Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
high youth unemployment have resulted in a wave of new arrivals from southern Europe,
especially Spain and Italy. Over the same period the number of refugees and asylum seekers
swelled by about 3000 to 9500.
Gentrification & the Housing Market
Try to put your finger on the pulse of Berlin and you'll find that, much like the mysterious
movements on a Ouija board, the pulse is already moving on to another location. Today's
downtrodden neighbourhood becomes tomorrow's dream of students and artists, young en-
trepreneurs and, eventually, developers. The city's famously low rents have become a thing
of the past, office buildings have displaced beloved riverside party venues, and 'loft-living'
is the new buzzword.
In other words, Berlin is fully in the grip of gentrification. And although this has resulted
in cleaner streets, nicer flats and chic bars and restaurants, many locals don't like it one bit.
The main complaint is the lack of affordable housing, especially in the central districts
where new residential construction is primarily aimed at cash-rich tenants. Of the 250 pro-
jects in development in 2014, one fifth are in upmarket Mitte. A referendum in 2014 forced
the city to roll back plans for thousands of fancy apartments around Tempelhofer Park, a be-
loved urban oasis on the site of a former airport.
The housing shortage and rising rents have been fuelled by migration to Berlin from other
parts of Germany and abroad. Between June 2012 and June 2013 the population grew by
50,000 people. Rents have risen especially sharply in Kreuzberg (11.9% in 2013), a district
with punk and squatter roots and below-average purchasing power.
The city government estimates that 137,000 new housing units will be needed by 2025 at
an average of 10,000 per year. In the meantime, it wants to ban the unregulated short-term
letting of an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 holiday flats. Controlling growth and keeping rents
in check will be among the major challenges the government will have to face in years to
come.
