Berlin Case Study - Cities Institute

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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 Berlin Case Study/part one
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
Page 1 and 2: Strategies for creative spaces Berl
Page 3 and 4: Introduction This case study is one
Page 5 and 6: 1. Economic, political and demograp
Page 7 and 8: Figure 1. Relative concentration of
Page 9 and 10: Berlin has also improved its positi
Page 11 and 12: 1.4 Labour market and investment Be
Page 13: As a cultural tourism destination,
Page 17 and 18: The number of people working the Cr
Page 19 and 20: In terms of employment in Berlin, t
Page 21 and 22: Berlin aims to become Germany’s m
Page 23 and 24: In contrast, Kreuzberg had been the
Page 25 and 26: eginning. In contrast, the federal
Page 27 and 28: 4. Success factors The foregoing ca
Page 29 and 30: 5. References www.berlin.de www.blc
Page 31 and 32: Appendix A - Projects and initiativ
Page 33 and 34: • digital light equipment (bar li
Page 35 and 36: A location for events Künstlerhaus
Page 37 and 38: More than 10,000 visitors have seen
Page 39 and 40: TRO Artists’ Group In 2002, the a
Page 41 and 42: Appendix B - Classification of crea
Page 43 and 44: Literature, Print and Publishing 22
Page 45: London Development Agency Palestra

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