Analisis reconstrucción de berlin

The urban transformation of Berlin post-1989: new urban governance and the politics of large scale urban projects
Dr. Claire Colomb (c.colomb@ucl.ac.uk) Profesora titular (Sociología Urbana y Ordenación del Territorio Europeo) The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London Investigadora Marie Curie, Institut Universitari d'Estudis Europeus, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaOutline of the presentation
1. Historical background 2. The Fall of the Wall and the reunification of Berlin: challenges for urban planning and changing urban governance 3. From the ‗entrepreneurial city politics‘ of the 1990s… to the ‗crisis politics‘ of the 2000s… 4. Two large-scale urban projects emblematic of two phases of urban governance: Potsdamer Platz and MediaSpree 5. Conclusion: what can welearn from Berlin?

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A little bit of historical and geographical background on Berlin…

The largest city in Germany (889 km2), 38 km from North to South and 45 km from East to West. 3.4 million inhabitants

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19th century industrialisation and urbanisation

• 1871: Berlin becomes the capital of the German empire. • Second half of the 19th century: massive industrialisation andurbanisation. • Until the 1920s: Berlin = leading industrial centre in Germany (major electrical and railway industries AEG and Siemens). • Expansion of the administrative boundaries in 1862 and 1920 (Greater Berlin) + radial development along railways.

From the Weimar Republic to the Nazi capital
• 1918-1933: Weimar Republic • 1920s: Berlin = 3.8 million inhabitants (4th industrial city in theworld after London, New York and Chicago). • The Golden Twenties: vibrant artistic and cultural life… in a context of social and political unrest. • 1933-1945: Berlin capital of the IIIrd Reich and seat of Nazi regime. • 1939: 4.3 million inhabitants. • Only 2.8 million remained at the end of the war in 1945…

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1945 : ―Berlin Zero Hour‖. Extensive war damage…

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Cold War Berlin: thedivided city
• Division of the city into four zones under the rule of the Allied forces (France, the UK, the US) and the Soviet Union. • Bonn became the capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany. • Berlin: ―A divided city within a divided nation‖ (Strom 2001: 22) • 13th August 1961 … construction of the Wall to isolate West Berlin + stop migration from East to West. • Existing infrastructurelinks between both parts of the city were cut (subway lines etc…).

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On the Wall, see: http://www.berlin.de/mauer/index.en.html

Cold War Berlin - the divided city
• Each side of the city developed within the dominant ideological, political and economic framework of, respectively, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) for West-Berlin, and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) forEast-Berlin. • Until 1989 and the fall of the Wall… Berlin was an island relatively isolated from global economic restructuring and increasing inter-urban competition.
– West-Berlin: an island subsidised by the Government of the FRG. – East-Berlin: capital of the GDR and showcase of state socialism.

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West-Berlin, 1948-1990
• Economy and population artificially maintained through politicalmeasures. • A peculiar political culture. • Centre of counter-culture and alternative social movements 1970s-1980s (peace, women, gay, green movement, squatters and radicals…) • New approaches to urban regeneration in the 1980s: ‗soft urban renewal‘ and ‗critical reconstruction‘ • Numerous experiments in participative planning funded by the Berlin Senate in partnerships with local citizens‘ groups.

7East-Berlin, 1948-1990
• City planned by the central government of the GDR according to ‗socialist principles‘. • Land nationalised by the State • Key importance given to monumental architecture • Neglect of historical urban fabric • Absence of suburbanisation (limited to new highrise satellite estates) • Relatively low socio-spatial segregation between income groups

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The Wall will...