3% 

of the funding is used for the modernization of the 

education and vocational training systems and for 

promoting employment parts of West Berlin (€0.19 

billion). 

In addition, the European Union finances Community 

initiatives (small-scale support programmes) such as 

URBAN II (Sen WiArbFrau, 2006) and LEONARDO (see 

Appendix A – Volicity). 

The URBAN II EU Community Initiative supports 

run-down towns and neighbourhoods. The 

current funding programme runs from 2000–2006. 

The programme aims to invigorate local areas 

economically and socially to enable urban development. 

Funding of €20 million is provided 75% by the EU and 

25% by federal and city funding. 

The URBAN II location in Berlin is a 425 hectare 

area around Ostkreuz, situated 5km south of the 

city centre. Comprising 4 neighbourhoods in two 

districts of Lichtenburg and Friedrichshain, these 

include large housing estate of Frankfurter Allee-Sud 

and the area around Weitlingstrasse with a mix of 

pre- and post-first world war tenements. On the 

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg side is the predominantly 

original nineteenth century residential area 

1 Echo rivals the Brit Awards as the music industry’s second most important accolade after the Grammy; 

IFA – is the trade fair for experts in the European and international consumer electronics industry as well 

as increasingly the IT and telecoms sector; POPKOMM – international business and communication platform 

for music and entertainment industries. 


13

including the industrial works in Oberbaumcity 

(see p.30), now a location for media and service 

industries. The population of the targeted areas 

has been falling from 30,000 in the 1990s as young 

families leave due to job losses in manufacturing and 

as quality of life deteriorates. Small enterprises, craft 

and service industries also face competition from 

areas with better infrastructure – 50% of shops in the 

project lay empty (Appendix A). 

Neighbourhood management 

In 1999, the Berlin government, in co-operation 

with the boroughs, defined 15 ‘areas with special 

development needs’. In 2001, two more areas were 

added. In order to achieve a lasting improvement 

and to contribute to their stabilization, it was decided 

to implement Neighbourhood Management (NM) 

initiatives (Quatiersmanagement) in each area. This 

was done within the framework of the programme 

The Socially Integrative City (Soziale Stadt) initiated 

by the federal government and the governments of 

the federal states of Germany in 1999. 

Initially, the pilot scheme was intended to run for 

three years, then extended for two more years. These 

17 neighbourhoods contain 227,000 people. The 

numbers of residents in each neighbourhood range 

between about 4,500 and 24,000 people. 

The following fields of action were defined. 

• Employment and training 

• Local business 

• Integration of diverse social and ethnic groups 

• Caring for residential areas 

• Social infrastructure – schools, children, young 

people, senior citizens, and families 

• Urban culture 

• Health promotion and special needs 

• Encouraging public participation 

Additional Neighbourhood Funds (Aktionsfonds) are 

available. These funds provide each neighbourhood 

with a maximum of €500,000 per annum to provide 

frontline support for local projects. Local people 

manage the funds. Residents and initiatives from the 

neighbourhood can apply for funding. The initiative 

is said to be inspired by initiatives in London, UK (e.g. 

New Deal for Communities – Senate, 2004). 

From 1999 to 2003 approximately 2000 projects had 

been established in Berlin. (Senate 2004a) Many of 

these district projects focus on developing creative 

potential, establishing and strengthening a sense of 

identity and on closely-related image improvement, 

participation, learning and communication. 

Although culture is not seen as a panacea to eliminate 

social deprivation, it is often in disadvantaged 

neighbourhoods that social problems manifest 

themselves culturally. In this respect, cultural 

initiatives have assumed an informal educational 

function at neighbourhood level 2 . 

Art and cultural projects are also seen to be capable 

of integrating hard-to-reach groups (particularly 

new migrants) into the district development process. 

This is because the projects do not require language 

skills or high levels of education, but more the ability 

to get involved in something new, to take practical 

action and to stretch imaginations and creative 

abilities. Addressing individual population-groups 

face-to-face and arranging cultural activities to fit 

in with daily routines appears to have been the most 

successful method to spur community involvement 2 . 

Strategies encouraging district culture in 

Neighbourhood Management areas are therefore 

aimed at weaving art and culture into the fabric of 

the local communities, creating opportunities to 

identify with the programme areas, improving image 

– casting the districts in a new light by launching 

cultural initiatives, changing accepted perceptions 

and inspiring new modes of learning and expression, 

along with establishing and expanding cultural 

networks. The projects and initiatives commonly 

rely on productive tasking, i.e. an emphasis on 

participation and DIY. Examples of supported 

neighbourhood projects are summarised under 

Appendix A – Projects and Initiatives, below. 

According to the Senate the Neighbourhood 

Management initiative has reduced the number 

of pupils dropping-out and improved individual 

achievements in school in these areas. The number 

of social aid recipients has also declined, while the 

number of jobseekers entering the labor market 

increased here. Not only the quality of life and the 

perceived feeling of security in the participating 

areas have increased, but the number of recorded 

crimes also declined (Senate, 2004). 

2 http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/wohnen/quartiersmanagement/index_en.shtml 

14 


2. Creative industries 

Berlin has become the first German city to be appointed a City of Design 

by UNESCO. The organisation describes Berlin as an interface for and 

intersection between a variety of cultures, lifestyles, and traditions, 

making it an attractive location for imaginative minds and “a breeding 

ground for creative ideas” (UNESCO, 2006). 

2.1 Creative economy 

The award follows approximately six months after the 

city’s first Creative Industries in Berlin report was 

published (May 2005) that has inspired dialogues 

and discussions about the Creative Industries. The 

term is used to describe the cultural business sector 

and its relevance for Berlin. It was the first step to 

review the Creative Industries in Berlin in depth. 

An earlier national report had highlighted that Culture 

was an important factor in improving Berlin’s 

image in the world and in supporting economic 

growth in the capital (DWI, 2002). Berlin’s creative 

economy is estimated to account for 3.6% of 

Germany’s GDP (with Hamburg having the highest 

proportion of ‘cultural goods production’ of all German 

cities: 1.7% of GDP compared with 1.3% German 

average). The Enquete Commission of the House of 

Representatives in Berlin 3 drew the same conclusion 

in its May 2005 report and recommended that the 

Federal State of Berlin acknowledges the potential 

of the Creative Industries and of creativity as a major 

production factor in boosting economic growth. It 

suggests focusing on the development of a cultural 

cluster for Berlin as there is already evidence of creative 

clustering, but the report also came to the conclusion 

that more robust data about the Creative Industries 

is required. 

2.2 Creative enterprise and 

employment 

The Senate Department for Science, Research 

and Culture published in the same month its first 

joint report on the Creative Industries in Berlin, 

together with the Senate Department for Economy, 

Labour and Women. According to Tanja Mühlhans, 

Coordinator Creative Industries Initiative in the 

Senate’s Department for Economics, Labour and 

Women´s Issues, a second report is planned for 

2007/8. (communication with T.Mühlhans, 2006) 

For the purposes of this Senate review, the term 

Creative Industries refers to the following sectors: 

Art Market, Literature, Print and Publishing, 

Architecture, Advertising, Audiovisual Sector, 

Software and Telecommunications, Music Sector, 

Performing Arts and Entertainment (Appendix B). 

The enterprise and employment figures in the report 

conform to the NACE Classifications (Classification 

of Economic Activities in the European Union 

– Appendix B). The report is based on statistical data 

for the period 1998–2002 (updated to 2003, StaLA 

Berlin, 2006), and draws the following findings. 

In Berlin, more than 80,000 people are said to 

currently working in the different segments of the 

Creative Industries sector, which corresponds to 

3 The Commission includes representatives of all parties, and aims to formulate a position paper that reflects social trends 

Berlin Case Study/part two 

15

approximately 8% of all gainfully employed people 

who are subject to social insurance contributions 

in Berlin (Table 6). This does not include a significant 

number of artists, designers and sole traders in creative 

occupations, because they either have an annual 

turnover of less then €16,617 (c.£10,000) or are not 

registered under a compulsory legal insurance/ 

pension scheme (Kuenstlerkrankenkasse). 

Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 economically active 

freelance/self-employed are estimated to work in 

the creative industries, which are not reflected in 

the ‘official’ data. For instance, an estimated 20,000 

professional/semi-professional musicians, and many 

freelance performers and audio-visual specialists 

(Kratke, 2004). 

Figure 5. Artists in Berlin, 2000 to 2004 

With a share of 5.8% – in relation to the overall 

population – Berlin has the highest density of 

freelance artists in Germany. The number of individual 

artists in Berlin is said to have risen by more than 

40% since 2000 (Figure 5). Additional secondary data 

indicates that sole traders working in advertising 

rose from 22.5% to 27% between 1991 and 1997. 

Between 1998 and 2002, employment rose by more 

than 7% with variations between individual sub-sectors, 

e.g. media and advertising grew by 8.5% p.a. as Berlin 

established itself as an international media hub 

(Kratke, 2004). 

25000 

20000 

15000 

15.158 

16.417 

18.010 

19.637 

21.194 

10000 

5000 

0 

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 

Source: Sen WiArFrau/WiFoKunst (2005) 

Table 6. Creative enterprises in Berlin 4 (2003) 

Sector Number of Companies Number of Employees % Change 2002–03 

Print Market and 

Literature 

4,532 18,327 – 7.5 

Audio-Visual, Film & TV 1,702 12,618 – 4 

Software and 

Telecommunications 

2,256 16,822 – 8.7 

Music Sector 1,379 5,717 + 0.5 

Art Market 4,651 13,151 – 7.5 

Advertising 1,806 5,943 – 6.5 

Architecture 2,742 6,682 – 8.7 

Performing Arts 1,061 5,084 – 5.7 

Total Number 20,129 84,344 – 6.6 

Source: StaLA Berlin (2006) 

4 Umstatzsteuer Statistik der Jahre 1998–2002, includes all enterprises with an annual minimum turnover of €16,616 (c.£10k) 

16 

Berlin Case Study/part two

The number of people working the Creative Industry 

segments indicates that the Creative Industries 

sector is an important part of Berlin’s labour market. 

The city’s more than 20,000 Creative Industries 

companies (Table 6) have a sales volume of nearly 

€8 billion, which represents an 11% share of Berlin’s 

GDP Table 7). Overall, the average size of the 20,000 

registered companies is 4.8 people per company. 

The large number of design studios and freelance 

artist explains the strong position of the Art Market 

(which includes jewellery, fashion and textile design 

and manufacture). However, most of the Creative 

Industries are micro-enterprises – an estimated 50% 

of creative businesses in 2000 (Gdaniec, 2000) were 

individuals. It is estimated that over 85% of the 1,200 

design firms are 1 to 3 person enterprises with less 

than €15,000 in annual turnover (Lange, 2005) and 

henceforth not included in the ‘official data’, above. 

Table 7. Gross Sales by Creative Industry Sector (2003) 

Sector Sales in €000s € Sales per Employee Revenue Share of 

Berlin’s CI Sector 

Literature, Print, and 

Publishing 

1,916,580 104,576 23.9 

Audio-Visual, Film & TV 1,417,402 112,332 17.8 

Art Market 1,158,732 68,882 14.5 

Software and 

Telecommunications 

1,137,512 198,970 14.3 

Music Sector 1,014,142 77,115 12.7 

Advertising 655,845 110,355 8.2 

Architecture and Cultural 

Heritage 

Performing Arts and 

Entertainment 

445,064 66,606 5.6 

224,027 44,065 2.8 

Total Sales € 7,969,304 € 94,485 100% 

Source: StaLA Berlin (2006) 

Table 8. Dependency on Public Funding 

The Senate also highlights that the Creative Industries 

in Berlin increasingly rely on private funding, as 

public funding is decreasing, see Table 8 below. 

Sector 

Dependency on 

Public spending 2000 

GA** Funding in €000s 

2003 

Literature, Print, and Publishing Low 10,945 6,743 

Audiovisual Sector Average 24,996 6,092 

Art Market Low 1,207 201 

Software and Telecommunications Low 8,356 7,154 

Music Sector Average 2,714 740 

Advertising Low 3,948 1,914 

Architecture and Cultural Heritage High 1,813 589 

Performing Arts and Entertainment High N/A N/A 

** “For the improvement of regional Economic structures” (GA) 

Source: Sen WiArFrau/WiFoKunst (2005) 


17

The sales income of the Creative Industries in Berlin 

also grew, by 6% between 1998 and 2003 (Table 7). 

The highest growth rates are found in Literature/ 

Print/Publishing, Audio-Visual, Art Market, and in 

Software and Telecommunications. The combined 

sales of these sectors corresponds to 72% of total 

sales in Berlin’s Creative Industries. Sales/GVA per 

employee are comparatively high, with an average 

of €89k (versus €68k in London = £41,000). The 

highest value production sectors are Software & 

Communication, Audio-Visual, Advertising, as well 

as Print & Publishing. 

As a metropolitan area and city-region, Berlin is 

said to benefit from the high population density and 

catchment, and economic processes that favour the 

emergence of creative environments and centres. 

The Senate report identified already visible Creative 

Industries clusters in the east part of Berlin, such 

as Berlin-Mitte (Art Market) and Oberbaumbruecke 

(Music Sector). The Music and related Club scene 

draws on a large number of musicians, DJs, sound 

and video technicians and promoters (over 200 clubs) 

with 70 recording studios and 600 record labels. The 

MTV Music Award ceremony held in the city from the 

late-1990s also established Berlin on the global pop 

music Scene. 

The following analysis is taken from the report of 

the DIW on the Creative Industries in Berlin, and the 

Cultural Index for Autumn 2005 – both published in 

November 2005, further to the CI report of the Senate 

outlined above. The German Institute for Economic 

Research (DIW) published additional employment 

data in Autumn 2005 for the following sub-sectors: 

News/Journalists, Advertising, Film Industry, IT/ 

Multimedia, Publishing, Radio & TV, and Libraries/ 

Museums/ Archives. The DIW is one of the leading 

research institutes in Germany. DIW Berlin was 

originally founded in 1925 as the Institute for 

Business Cycle Research and was later renamed the 

German Institute for Economic Research. It is an 

independent, non-profit academic institution which 

is involved in basic research and policy advice. More 

than half of the Institute’s budget is derived from 

public grants, which DIW Berlin receives as research 

funding equally from the City of Berlin and the 

Federal Government. 

The DIW definition of the Creative Industries 

reflects only 86% of the sub-sectors analysed in the 

Senate’s earlier report. However the DIW agrees that 

the creative industries are an important part of the 

labour market (DIW, 2005). 

Figure 6. Employment Change (%) in Berlin’s Creative Industries 

Compared to Federal and other metropolitan areas 1998–2004 

News/Journalists 

Advertisment 

Film 

Software/ 

Multimedia 

All CI Sectors 

Publishers 

Publishers 

National 

Why is 

Publishers 

mentioned 

twice? 

This is 

in the 

base 

material 

Other Urban Areas 

All Sectors 

Other CI 

Libraries, 

Museen 

-4 -2 -1 0 

-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 

Source: DIW (2005) 

18 Berlin Case Study/part two

In terms of employment in Berlin, the DIW suggest 

that the strongest growing Creative Industries sectors 

from 1998 to 2004 were Correspondents and 

News/Freelance Journalists; Film; Advertising and 

Software. Radio & TV grew at a rate equal to the 

national average. In contrast, the employment 

rate in Publishing decreased although less so than 

the national average. In contrast, publicly-funded 

cultural organisations had to cut back and the 

employment rates for Libraries & Museums dropped 

to less than the national average. 

The number of creative enterprises in Berlin is 

relativey high, in part due to a high level of freelance, 

young and small enterprises, especially in the audiovisual 

sector (music, film, radio and TV). No further 

details about these sectors and the number of 

enterprises were available from this report. The 

importance of small businesses for the image of 

Berlin and the employment growth are however 

highlighted by the DIW. 

In terms of the annual turnover of Creative Industries 

in Berlin, the strongest growing sectors between 

1998 and 2003 were Correspondents & News 

Agents/Freelance Journalists; Film; Advertising; 

and Software. Growth in Radio & TV slowed down, 

however it still grew by more than the national 

average. The annual sales growth rate in Publishing 

dropped significantly below the national average. 

The DIW report also highlighted that public spending 

cuts trigger job losses in public and publicly-funded 

organisations such as Museums and Libraries. 

Berlin Case Study/part two 19

The DIW did not highlight particular Creative 

Industries clusters but suggested that where many 

artists live, creative enterprises are also located (see 

Figure 3). It is furthermore suggested that 25% of 

creative enterprises are located in Prenzlauer Berg, 

Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, and Mitte districts. One 

reason given is that renting property in these areas 

has been cheaper than in so-called prestige areas in 

West Berlin such as Kurfuerstendamm (DIW, 2005). 

In November 2005, the IHK Cultural Index was 

published. It provides data on how CI enterprises 

(who are members of IHK) assess their situation, and 

how the situation of creative industries has changed 

over time. The results of the most recent report, 

recording change between May and November 

2005, suggest that private cultural enterprises and 

organisations look more optimistically on the future 

than public institutions. 

2.3 Creative clusters 

The media and related cluster is evident in inner East 

Berlin, with multimedia firms co-locating at building 

and street level (e.g. Chausee-Street, ‘Silicon Allee’). 

This ‘eco-system’ can generate cross-fertilisation 

across the creative production/value chain, creating 

what Kratke coins, a “space of opportunities” 

(2004: 518). 

Table 9. Cultural Index (Business Confidence), November 2005 

Sector Overall Individual 

Museums 53 (+5) 58 (+5) 

Galleries/Auction Houses 65 (+8) 66 (-1) 

Performing Arts 41 (+7) 55 (+/- 0) 

Orchestra/Music 28 (-6) 50 (+/- 0) 

Cultural Institutes etc. 42 (+5) 42 (-3) 

Libraries 35 (+1) 49 (+4) 

Publishers (Book) 44 (+4) 49 (+3) 

Music Industries 60 (+13) 61 (+7) 

Live-Entertainment (e.g. Cabaret) 31 (+/- 0) 40 (+2) 

Overall 43 53 

Non-profit sector 50 (+2) 56 (-1) 

Profit sector 43 (+1) 53 (+5) 

Data as at November 2005 – change from May 2005 

Scale 0-100: 50+ positive, 50- negative 

Number of questionnaires returned from profit sector: 39 

Number of questionnaires returned from non-profit sector: 45 

Source: www.ikm.fu.de/kulturindex (11/2005) 

20 Berlin Case Study/part two

Berlin aims to become Germany’s media metropolis. 

Leading companies in the communication and 

media sector are relocating to the German capital. 

For many young and creative media experts Berlin 

is the sought after location. Berlin’s largest media 

location, the MEDIACITY Adlershof, is playing an 

increasingly important role in this cluster – see 

Projects & Initiatives (Appendix A). The city-region’s 

media cluster is evident from Figure 8, with larger 

and smaller firms concentrated in inner urban 

area districts. 

Table 10. Film industry in Berlin/ 

Brandenburg (1997) 

Activity 

Duplication of 

recorded film 

Production of technical 

photo, projection and 

cinema equipment 

Film & Video 

production 

Film & Video 

programme-making 

Production of TV & 

Radio programmes 

Self-employed stage, 

film and TV artists 

No. of 

firms 

% Turnover 

DM 000s 

% 

17 11.6 26 14.5 

10 3.6 62 1.8 

815 20 1,138 12.8 

131 6.5 117 5.3 

39 17.6 48 1.7 

946 16.9 136 14.5 

Total 1,958 15.9 1,529 8.3 

City Regional Film/TV 

The Film/TV production cluster is also evident at 

a regional scale in Berlin and in the surrounding 

Brandenburg region. Whilst Berlin had 11% of 

German film companies – second only to Munich 

with 13.2% – and 13.4% of employment, its national 

share of turnover was only 7.9% compared with 

42.8% in Munich and 19.8% in Hamburg. In the 

city-region (Berlin/Brandenburg) however, nearly 

16% of German firms are located, with a high 

concentration of film & video production, film/TV 

programme-making and in consequence supporting 

a self-employed artists and crafts community. 

Unlike other regional centres, this region does not 

host a major TV station. The majority of media 

companies in the wider region are located in 

Potsdam/Babelsburg – with Union Film, and Studio 

Babelsburg having been a film and production 

location since 1912. 

The number of staff employed in this media city in 

1999 were estimated to be 1,500 in 125 companies. 

These city and regional clusters therefore support 

a range of production activity and employment with 

strong national and international networks and 

communication links (Kratze 2002). Investment 

capital in film development has flowed into the area 

from public and private sources, e.g. Filmboard Film 

Fund, Sony Fund, and the Berlin Film Festival. 

Source: German VAT data, in Kratke (2002) 


21

Advertising 

Another sector growing in Berlin is the highly 

competitive advertising industry. With continued 

competition from Hamburg and Munich, Berlin 

has seen employment growth particularly since 

1997. This is evident in both SMEs and larger firms 

employing over 100 people (Table 11). Creative 

occupations within this sector were however lower 

in Berlin than other cities, with 33% of employees 

engaged in creative activities compared with 45% in 

Hamburg and 42% in Munich, Rhine and Rhine-Main. 

Table 11. Percentage of Advertising 

Employment by Firm Size (2001) 

No. of employees 


% 

Metropolitan 

Regions % 

1 to 9 29.52 25.35 

10 to 19 13.87 14.34 

The district of Mitte is part of the borough of Mitte 

(SPD party). It hosts the majority of new government 

buildings, many administrative buildings of Berlin 

and many museums and theatres. Henceforth 

the district has to cope with enormous amount of 

tourism and people who come in to work or consume 

entertainment. Mitte has 320,800 inhabitants of 

which 28% are not German nationals. 13.2% receive 

social aid, and the average income per household 

is €1275. Approximately 73.4 % of the residents are 

aged 15 to 65. 

Example: Innovative Centre in Berlin Borough of Mitte 

Spandauer Vorstadt 

Internet: www.mitte-spandauer-vorstadt.de 

Accomodates galleries and exhibition centres such as C/O 

Berlin (www.co-berlin.com) 

• Re-developed old industrial building in Berlin-Mitte 

to Exhibition Centre 

• Exhibiting artist include James Nachtwey, Rene’ Burri, 

Margaret Bourke-White, and Anton Corbijn 

20 to 49 15.14 20.92 

50 to 49 15.19 14.88 

100 to 499 26.28 20.80 

>499 – 3.70 

Source: Thiel (2005) 

Local clusters 

In terms of developing a specific economic cluster 

as suggested by the Enquete Commission, the May 

and November 2005 CI reports agree that creative 

industry clusters are also evident in parts of Pankow 

(Prenzlauer Berg), Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and 

Mitte districts (see Map – p.3). These boroughs 

include housing areas that had been deprived and 

empty for decades after World War II. The areas 

in East Berlin became breeding grounds for nonconformists 

– critics of the East German regime 

– left-intellectual-alternative, sub-cultural and 

bourgeoise-humanistic groups. After the fall of the 

Wall these groups stayed. They were soon joined 

by newcomers – from West Berlin, elsewhere in 

Germany and beyond – who saw in the available 

and cheap living and commercial places, spaces for 

realising new ideas and lifestyles. Both groups, often 

well-educated, are said to account for the alternative 

atmosphere and Berlin ‘scene’ (Lange 2005) and 

creative spirit in these areas (Vogt 2005). 

The district of Prenzlauer Berg is part of the 

borough of Pankow (PDS party). The district is 

said to have replaced Kreuzberg as the trendy 

residential district, in which many artists live, work 

and galleries and bars co-exist. It accommodates 

the main shopping areas, transport arteries and 

social-cultural centres at or around Kastanienallee, 

Kollwitzplatz and Schoenhauser Allee/Danziger 

Strasse. Approximately 350,500 residents live in the 

borough of Pankow (including Prenzlauer Berg). 

Approximately 6.4% of people who live in Pankow 

hold another nationality than German. 5.2% of 

residents receive social aid, with an average income 

per household of €1400. Approximately 74.3 % are 

aged 15 to 65. 

Example: Innovative Centre in Berlin Borough of Pankow 

Kulturbrauerei 

Internet: www.kulturbrauerei-berlin.de 

• 25.000 m_ former Schultheiss-Brauerei (Brewery) 

• Approximately 20.000 visitors per weekend 

• Offers a variety of cultural events 

Together, Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are promoted 

by their districts as the cultural centre of Berlin, with 

13,000 said to be working in the creative and cultural 

industries. Mitte operates an advisory Kulturburo 

and workspace programme. 

22 

Berlin Case Study/part two

In contrast, Kreuzberg had been the cultural centre 

of West Berlin, but now struggles with social and 

economic problems. Kreuzberg is part of the borough 

of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (PDS party). Kreuzberg’s 

major social-cultural centres and shopping areas are 

Kottbusser Tor, Mehringdamm, and Schlesisches Tor. 

However, after the fall of the Wall, Kreuzberg had to 

cope with significant spending cuts, because urban 

regeneration funds were redistributed to districts which 

by that time where in greater need of funding, e.g. 

Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain (Gdaniec 2000). 

Kreuzberg therefore found itself the centre of 

a unified Berlin with hopes that the ‘rich mix’ 

would coexist and flourish, but also fearing that 

gentrification and displacement by upmarket 

incomers would threaten this balance. In practice 

neither have occurred and the area now suffers 

from inter-community conflicts with the exodus of 

German and Turkish middle classes, leaving poorer, 

older residual resident groups. New migrants are 

more excluded and at risk with little chance of 

labour market participation. They include families 

of Turkish settlers, refugees from Bosnia and Kosovo, 

Arab, Kurdish and Lebanese refugees, asylum seekers 

and ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe. In the 

Kottbusser Tor (gate) neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, 

an estimated 80% are not of German origin, with 

55% foreign nationals. Unemployment is 23–26% in 

some neighbourhoods (versus an average of 19% in 

Berlin) with the proportion of under-18 years olds 

reaching 33%, double the city average. 

After merging with the borough of Friedrichshain, 

Kreuzberg now benefits from the development of 

Friedrichshain (e.g. OberbaumCity). The borough of 

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg accommodates 258,500 

inhabitants of which 23% are not German nationals. 

13% receive social aid, with an average income per 

household of €1200. Approximately 77% are aged 

15 to 65. 

Example: Innovative Centre in Berlin Borough 


OberbaumCity 

www.operbaum-city.de 

• 46,000 m 2 

• International Design Centre 

• Companies in the creative services sector and ICT industry 

Several of the neighbourhood management cultural 

projects are located in the Kreuzberg district, 

including an ‘empty shop’ project (see Appendix A 

– Projects and Initiatives) and an annual Rap Festival. 


23

3. Creative industries strategy 

In December 2005 Berlin hosted the second 

annual Conference of Creative Industries for 

representatives of Creative Industries sectors in 

Germany. The conference organisers referred to the 

Senate department’s Creative Industries report as 

a document that serves to map and describe the 

creative economy and to create a basis for wellfounded 

analyses and broad discussions. However, 

the process of understanding the creative industries 

and its synergies in Berlin is seen as still at its very 

Table 12. Success Factors by Creative Sectors 

Success Factors 

City funds for 

projects 

High density 

of public 

educational 

facilities 

High density 

of specialists/ 

freelancer 

International 

relevant events 

High density of 

clients/firms 

Private 

Funding (e.g. 

foundations) 

Creative industry 

networks 

Access to 

infrastructure 

(space, ICT, 

transport) 

Art 

Market 

Literature, 

Print & Pub. 

Architecture 

& Cultural 

Heritage 

Advertising 

Audio 

Visual 

Software 

& Telecoms 

Music 

Performing 

Arts & Ents 

Total 

Score 

• • • • • • • • 8 

• • – • • • • • 7 

• • – – • • • • 6 

• – • • • – – – 4 

– • • – – • – – 3 

– – – – • – • • 3 

– • – • – • 3 

• – – – – – • – 2 

Capital bonus – • – • – – – – 2 

International 

market 

Inter/National 

Visitors 

City Funds for 

individuals 

National or 

European funds 

Public-Private 

funds 

• – – – – – • – 2 

– – • – – • – – 2 

• – – – – • – – 2 

– – • – • – – – 2 

• – • – – – – – 2 

Regional market • – – – – – – – 1 

Total score 9 6 6 5 6 6 7 4 49 

24 

Berlin Case Study/part three 

Source: Content Analysis – Kulturwirtschaftsbericht (2005)

eginning. In contrast, the federal state of North 

Rhine Westphalia published its first “Creative 

Industries Report” as long ago as 1990, and thus 

has established a more robust basis and data for 

policy and political strategies (Fesel, 2005). 

3.1 Strength and weaknesses 

In terms of strengths, the Senate report suggests 

that all of the eight Creative Industries sectors 

benefit from regional public funding (largely 

project-based), while seven out of eight profit 

from the high concentration of public educational 

facilities, and six out of eight from the high number 

of specialists/freelance workers. 

For half of all creative industries sectors, international 

events are considered relevant to them. For a minority 

of creative sectors other factors such as – clustering 

of clients, private funding, and access to essential 

hardware, the ‘capital bonus’, international regional 

markets, national/international visitors, regional 

public funding of individuals, and national/European 

funding, as well as creative industry networks 

– are also rated as important in creative industry 

development (Table 12). 

In terms of weaknesses, Berlin’s creative industries 

are said to involve an essential number of small 

businesses, which are more likely to struggle with 

funding and management deficits. The Senate also 

notes a lack of marketing expertise, which is said to 

result in the under-exploitation of export potential 

and a low degree of internationalization of the sector. 

Only a small fraction of sales income is said to be 

achieved in foreign markets, although there is a 

widespread willingness to venture into new markets 

outside of Germany. In addition, access to funding 

is below-average due to a lack of knowledge about 

financing tools and options. 

Having identified strengths and weaknesses, 

the Senate define the following actions. 

• Understanding the creative industries as an 

important economic sector and raising awareness 

among institutions and decision-makers by giving 

information on activities and on funding levels 

• Creating networks within the creative industries 

sectors as well as international networks, e.g. 

focusing on development of specific clusters 

in certain areas 

• Improving the general conditions for creative 

industries by providing affordable office space and 

by establishing start-up centres for companies, 

e.g. making public space available (interim or 

long term) 

• Supporting creative industries’ marketing 

activities outside of Berlin by co-funding of joint 

stands at internationally relevant trade fairs 

• Giving more advice to young entrepreneurs 

by re-orienting the trade fair for start-ups 

and entrepreneurs, to creative industries, and by 

strengthening the focus of business plan 

competition on CI start-ups 

• Promoting infrastructure projects, especially 

information and B2B-platforms, in order to give 

support to the CI sector, for example providing 

Internet-based platforms for the music and 

design sector 

• Enhancing the marketing of creative industries 

offer to tourists, by co-funding a comprehensive 

design and fashion-shopping guide and starting 

systematic research on participation of tourists 

in CI events 

Many of these actions are said to have already 

entered the implementation stage such as cofunding 

of joint stands in international exhibitions/ 

events in Milan and Tokyo and additional startup 

centres (due to open in 2007). The Media 

and Creative Industries units in the Senate 

Department for Economy, Labour and Women are 

responsible for implementing these developments. 

However, additional champions include the 

Senate Department for Science, Research and 

Culture and Berlin’s marketing institutions such 

as Berlin Partners and Berlin Tourism Marketing 

(communication with T.Mühlhans, 2006). However 

it is also recognised that the measures will only 

succeed if the general conditions in Berlin are 

improved for creative industries and if all players and 

stakeholders coordinate. 

The results of the indicative Cultural Index survey 

(November 2005) suggest that only 26% of 

enterprises knew of the May 2005 report on Creative 

Industries, although a majority agreed with the 

planned actions. As part of this Creative Spaces case 

study and in order to supplement the 2005 study tour 

interviews and triangulate Senate and institutional 

reports, we undertook interviews between 

Berlin Case Study/part three 25

December 2005 and March 2006 of a sample of seven 

businesses across several creative sectors as defined 

above 5 . These were also validated through interviews 

with local intermediaries who have undertaken 

in depth research into cultural enterprises and 

intermediaries in Berlin since 2000. This found 

the following: 

In terms of the capital bonus – Berlin is considered 

to be an interesting location because it is the capital 

of Germany, a metropolis. 

High density of specialists/freelancers – only 

one person believed that London might be a better 

location for recruitment. The majority believe that 

Berlin is a good location for recruitment. However 

one interviewee mentioned that he has problems 

recruiting skilled creative workers. 

High density of clients/firms – Berlin is certainly 

seen as a place to meet clients. However, IT-related 

firms highlighted better options in south, southwest 

Germany to reach clients. Worldwide locations 

such as New York, Paris and London are considered 

attractive locations for their business. Comments 

about access to regional or international markets are 

usually linked with Tourism and the visitor economy. 

High density of public educational facilities 

– only one interviewee highlighted the presence of 

many students and the business from this creative 

and market potential. 

Only one enterprise linked Berlin’s attractiveness for 

its business with internationally relevant events. 

Federal State funds or Public-Private Partnerships 

are not really seen as factors for a company to locate 

in Berlin. Only one enterprise highlighted the fact 

that it is publicly funded. Others stated that they 

have tried hard to get enough money to start their 

business. One is however optimistic about income 

from the private sector. 

In only a few cases, interviewees stated that their main 

suppliers and partners were from outside of the city, 

however, enterprises usually had their partners and 

potential partners based in Berlin. 

Easy access to essential hardware is one of the 

most cited factors for enterprises to locate in Berlin. 

Every interviewee said that they had excellent access 

to public transport, is satisfied with office space/ 

price and positively assesses price and quality of the 

telecommunications network. Few assumptions 

were made about better telecommunications 

infrastructure in London or New York. In contrast, 

interviewees believed that Berlin is a prime 

competitor on the national, European and 

international level. 

A number of comments highlighted Berlin’s good 

reputation and the people who are living in the 

city, the ‘creative milieu’, as essential factors for 

them and other CI companies to locate in Berlin. 

Most comments about the need for improvement 

are related to the fields in which the Senate 

recommends action. 

In terms of awareness and understanding of the 

creative industries as an important economic 

sector, few interviewees complained that they felt 

neglected and that they wished the Senate would 

support and understand their enterprise. One 

interviewee suggested that local culture should 

be part of the school curriculum to attract the new 

generation of clients. 

In terms of networks within the CIs, only one 

interviewee supported the development of a network 

of Creative Industries sectors in Berlin and Poland. 

Few comments were made supporting CIs’ 

marketing activities outside of Berlin. 

The majority of comments agreed with the 

recommendations to give more advice to young 

entrepreneurs. All enterprises were relatively 

young, and have experienced the same problems 

e.g. lack of knowledge (company law etc.), confusion 

by administrative bureaucracy, and the lack of high 

quality consultancy for start-ups. 

Few commented on enhancing marketing of CI 

offers to tourists. Those who did asked for more 

tourists and for opportunities to get the attention 

of tourists. 

Asked for their comment about the human 

characteristics of Berlin, all said that Berlin has two 

personalities. The first is usually related to a slow 

moody civil servant, has no money, uncomfortable 

etc. The other character is full of life, charming and 

very efficient. 

Overall, the interviewees agreed with the action 

points the Senate defined in their 2005 CI report and 

reflect the aforementioned revenue/economic and 

demographic trends, e.g. Berlin is a liberal, young city 

but suffers from the budget deficit and associated 

structural issues. 

5 Selection criteria – annual turnover of €16.617 or above (Senate cut-off for inclusion in CI employment data), 

interviewee owner and/or management position. 20–30 minute interview in German 

26 

Berlin Case Study/part three

4. Success factors 

The foregoing case study describes and reports on the state of the 

creative industries in Berlin and the social, economic and political 

contexts. Key growth and sectoral trends, and strengths and weaknesses, 

have also been noted. Emerging strategies and support structures have 

been highlighted, and examples of projects, initiatives and interventions 

have been summarised below (Appendix A). 

4.1 Lessons from Berlin 

These, together with a thematic grouping of good/ 

best practice, will be used as the basis for the Lessons 

Learned report arising from the Creative Spaces study. 

Key lessons emerging from Berlin can be summarised 

here. 

1. Low entry/set-up costs and barriers – cheap, 

accessible space for working, performing 

exhibiting and living 

2. High concentration and magnet for 

independent freelance performing and visual 

artists and designers, advertising, film/media and 

health science specialists 

3. International club/music, art market and 

design ‘scenes’ Culturpreneurs, and conditions 

for growth – e.g. Club Commission, venues for 

production and performance, artists residencies 

(e.g. Bethanien – below) 

4. East-West – trade, cultural exchange/investment, 

language (Russian) 

5. Productivity – high GVA/sales per employee 

6. Local urban district culture – district autonomy 

with federal/city support (see Projects below) 

7. Multi-clusters in advertising/multimedia/film 

TV, artists/galleries and music/clubs – e.g. 

Babelsberg, city cultural quarters 

8. City-Region (Berlin-Brandenburg) growth 

strategy – Berlin Partners agency, film/TV studios, 

design (Potsdam), city-region clusters/networks 

9. Industrial buildings/heritage – vacant/under-used, 

large-scale inner and outer city, artists re-use 

and residencies 

10. Education/HE – cheap/free, highly educated 

skilled, critical mass of HE/R&D, notably Science 

& Technology: biotech, medical/health ‘villages’, 

media city – e.g. Adlershof (see Projects below) 

11. Cultural and Convention Tourism 

– international events, arts and entertainment, 

low cost airlines, transport infrastructure. Berlin 

‘Entertainment Capital’ (2003), ‘City of Museums’ 

(2004), relaunched ‘Love Parade’ and World 

Cup (2006) 

Structural weaknesses are also apparent, notably 

the city’s budget deficit (and requisite expenditure 

cuts), unemployment/worklessness (but also labour 

pool/skills), a lack of faith/trust in politicians (re. 

deficit, property speculation/corruption), social and 

ethnic problems (neighbourhoods, migrants), middle 

class flight creating a ‘divided city’, as well as the 

German federal system and competition from other 

city/lander. 

Berlin Case Study/part four 27

The lack of both a strategic policy framework for 

the city as a whole and an integrated city plan, is 

also evident. This is in contrast with other creative 

cities which are using strategic planning to prioritise 

development and creative clusters (e.g. Barcelona 

and London creative hubs and regeneration zones). 

Several of these socio-economic problems are also 

potential strengths, although the ability of policy-led 

intervention to influence economic development has 

been limited in the past. Because of the organic (and 

international) nature of Berlin’s creative economy, 

the evaluation of ‘success’ and measurement is 

problematic. This does not mean however that 

lessons are not valid and transferable elsewhere. 

Berlin has distinct and tangible competitive 

advantages, and a strong ‘creative cachet’ especially 

in visual arts, design and film, and in its music/club 

scene, however it is expected that it will take another 

five to ten years for the city to ‘settle down’ and for 

its creative city role and status to become more 

embedded and mature (ref. Phase I Report: www. 

creativelondon.org). 

28 

Berlin Case Study/part five

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30 

Berlin Case Study/part five

Appendix A – Projects and initiatives 

Higher Education and R&D 

• Adlershof – Eagle Yard Media & Science City 

Business enterprise support 

• Berlin partners 

Incubation and showcasing 

• Künstlerhaus Bethanien 

• Design Mai (May International Design Fair) 

Architecture and cultural heritage 

• Shrinking cities 

Urban district culture 

• Art and culture for empty shops project 

• Bringing art into the neighbourhoods 

• Street Art 

• TRO Artists’ Group (Raptures of the Deep – East) 

• Brochure on the history of the neighbourhood 

Youth training and diversity 

• Volicity 

Art market 

• Art.Net 

Higher Education & R&D 

Adlershof and Eagle Yard Media & Science City 

www.adlershof.de 

MediaCity Adlershof comprises 20 hectares of production 

facilities, hosting over 130 companies, and 1600 

staff/800 freelance workers. Developed at a capital 

cost of €7.5m, and an additional €25m for new 

production facilities, Adlershof is also the hub 

for Eagle Yard – a science, research and industry 

innovation and production centre. Humboldt 

University relocated its science departments there 

between 1998 and 2001 and a new audio-visual 

and IT centre with university and incubation/ 

enterprise facilities. 

After German reunification, the guard regiment was 

dissolved and the fate of the Academy was sealed 

by the German Unification Treaty. The research 

facilities of the Academy were subjected to an 

evaluation by the German Science Council, which 

established that there were about 1,500 Academy 

employees who ought to be placed in new research 

structures. For the rest of the former employees, 

it was recommended that they either find new 

jobs or start their own companies. Of 250 newly 

founded companies, approximately 100 were set-up 

by ex-academy workers. Today almost 90% of the 

companies co-operate with at least one partner, and 

60% with three or more partners at the site. 

Adlershof is a traditional location for extramural 

research in Berlin. In the 1930s the facilities of the 

German Aeronautical Research Institute were 

established there. Today, the 12 Non–University 

Research Institutes in Adlershof concentrate 

on research areas of new materials and 

processes; optical technologies; information and 

communication technology and environmental 

and energy research. 

Berlin Case Study/appendix A 

31

In order to jointly channel experience and expertise 

into the further development of the location, the 

non-university research institutes in Adlershof 

joined forces in 1992 to form IGAFA (Initiative of 

extra-university research institutes in Adlershof). 

The 12 member institutions of IGAFA with 1,400 

employees, including 700 scientists, have various 

sponsors, e.g. Federal Ministry for Education and 

Research, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, 

Berlin, etc. Its scientific office has become a central 

contact point for scientists and offers information 

on the scientific institutions and their research 

projects and organises series of lectures ranging 

from scientific presentations to events. IGAFA also 

runs two international meeting centres for scientists 

which offer guest accommodation and seminar and 

conference rooms. 

To encourage innovative businesses to settle here, 

modern specialised centres were established, some 

in reconstructed old buildings, and others in new 

architect-designed buildings. The first was the 

“Innovation and Business Incubation Centre” (IGZ) 

in 1991, followed by the Centre for Photonics and 

Optical Technologies, the Centre for Environmenal, 

Bio and Energy Technology, the Centre for 

Information and Media Technology, and the Centre 

for Materials and Microsystems Technology. 

A Service-Centre and the OWZ – International 

Business Incubator for Middle and Eastern European 

entrepreneurs complete the profile. Up to the year 

2000 WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH had made 

investments totalling €325 million. 

Since the early-1990s Adlershof has been reconstructed 

with renovated and demolished old buildings, 

polluted and contaminated areas cleaned up, and 

over 30 kilometres of street repaired, producing 

modern technology centres with spectacular 

architecture. Today it is claimed that Adlershof is 

Europe’s most modern technology park and home 

to Humboldt University’s natural sciences campus. 

Adlershof has also became a “City within a City” with 

hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, GP surgeries, 

kindergartens, a golf course, tennis courts, cafés, 

bars, coffee shops, attracting new residents and 

workers to the area. 

In September 1991 the State of Berlin founded the 

“Adlershof Development Society” (EGA), from which 

WISTA-MANAGEMENT GMBH emerged in 1994. 

In 1992 the Berlin Senate decided to establish an 

“integrated scientific and business landscape” on 

the Adlershof site and made building investments 

amounting to about €230 million. The goal was 

to bring together the synergies from science 

and industry and innovation to market. A design 

contest for Adlershof-Johannisthal to build a City of 

Science Technology and Media was held in 1993. As 

a result Berlin created in 1994 a “city development 

area” of 420 hectares with the goal of a modern city 

structure with the “Science City” at its centre, 

surrounded by a Media City, an industrial park, and 

residential areas. The construction of the first single 

family houses began in 2004. These new quarters 

developed around a huge landscaped park, which 

was developed from the former Johannisthal airfield, 

soon be home to Berlin’s first thermal-spa. 

The company responsible for the development since 

2003 was BAAG, Berlin Adlershof Aufbaugesellschaft 

mbH. On January 1st 2004 WISTA-MANAGEMENT 

GMBH, replaced BAAG with Adlershof Projekt GmbH, 

as the new overall development authority for 

Adlershof. As landowner, Wista is now self-financed 

from rents and service fees. The insolvency rate of 

tenant firms was only 1% in 2005. 

TV and Film 

Adlershof also has a long and successful tradition as 

a centre for film and TV production. Since the 1920s 

thousands of movies were filmed in the studios and 

in 1956 the East German Broadcasting Corporation 

was established in Adlershof. The heart of the 

MEDIACITY is the Studio Berlin Adlershof GmbH, 

supplemented by the studios of Johannisthal 

Synchron in Adlershof and TV+SYNCHRON Berlin 

GmbH which are within walking distance. 

Movie- and TV producers benefit from the synergies 

in Adlershof. A high performance studio centre has 

emerged with seven studios – including the largest 

studio in Germany – with a total of 6,500 m 2 . There 

are numerous post-production companies for 

editing and copying, dubbing, animation and image 

processing. Popular TV shows are being made in 

Berlin Adlershof and over hundred companies with 

almost 1,000 employees use the facilities. 

The television centre at Babelsberg (Potsdam) is 

a branch of the studio Berlin Eagle Yard GmbH. 

Established in 1995, the enterprise produces TV 

serials and Showproduktionen. Facilities include: 

• 8.500m 2 of production offices and functional 

areas including air-conditioned studios, four with 

a total area of 720 m 2 , a construction area of 610 m 2 

• complete direction for digital video and clay/tone 

photographs (format digitally Betacam, 

Camcorder and Studiokameras) 

32 

Berlin Case Study/appendix A

• digital light equipment (bar light trailer, BEACH 

dimmer and desk technology) 

• Digital electronic post office processing for 

picture and clay/tone, AVID Media Composers 

and Unity, Protocols, AVID Adrenaline mobile 

electronic production units 

• Dubbing and localization in all stages 

of production 

• A one-stop service for DRTV productions – from 

translation through to the German language mix, 

picture editing to CTA compilation, order page 

design etc. 

The studios have experience in working with 

materials from all over the world: 

Telenovellas from Brazil, series and films from the 

USA, Europe and North Africa, Dramas and Science 

Fiction from Korea, Action Thrillers from Hong Kong, 

Cartoons from Australia and Audio book production. 

Innovation and founder centres (IGZ and OWZ) 

Since September 1991 the innovation and founder 

centre (IGZ) offers a broad spectrum of support, 

both consultancy and technical-organizational 

infrastructure and premises for founder companies, 

recent enterprises with innovative, technology-oriented 

projects, as well as established enterprises with 

temporary innovation projects for start-up and 

enterprise development. 

The IGZ buildings provide 16,500 m 2 of rental space 

with multi-functional use – at present 72% usage 

with enterprises in different technology fields. The 

operating company of the IGZ and the OWZ is the 

international innovation centre, Berlin management 

GmbH (IZBM), a subsidiary of the economic 

development Berlin GmbH promotion company. 

The international founder center (OWZ ), opened 

in the summer 1997, unique in Europe, it supports 

the establishment and settlement of international 

enterprises from all over the world, in particular 

from central and Eastern Europe, and which want to 

realize their economic co-operation activities locally 

from Berlin. It helps to broker contacts and to enable 

new ways for the development of markets. 

The OWZ provides 4,800 m 2 of rental space. At 

present there are 34 enterprises from 11 countries, 

working in the diverse technology fields. 

A premises database and space enquiry service 

ranges from sites for warehouses and laboratories to 

modern office facilities and spacious halls, starting 

from 20 and going up to 80,000m 2 . In addition, there 

are plots available for residential development – next 

to landscaped parkland. 

Business enterprise support 

Berlin partners 

www.berlin-partner.de 

Berlin Partners is the newly-restructured economic 

development and inward investment agency – a 

partnership between the City of Berlin and the 

adjoining Brandenberg Region. 

The organization provides a Business Location 

Centre (BLC) and start-up package which includes 

workspace, living accommodation and transport 

passes, and a start-up grant of €2,300 for the first 

three months (unique in the EU). 

SMEs are important, but a small employment 

generator. Relocation of medium to larger-sized 

firms is also promoted, building on the city’s ‘capital 

bonus’, geopolitical position, premises availability 

and labour market, with good quality skills/ 

education. Business support is targeted at ‘industries 

of the Future’, including, music, technology, design 

and crafts associations. 

Inward investment averages 2,500 to 3,000 jobs per 

annum which is acknowledged to be small. 

Berlin Partners also operates as a membership 

organization with 1,000 companies, which assists 

in local procurement, construction and locations 

transfers. Berlin’s Chamber of CRAFTS/Chamber of 

Commerce has a mandatory membership, ensuring 

greater coverage and participation in economic 

development. Trade Union apprenticeships still 

operate and provide vocational and crafts training 

alongside higher education provision. Their 

experience is that students try to stay on in the 

city after graduating, 

Berlin aims to compete with other continental cities 

such as Paris and Barcelona, and nationally with 

other post-industrial German cities/regions. 

Berlin Partners is also a promoter through exhibitions/ 

trade fairs, for example, sponsoring the annual Design 

Mai Fair, and a Design Conference for the Auto/Bike 

Industry involving 200 regional firms – the “Right 

place and space to bring together creativity, design 

and business” (R.Engels, Berlin Partners, 2005). 


33

Incubation and showcasing 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien 

www.bethanien.de/ 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien was founded in 1974, in the 

former Central Deaconesses’ Home and Hospital 

building. Its original architects were three of Karl 

Friedrich Schinkel’s students, while its park location 

was designed by the equally famous landscape 

architect Peter Joseph Lenné. Today, it has become 

known far beyond Berlin’s city limits, although the 

building also houses the district’s art council, a music 

school, and several other social organizations in 

addition to Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH, with its 

studios and exhibition spaces. 

In 1974, the building was scheduled to be 

demolished, but squatters’ resistance raised public 

awareness for the building and paved the way for 

a small number of promoters to present their vision 

for Bethanien’s future use – among them Michael 

Haerdter, the founding director of Künstlerhaus 

Bethanien GmbH. The main activity is concentrated 

on the International Studio Programme. Since 

the foundation of the institute in 1974, more than 

400 artists from 30 countries have worked at the 

Künstlerhaus. Guests stay for a period of 12 months 

and conclude their stay with the realisation of 

a project on the institute’s premises. 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien’s goal is to further 

contemporary art and contemporary artists. 

It is responsible for the accommodation and 

support of international artists; for offering advice 

concerning art and its practical issues; for the running 

of workshops; for the planning and realization of 

its residents’ events; and the development and 

organization of artistic and cultural projects both 

in and outside of Berlin. 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien GmbH provides 25 studios, 

3 exhibition studios, and a media lab. It is a project 

workshop, an event location, and the publisher of 

a series of ambitious catalogue publications as well 

as an art magazine. The Künstlerhaus survived the 

short-lived “Berlin Mitte Boom” and saw the last of 

Kreuzberg’s galleries leave during the 1990s. Since 

then, a second gallery centre has established itself at 

Jannowitzbrücke, one station away from Bethanien 

on the elevated line, and Kreuzberg is experiencing 

a new cultural upswing with the first new gallery 

projects – all of which is creating a more favorable 

environment, even for a venue with an international 

focus. However the more successful it is, the less the 

funding the Senate grant-aids the Künstlerhaus. 

However, artists from Australia, New Zealand, the 

Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and 

Hungary are able to approach partners in their 

own countries and enquire about the possibility 

of open applications via the institutions there. 

Additional grants are awarded by the Rotterdam 

Centre for the Arts and the Ministerie van de Vlaamse 

Gemeenschap, Brussels. 

Since 1993, Künstlerhaus Bethanien has also 

worked together with Philip Morris’ program for 

the promotion of the arts, which awards 2–3 grants 

each year within the context of its fellowship 

program. The artists sponsored by this initiative 

receive a monthly allowance throughout the period 

of their stay. In addition, the foundation pays their 

studio costs, provides a lump sum for materials and 

funds a documentation of their final project. But 

again, artists cannot apply for these grants on their 

own initiative. Since the late-1990s, Künstlerhaus 

Bethanien and its Media Arts Lab have promoted the 

interchange between classical and new artistic media, 

and are especially dedicated to an investigation 

of new, critical forms of expression located on the 

borderline to conventional art. However, the Media 

Arts Lab does not award grants of its own. Like all 

other artists, media artists are only accepted within 

the framework of the national grants system. They 

cannot apply to the Künstlerhaus itself, but only via 

the partner institutes. 

Artists’ Residency 

With its 25 studios, Künstlerhaus Bethanien 

represents one of the largest establishments among 

international residency programmes. The selection of 

artists – predominantly in the area of visual arts – is 

carried out according to the standards of originality 

and creative quality. Individual applications are 

not accepted by the Künstlerhaus, which owes its 

international renown as one of the most prestigious 

institutes for the support of contemporary art to the 

stringency of its selection criteria. 

Project Workshop 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien is constantly at work on the 

development and realization of a large number of 

artistic and cultural projects, resulting in numerous 

public events. 20 to 30 events come about each year 

out of the studio programme alone: exhibitions, work 

presentations and performances. 

34 


A location for events 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien is also a place of presentation 

that is used in a number of ways, where exhibitions 

and events are produced by the curatorial staff or by 

guest curators parallel to the international studio 

programme. Beyond this, the renting of individual 

rooms has become standard practice. 

Advice 

Among Bethanien’s most important services are its 

counselling activities. Artists are advised in respect of 

their projects, and suitable partners, organizations, 

and sponsors are recommended and introduced. 

The Künstlerhaus also provides recommendations 

and expertise in the application process for project 

financing, artists’ residencies, and grants. In addition, 

advice is offered on initiatives for the establishment, 

restructuring, and optimization of artists’ and studio 

programs, especially regarding questions of finance, 

tax, and administration (i.e. starting a company). 

In this context, cultural contacts to Eastern Europe 

(Poland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Lithuania, 

Slovenia, Ukraine, and Russia) play a large 

role, with a focus on the development of stable 

partner relationships as well as the organization 

of exhibition projects. In view of the economic 

separation that continues to divide Eastern and 

Western Europe, this type of bridge-building activity 

will continue to remain one of Bethanien’s most 

important tasks. 

International cultural work 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien was and continues to be 

a partner institution in numerous bilateral cultural 

programs in Berlin, such as the city partnership 

program, the program of cultural capitals of Europe, 

the “grenzenlos” projects (without borders), and 

many more. 

Publications 

An extensive publishing activity counts among 

Bethanien’s services. Over the 25 years since the 

institute’s founding, approximately 190 works have 

been published: books and catalogues on projects 

of every discipline, catalogues of resident artists, 

and magazines. 

Since 1994, the Künstlerhaus has been publishing 

its ambitious “Be Magazine,” which is produced 

in German and English, as are the majority of 

Bethanien’s catalogues, making its current 

exhibitions and topics of discussion well-known 

on the international art scene. “Be Magazine” 

constitutes the core of Bethanien’s theoretical 

work and reflects phenomena of the current art 

scene from the perspectives of international critics, 

theoreticians, and writers. At the same time, it 

supports young Berlin authors in their assessment 

of the city’s art production. Bethanien does not limit 

itself to a mere publishing role, but provides highquality 

professional editorial accompaniment, 

copy-editing, and translation, not only building a 

solid reputation for its series of publications in the 

process, but lending a more enduring form to the 

projects and works of its young artists. 

Media arts lab 

Since 1997, the Künstlerhaus has become increasingly 

committed to the area of new electronic art forms 

with its own Media Arts Lab. This laboratory is 

dedicated to internet-based art and promotes those 

conceptual artists and projects that understand 

the computer not as an object of technological 

fascination, but as an object for aesthetic investigation. 

Since 1998, the Media Arts Lab has been inviting net 

specialists to take part in special “net conferences.” 

Bethanien was one of the first institutions that 

integrated the young phenomenon of “net.art” into 

its current work, at the same time plugging into 

an emerging media art scene in the Eastern 

European states. 

Training center for curatorial practice 

Due to its status as artists’ residency program, 

Künstlerhaus Bethanien is a location of curatorial 

practice where the curatorial staff, together with 

guest curators and curatorial assistants, work in 

close dialogue with invited artists, enjoying their 

appreciation as contact persons, researchers, and 

partners in contention and working together on 

the realization of artistic concepts. Parallel to these 

artistic projects, performances, colloquia, symposia, 

and publications, the curators reflect upon their 

practice in “Be Magazine” as well as in various other 

special issues published by the Künstlerhaus. 


35

3.2 Design Mai (May Design Fair) 

www.designmai.de 

The Design Festival is organised by a local society 

which is coordinated by seven voluntary members. 

The first festival was held in 2003. The initiative 

started out as a magazine – now 130 open studios 

(cf. London Case Study – East End/Hidden Art ‘Open 

Studios’) participate over a 2 week period in May 

each year. Some locations provide a venue for several 

design presentations, whilst a Showroom offers a 

retail opportunity to purchase direct from designers/ 

creators. The central festival venue is the Forum 

in Berlin-Mitte, with an auditorium for workshops, 

lectures and presentations. 

Berlin Partners sponsor an annual Design Prize with 

the aim of raising the profile of the sector and better 

connect designers. 

Future fairs will be held over a shorter period, from 

10 down to 4 days over 2 weekends – it currently 

‘peters out’ after the first few days and media 

coverage. Design Mai is an international as well 

as a Berlin event, German design schools/students 

exhibit at international exhibitions, e.g. Milan Fair, 

and a ‘Young & German’ award of €100,000 links 

Berlin and Tokyo sponsors and designers. This award 

is supported by the Federal Cultural Foundation. A 

symposium “Brave New Worlds” is run in cooperation 

with the Einstein Forum, Potsdam and funded by the 

Federal government’s Capital Cultural Fund. 

In 2005 over 12,000 tickets were sold, the Design 

Mai web site receives 6 million ‘hits’. Success is 

also measured in terms of free media coverage in 

Germany and in the international press. The 2006 

Fair features international speakers, including 

designers from the UK. 

Despite its high profile and growing popularity the 

Design Mai is a low cost event, and little in direct 

sponsorship outside of awards such as Nike’s ‘Design 

Room’ prizes of €5000/€3000/€2000 for first, 

second and third place. 

50,000 copies of the festival magazine and 

programme are produced for €12,000 (excluding 

sponsorship in kind), but it is printed in Koln/Cologne 

not Berlin. 

This designer-led initiative is not directly associated 

with higher education and training institutions – the 

Potsdam Design School operate a start-up system, 

providing low-cost studio space and marketing 

management advice. There is also little non-ethnic 

German creative sector engagement (although the 

ArtBerlin magazine is owned by a Turkish-German 

businessman), or with poorer, migrant districts 

of the city, Industrial Design in Berlin is a strength 

(e.g. Bauhaus tradition), but there is not a ‘community 

of design’ or cross-design collaboration. For instance, 

Berlin’s designated Design Centre is not 

well-connected to practitioner design/ers, 

according to Design Mai. 

Architecture and cultural heritage 

Shrinking cities 

www.shrinkingcities.com 

This is a project funded by the Federal Cultural 

Foundation between 2000–5, under the direction 

of Philipp Oswalt (Berlin) in co-operation with the 

Leipzig Gallery of Contemporary Art, the Bauhaus 

Dessau Foundation and the Berlin-based 

magazine, archplus. 

Shrinking Cities, is a three-year initiative project 

of Germany’s Federal Cultural Foundation, 

which seeks to expand Germany’s city-planning 

debate – until now concentrated on questions of 

demolishing surplus apartments and improving 

residential quarters – to address new questions and 

perspectives. The project also places developments 

in eastern Germany in an international context, 

involving various artistic, design, and research 

disciplines in the search for strategies for action. 

The emphases of the research and exhibition project, 

Shrinking Cities, are, first, an international study 

of processes of shrinking (first project phase) and, 

second, the development of strategies for action for 

eastern Germany (second project phase). 

The results of the first project phase (the 

international study) has been be documented in 

a catalogue and an exhibition, which was shown 

in September 2004 at the KW – Institute For 

Contemporary Art in Berlin. The results of the second 

phase of work were presented in an exhibition in 2005 

in Leipzig. It is intended to show the exhibition in 

additional international sites in 2006 in Europe and 

North America. 

36 


More than 10,000 visitors have seen the exhibitions 

in Halle and Leipzig, Germany The exhibition at the 

Centre for Contemporary Culture in Halle had 5,264 

visitors between November 19 2005 and January 

29 2006. The second exhibition of Shrinking Cities 

– Interventions, at the Gallery for Contemporary 

Art Leipzig, drew 4,900 visitors. More than 2,000 

visitors attended the 66 events of the accompanying 

programme, which included discussions, city tours, 

workshops, club evenings, and a children’s and a film 

programme. Some items from the exhibition in the 

ZfzK will remain in Halle: the Municipal Museum 

of the city of Halle on the Saale has acquired a 

number of the exhibition contributions for its 

permanent collection. 

The exhibitions in Leipzig and Halle were the 

concluding presentation of the results of Germany’s 

Federal Cultural Foundation’s extensive project on 

the phenomenon. More than 100 artists, architects, 

city planners, authors, and sociologists took part. 

After the exhibitions in Berlin in 2004 and in Halle 

and Leipzig, follow-up exhibitions are being planned 

for Detroit, Moscow and Manchester. 

A publication on the exhibitions has already appeared 

in English with the publishing house Verlag Hatje 

Cantz: Shrinking Cities – Volume 1: International 

Research is devoted to the topic of processes of 

urban shrinking on several levels. The selected 

contributions to the international idea competition 

Shrinking Cities – Reinventing Urbanism, which 

were presented in the exhibition in Leipzig, were 

also published in a special issue of the German 

architectural magazine archplus. At the conclusion of 

the project, more publications will appear, including 

Shrinking Cities – Volume 2 Interventions, the 

Complete Works and the Atlas of Shrinking Cities. 

Urban district culture 

www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de 

Art and culture for empty shops 

The cultural quarters project “Boxion” targets empty 

shops around Boxhagener Place in Kreuzberg, 

in order to re-use them for resident and local 

enterprises for art and culture. 

This neighbourhood is a mixed area with old 

buildings located on the edge of the city centre. 

The Boxion project aims to promote the ‘culture of 

quarters’, improve the residential environment, its 

image and public areas. 

“Boxion 2001” provides artists and creatives with 

the possibility to use and animate as exhibition 

and communication space, 18 empty shops 

and restaurants. The users of the shops commit 

themselves to keeping firm opening times and to 

participate in the overall “Boxion” cultural quarter 

project www.boxion.de 

The shops are used as workplaces and extend 

into the public realm. At the end of the first year 

the shop lease is either transferred by the user or 

rented to other business premises in the district. 

Public works, such as external advertisements, 

shop window displays, information boards for 

promoting the Boxion project and activities, as well 

as accommodation management, are coordinated 

under the “social city” project. “Guerilla shopping” 

has also gained hold in Berlin, with high fashion brands 

and independent designers opening ‘secret outlets’, 

using vacant shops for only a few months before they 

become too popular. 

With the help of a public show of interest, over 20 

organisations applied to coordinate the project. 

The ‘playing field’ agency was selected by a project 

committee for to deliver the programme. 

The exchange between inhabitants and artists 

as well as co-operation between cultural quarter 

projects are to be sustained beyond the life of the 

empty shop programme. The idea for artistic-cultural 

stimulation through the temporary use of shops and 

restaurants in the ground floor of the residential 

blocks, goes back to the results of a survey of 

local residents’ ideas and initiatives undertaken 

by the playing field agency – as well as those of 

representatives of the local district in the context 

of the social city area concept. 

Project beneficiaries include local residents (tenants, 

owners) and enterprises, artists and education 

providers/students. Finance was provided through 

the European Union (EFRE), the federal land programme 

“social city”, sponsorship/donations, and other 

private donations for the different shop exhibition 

projects. Participating organisation included: 

• Bad Boxhagener place – Accomodation 

Management 

• District Friedrichshain Kreuzberg – Culture 

Committee 

• Houseowners and Tenants 


37

• Professional school for technology and economics 

– area organisation 

• Workers’ welfare institution – volunteer social 

training year 

• District Friedrichshain Kreuzberg - NGA and civil 

engineering inspectorate 

• Artists and creatives from photography, screen art, 

design, internet technologies, literature and drama 

• Interested other quarters of the district and 

wider Berlin 

• Media partners – press, radio, TV 

Bringing art into the neighbourhoods 

The contribution of culture to neighbourhood 

improvement was recognised early on Berlin Senate 

(2004): “Culture adds colour to every day life, and to 

the local community” (www.stadtentwicklung.berlin. 

de/wohnen/quartiersmanagement/index_en.shtml), 

Neighbourhood Fund projects have ensured 

that people do not have to go elsewhere to enjoy 

the bright lights. The emphasis was placed on 

encouraging creativity along with simply making 

visible the varied culture that many of the quarters 

already possessed. 

One area, Neukölln hosted Under Cover of Darkness, 

part of a cultural event ‘Shimmering Thursdays’. 

This fortnightly event helped to improve the 

image of the quarter among the local residents. 

Improving that image was one of the motives of 

a residents’ initiative to apply for money from the 

Neighbourhood Fund with which to present the 

cultural scene in the quarter on a regular basis. At 

the same time the cultural Thursdays extended the 

culture on offer to the local people and with its high 

profile also helped to promote the participating 

artists and thus indirectly to improve their economic 

situation. At the start of the series, which promised 

in its sub-title “Cultural mis-guidance around the 

Schillerpromenade”, the author Pieke Biermann read 

from one of her crime thrillers in the entrance hall 

of the Carl-Legien Secondary School. This Residents’ 

initiative received funding of €45,372 to promote 

district culture and local business. 

This inspired a second project, the Cultural Office 

Schillerpromenade that aimed at raising the profile 

of the potential in the quarter and promoting the 

artists by networking. The neighbourhood jury 

allocated €40,000 to the applicants Förderband e.V. 

for two modules. 

Firstly, a Culture Office in the neighbourhood was 

set up. Funds were used for rent and equipment. The 

Culture Office has been organising exhibitions and 

is the place artists and creative people in the quarter 

come to first. 

As a second module, four project days were organised 

in April 2002 with 12 dance and performance 

artists from the neighbourhood. These project days 

promoted local networking and supported not 

only the dialogue between art forms, but also the 

exchange between professionals and amateurs. 

Street art 

The existing youth culture group Schlesische 27 

received funding of €44,175 to promote district 

culture, the integration of diverse social and ethnic 

groups, and the social infrastructure of schools, 

children, young people, senior citizens, and families. 

Schlesische 27 used the funds to plan and carry out 

cultural festivals for local street artists and residents. 

Each festival was stretched in organic shape of a river 

throughout the borough with the intention to 

signalise a flood of Street Art passing the streets 

of the area. 

Each festival involved local geographical features 

(e.g. special stages at every crossing named after 

the intersecting side streets) and integrated 

local children, young people and adults in the 

preparation works (e.g. creating river banks). Along 

the pavements, artists animated by-standers to fill 

the river bank with creative activities. Outdoors, 

music and drumming was on offer, along with 

theatrical performances and make-up tables for the 

children, but there were also theatre and drumming 

workshops in the project shop. 

38 


TRO Artists’ Group 

In 2002, the artistic group T.R.O. initiated the 

conversion of former laboratory buildings into an art 

factory with ateliers, based in the Oberschöneweide 

neighbourhood. Funding of €106,300 was provided 

to encourage public participation and development 

cultural activity in the area. Some of the money 

needed for this was provided by the Neighbourhood 

Fund jury. This made it possible to carry out a 

conversion project of a type which has long been 

favoured by artists in Berlin seeking suitable space 

to work in. For decades, new businesses and creative 

artists all over the city had been utilising former 

multi-storey factory buildings. 

In 1883, Emil Rathenau founded the German Edison 

Company, which was renamed AEG in 1887. Two 

years later he opened the cable works which marked 

the development of Oberschöneweide into an 

industrial location. In 1920, AEG bought the factory 

buildings of Deutsche Niles-AG and set up the 

Transformer Factory Oberschöneweide, known as 

TRO. The artistic group T.R.O. have adopted the same 

abbreviation, but in their case the three letters stand 

for Tiefenrausch Ost (Raptures of the Deep – East). 

The group came together in 1997 around the painter 

and installation artist Leo Königsberg. Like many 

old factory complexes, the laboratory building of a 

battery factory had been empty since the former GDR 

closed down in the early 1990s. 

The conversion began in late 2003 under the 

supervision of the Gesellschaft für Stadtentwicklung 

gGmbH. By the end of 2004, ten studios offered 

overnight accommodation, a multimedia atelier, 

and an art gallery. In order to keep the building costs 

down, the artists themselves carried out the entire 

interior work. Trainees from the Vocational Training 

Centre did much of the construction work, which 

gave them the opportunity to learn at first hand 

about building techniques which are no longer used 

– such as the typical Prussian capped floors. These 

contributions meant that the money provided by 

the Neighbourhood Fund could be used mainly for 

materials. The rooms of the art factory now offer the 

local artists affordable working space and also make 

it possible to extend invitations to artists from all 

over the world to come and realize projects against 

the backdrop of imposing industrial architecture, 

and then to exhibit their work. This represents an 

important addition to the rooms already provided for 

young artists in the quarter, for example by the Karl- 

Hofer Society (The Friends of the University of Arts). 

Brochure on the history of the neighbourhood 

Over a period of eight months, Ursula Bach and 

Cornelia Hüge studied the cultural, architectural and 

social history of the Reuter quarter. The result of their 

work is a richly illustrated 100 page brochure entitled 

Where Neukölln meets Kreuzberg – The Reuter quarter 

in transition. 

Many local people contributed by attending focus 

group meetings, or by passing on information, 

photos and other material directly to the authors. 

The older local residents were particularly interest 

in the project, but also local schools. 

Guided tours, lectures on urban history and a 

walking-tour-flyer followed the brochure. The 

project received €36,7200 from the Neighbourhood 

Fund in order to promote district culture and 

encourage public participation. 

Youth training and diversity 

VOLICITY (Vocational Learning in Creative 

Industries for Turkish Youth) 

www.volicity.org 

VOLICITY engages partners in three countries 

(Germany, Turkey and UK) in the development of 

a modularised e-learning programme, targeted at 

young people from Turkish speaking communities 

and focused on access to employment in the creative 

industries. It is being developed through three 

community partners in Berlin, Istanbul and London, 

creative industry employers in each country, an 

accrediting body and a specialist e-learning training 

organisation. Funded under the EU LEONARDO DA 

VINCI Vocational Training programme, it runs from 

October 2005 initially for two years. 

VOLICITY combines young people’s interests 

in popular cultural forms (music, new media, 

broadcasting etc) with opportunities to work 

directly with employers from the creative and 

cultural industries. Employer and Youth Forums 

will be linked via the community-based partners. 

These experiences will be structured into a series 

of vocational training programmes (new media, 

performing arts and galleries and museums), each 

under-pinned by a strong e-learning base. Tutors 

from each community organisation will guide 

trainees through the design and development of 

the programmes, supported by employers who 

will relate the programmes to future employment 

opportunities. A training manual will be devised by 

employers and VOLICITY’s lead ICT partner to help 

facilitate this process. 

Berlin Case Study/appendix A 39

One of the UK’s partners, the Open College Network 

London Region will take responsibility for accrediting 

the learning programme and also for exploring issues 

of qualification equivalence and possible transfer 

across the EU and in Turkey. A VOLICITY website will 

be developed and dissemination conferences will 

held in each partner country. 

VOLICITY will result in an e-learning programme 

and handbook. All products will be developed in 

formats that are accessible to the needs of Turkish 

speaking young people (16–25), the target group. The 

learning programme focuses on the skills required 

for employment in the creative industries sector 

but will also develop general employability skills. 

The programme will be partly diagnostic, partly 

informative and partly experiential to provide 

building blocks that can lead to a preemployability 

qualification. Modules of the programme will be 

accessed through the VOLICITY website. Throughout, 

the programme aims to develop intercultural 

awareness and competences through the use of case 

studies and exercise that foster confidence 

and tolerance. 

There is potential to extend the programme to other 

Turkish Speaking communities in mainland Europe 

and also in northern Cyprus. A more ambitious plan 

is to translate the model for use with other ethnic 

minority communities. VOLICITY will however 

result in a useful database of information on the 

creative and cultural industry sectors in the three 

partner countries and a contribution to vocational 

qualification transfer across the partners. 

Volicity partners 

Kinder Jugend und Kulturzentrum “Naunynritze”, 

Berlin; ESTA Bildungswerk, Duisburg 

ESTA Danismanlik, Ankara; Pera Guzel Sanatlar, 

Istanbul 

Open College Network London Region; Cultural 

Industries Development Agency, London; 

Balik Arts UK; London Metropolitan University, UK 

(coordinator) 

The Berlin partner is the Naunyn Ritze Cultural 

Centre for Children, Young People and Adults and 

Outdoor Playground Civilipark (naunynritze(at)web. 

de). Naunyn Ritze is an Open House for children, 

young people and also adults in the Berlin district 

of Kreuzberg, attached to the area youth office of 

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. 

Art market 

ArtNet 

www.artnet.com 

CEO Thomas Eller founded the ArtNet magazine 

in 1997. Having been based in New York (born in 

Neurenberg, not Berlin), Berlin is less structured 

than New York, but has close art market ties 

– company earnings are 50:50 New York: Berlin. 

From a position of expansion in 1985, following 

the Art market crash many galleries closed – in 

both NY and Berlin. ArtNet.com was established 

from developing a database of 2.8m art auction 

results. The database includes visual images, and 

is subscription-based. The fine art market is highly 

skewed – a private gallery needs only c.6 wealthy 

clients to be viable (i.e. an effective cartel). ArtNet 

aims to be more ‘democratic and transparent’. 

ArtNet provides Custom Reports through a market 

research department which works with curators, 

collectors and analysts to generate custom reports, 

indices and data samples for any combination of 

artists, collector categories and art periods included 

in ArtNet’s extensive price database. 

The Berlin ArtFair – although not as big as the Basle 

Art Fair, Switzerland which has 3 Art Fairs, 270 

galleries, a ‘Younger Artists’ list of ‘young’ galleries 

(who exhibit for up to 3 years) – has benefited from 

a boom in art collection/dealing. This is witnessed 

in the independent gallery network (300 galleries 

in the city) e.g. in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, and 

an online gallery which exhibits/markets 10 works/ 

gallery. Post the dot.com crash and 9/11, the Art 

market has maintained its status and value – it is 

no longer just a ‘luxury good’. 

However, the Berlin Economy has little long-term 

wealth and lacks consumer confidence with a 

propensity to save not spend (and no credit/card 

culture –

Appendix B – Classification of creative 

economic fields 

Berlin Senate definition of Creative Economic fields is based 

on NACE-Classification (2003) 

NACE-Codes (%) Description of the economic field 

Music business 

2214/ 22113 100 Publishing of sound recordings 

2231 100 Reproduction of sound recordings 

36300 100 Manufacture of musical instruments 

55403 100 Music clubs and discotheques 

92312 60 Orchestras, bands and choirs 

92315 100 Composers 

92317 33.3 Musicians 

92321 50 Organisation of concerts 

92322 50 Concert halls and operas 

92116 100 Sound Recording studios 

2232 50 Reproduction of video recordings 

2233 50 Reproduction of media material 

2465 50 Manufacture of unrecorded media 

3230 50 Manufacture of radios, sound recording or reproducing equipment 

52452 50 Retail sale of radio equipment 

52453 100 Retail Sale of musical instruments 

92325 50 Technical services for cultural activities (advanced) 

booking agencys) 

Performing arts 

92311 100 Theater companies 

92312 40 Dancing companies 

92317 33.3 Performing artists 

92318 100 Artists 

92321 50 Organisation of theater events 

92322 50 Theater locations 

92323 100 Cabarets 

92342 100 Other events (puppeteers/circus) 

92325 100 Technical services for cultural activities 

92722 50 Miscellaneous services for entertainment 

92330 100 Amusement park activities 

92341 100 Dancing schools 

Berlin Case Study/appendix B 

41

Audio-Visual Sector 

71404 100 Video stores 

9211 100 Motion picture and video production 

9212 100 Motion picture and video distribution 

92130 100 Cinemas 

92201 100 Broadcasting stations 

92202 100 Production of radio and TV programms 

92317 33.3 Actors and radio presenter 

2232 100 Reproduction of video recordings 

2233 50 Reproduction of computer media 

2465 50 Manufacture of unrecorded media 

3230 50 Manufacture of TV receivers, video recorders or reproducing equipment 

33403 50 Manufacture of cinema equipment 

52452 50 Retail Sale of TV equipment 

Art Market 

26701 100 Sculpture art 

28523 100 (Artistic) Blacksmith’s shops 

36222 100 Manufacture of jewellery out of precious materials 

36223 100 Manufacture of jewellery out of gold and silver 

74874 100 Designers (textile, jewellery and furniture) 

7481 100 Photographic activities 

92313 33.3 Visual artists 

52482 100 Retail with art objects and paintings 

52501 100 Retail with antiques and antiques carpets 

181/182/19 100 Manufacture of clothes, leather clothes and footwear 

2621 100 Manufacture of Ceramic and Decorative Objects 

5242 100 Retail sale of clothes 

5243 100 Retail sale of footwear and leather goods 

52485 100 Retail sale of watches, jewellery and other products 

52612 100 Retail sale of clothes via mail order 

74873 100 Auction halls 

Architecture & Cultural Heritage 

74201 100 Architecture companies for construction and interior design 

74202 100 Architecture companies for regional planning 

74203 100 Architecture companies for garden planning and landscaping 

92314 100 Restoration activities 

9252 100 Museums 

42 

Berlin Case Study/appendix B

Literature, Print and Publishing 

22111 100 Publishing of books 

22121 100 Publishing of daily newspapers 

22122 100 Publishing of weekly newspapers 

22131 100 Publishing of journals and periodicals 

22132 100 Publishing of general magazines 

22133 100 Publishing of other magazines 

71403 100 Lending libraries and reading circles 

7485 100 Translation activities 

92316 100 Authors 

92401 100 Press agencies 

92402 100 Journalists and press photographers 

9251 100 Library and archives activities 

22150 100 Other publishing 

22210 100 Printing of newspapers 

2224 100 Pre-press activities 

2222 100 Printing n.e.c. 

2223 100 Bookbinding 

52472 100 Retail sale of books and professional journals 

52473 100 Retail sale of newspapers and periodicals 

52502 100 Retail sale of secondhand goods 

Software & Telecommunications 

722 100 Software companies 

724 100 Databases 

726 100 Other data processing activities 

643 100 Telecommunication services 

Advertising 

7440 100 Advertising 

Berlin Case Study/appendix B 

43

Other languages and formats: This document is also available in large 

print, braille, on disk, audio cassette and in the languages listed below. 

For a copy, please email communications@lda.gov.uk, 

telephone 020 7953 9000, or write to London Development Agency, 

Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1A 8AA. 

44 

Berlin Case Study

London Development Agency 

Palestra 

197 Blackfriars Road 

London 

SE1 8AA 

T 020 7593 8000 

F 020 7593 8002 

Textphone 020 7593 9001 

www.lda.gov.uk

Berlin Case Study - Cities Institute

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