Friedrichshain West, Berlin

The Friedrichshain West area spans from Volkspark Friedrichshain in the north via Platz der Vereinten Nationen and Strausberger Platz to Ostbahnhof in the south. Mollstraße and Lichtenberger Straße border the area in the west, Friedenstraße and Straße der Pariser Kommune in the east. The 137-hectare neighbourhood is characterised by East German post-war modernist housing – large-format multi-storey apartment buildings, open courtyard situations and wide, green street spaces. As the number of residents continues to grow, so does the demand on the local social and green infrastructure, some of which is in deficit. In addition, individual areas of the area are characterised by air and noise pollution, a high degree of sealing and a lack of green and open space provision.

The goal of the open space analysis and the development concept is to determine the importance of urban green space in the area and to secure and develop the existing green space with its qualities against competing uses. In doing so, the preservation of healthy living and living space conditions as well as the safeguarding of ecological minimum standards have top priority. Against the background of a densification of the neighbourhood, an evaluation standard was developed to classify individual measures from the perspective of ecology and the use of open space. As a result, synergies in the development of urban green space within the framework of planning and coordination processes with other specialist departments are highlighted.

Open space analysis

The analysis compiles the ecological situation of the open spaces in Friedrichshain West, especially with regard to climate and noise. In addition, it shows the equipment and condition of the public and private green and open spaces for each block. Furthermore, the supply situation with regard to green spaces and playgrounds close to residential areas is determined and evaluated in summary with reference to the biotope area factor.

Development concept

The concept shows individual possibilities for upgrading private open spaces through multiple use. This is done with regard to biodiversity, climate adaptation, rainwater management and recreation. Concrete measures for the qualification of the individual public green spaces and play areas are elaborated on the basis of profiles. Finally, all measures are prioritised using a traffic light system. In addition, the example of Lichtenberger Strasse illustrates what the transformation of an oversized street space into a linear park could look like.

All in all, a handbook has been created to enable a quick and pragmatic classification of structural measures. In addition, individual steps for a targeted compensation of unavoidable interventions are shown.

The complete report can be found as a PDF on the website of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Environmental and Nature Conservation Office.