Urban renewal and gentrification in Berlin, Germany.

WHAT?
Gentrification is the renewal and redevelopment of a run-down or cheap neighborhood or
district. The current residents of the district see gentrification as a negative impact due to the
raised rent often resulting in them being evicted or having to leave due to high prices. However,
governments and tenants see gentrification as a positive thing as they gain more money from
rent or taxes.
WHY?
After world war two many German buildings, including houses and offices, were destroyed,
with only 20% of buildings surviving. Berlin was the center of attacks and bombardments from
the allies as it is the capital of Germany. Due to the huge decrease in numbers of housing and
an increase in population from migration from Turkey and Syria, single parent families and
natural population growth, there was a pressing need to build more houses at an affordable
price. Germanys population is growing roughly 40,000-50,000 people per year meaning there
needs to be enough accommodation to house the increasing population.
German government started to improve infrastructure due to the damage, many schools,
hospitals and electricity generators were also damaged in the war meaning houses weren't the
only things needing to be built. Germany wanted to get their country running again and have a
stable economy.
WHEN?
Immediately after the war Germany couldn’t afford to rebuild and renew cities due to the
reparations from war and their loans. However, by the 1970s Germany was able to start
rebuilding.
WHO?
In 1970 the federal government started a large urban redevelopment program to change and
improve the inner districts of berlin, including Mitte and Pankow. The urban redevelopment
program was funded 1.6 billion euros between 1991 and 2007, allowing for huge
improvements.
The government also set up the ‘Urban Heritage Conservation’ who helped in the conservation
of historical buildings, mostly in Eastern Germany such as Weimar and Rostock. Germany
wanted to keep the historical buildings as they were part of the important history from the war.
The conservation society helped to preserve important buildings by modernizing them instead
of having them destroyed and then rebuilt.
WHERE?
Mitte and Pankow are the most gentrified regions in Berlin due to being in the center and very
highly populated.

OUTCOMES
Overall, the gentrification of Berlin has allowed for a higher population and a more appealing
area in cities compared to the vandalized and demolished buildings that were there after the
war. However, gentrification has also resulted in rent increase, for example in Friedrichshain-
Kreuzberg some rents have increased by 80%. Yet the income of the Berlin population has
remained relatively low at the average worker earning 5,297 euros a month. Due to the
increased rent now over 50% of Berlin qualify for public housing as they can’t afford private
housing. Berlin's urban development minister wants to cap monthly rents at €7.97 per square
meter to help prevent the eviction of residents.
Overall, gentrification needed to happen in Berlin die to the war and to help sustain the
economy and the population. However, there were still negative outcomes due to the
improvements of land and housing facilities. The main negative outcome was the rent increase
causing residents to be forced to leave and evicted.