Intercultural City Neuklln

Neuklln has been regarded as a prime example of an urban problem area for quite some time.
Students and Artists are increasingly bringing this Berlin city district into normalcy. One reason for the change of image is political policy. The northern part of the district of Neuklln is a district of superlatives: more than 60 percent have a "migration background" and 73.5 percent of children are living in poverty. Nowhere in Germany are there as many residents on unemployment benefits, welfare transfers or Hartz IV. The number of aggressive and criminal offenders has tripled since 2006. Already more than ten years later Neuklln was branded in a Spiegel article as the "Bronx" of Berlin. And shortly after 2006 a Neukllner Rtlischule teacher wrote a letter to the Senate about their powerlessness in the face of daily violence, the district has become a symbol of catastrophic conditions in the German education system and the social consequences of failed integration. In the last few years, through media coverage, the ball began rolling.

Since 1999 parts of Neuklln are particularly optimistic about the environmental or cultural projects, security measures, construction of play and exercise areas, and the redesign of entrance areas.In addition to recreational facilities and socio-pedagogical supervised stations for the Neuklln 48 Hours Festival, there are also controversial initiatives such as security guards at schools or a hood-oriented "task force" for the support and sanctioning of juvenile offenders. It is viewed by all as the "community mothers" project. Here unemployed mothers of non-German origin are trained in matters of teaching, education and health training, and then they promote it in their own ethnic community for specific projects. Network of "Intercultural Cities"
The variety and quality of educational projects convinced a group of delegates from the European Commission and the Council of Europe, nearly two years ago. The Council of Europe's expert, Phil Wood, was so enthusiastic that he said with praise, "Neuklln is a look into the future for many cities in Europe and around the world that will be shaped by migration". Interculturality, which is already here a normalcy, will be a reality for many cities in a few years." Neuklln was selected in 2008 for the European project "Intercultural Cities" to be a German partner in a network of eleven cities with high immigrant population in order to develop common strategies of dealing positively with interculturalism.

Could Neuklln benefit from the city network?"Although the problems seem similar, the initial
situation in the various cities of the network vary greatly," states Melanie, who is the deputy of European affairs for the district office. It widened the horizon but was a difficult project to adapt to other cities. The aim of the initiative was to develop a cross-cultural strategy. This has been been

achieved, however, it lacks the resources to implement additional projects.This down-to-earth

balance explains why the end of the project was given little public attention.

Everyday at Hermannplatz
Hermann Square is 600 meters from the former Rtlischule. Young people sit in front of a bistro and spoon Vietnamese lemongrass curry with peanut sauce. In the park next door, the first major Turkish families unpacked their picnic baskets, and the children walked to the nearby animal habitats where

they could ride the ponies for free. In the sunny alley the older gentlemen sit in front of the Arab cafs surrounded by somewhat dilapidated old buildings exuding the sweet smell of their water pipes. Young people with dreadlocks, and, occasionally, a well-dressed mid-thirties person or a mother wearing a headscarf appears on the busy shopping streets. Multicolored, self-willed and charming is how the "ghetto Neuklln" appears on a usual weekday. However, European delegates do not give this area justice with their negative statistics and headlines.

The New Appeal It's no wonder that more and more students and artists are settling down here in "Kreuzklln", as the district is named because of its proximity to the long established Kreuzberg.Pubs and cafes
are sprouting out of the ground as well as cultural clubs and studios. Neuklln is trendy. According to social scientist and expert on urban development Andrej Holm, this image change is a product of clear housing advertisements and catchy phrases. "For a few more years, it will be difficult to find a house in Neuklln. For example, it is called 'Near Kreuzburg.' Today, the same housing companies advertise aggressively if an apartment in northern Neuklln is found ". Leftist groups are already seeing a displacement of the former population by a financially stronger audience. Reasons for the sudden interest of the students and artists to the region seems on one hand to be the rising rents of the hip Berlin district of Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Mitte while on the other hand it could be the specific political image work. What role the "Intercultural Cities" campaign has played, can not be assessed. The charm of the intercultural diversity of Neuklln has certainly contributed to the change of image of the problem district.