WATERKANT

The water city of Oberhavel is one of 13 Berlin development areas in which the municipal housing associations are to implement modern forms of socially compatible housing construction and thus create more affordable living space. Eike Becker_Architekten have succeeded as project developers and general planners in an extensive tendering and qualification process at GEWOBAG. Together with Dahm Architekten and Convis, a total of around 2,000 apartments will be built in four phases until 2021. The new quarter will offer a wide range of accommodation for all phases of life and different lifestyles. The concept envisages a green feel-good city with a high residential quality and a lively neighbourly atmosphere.

Social housing
Rents in Berlin are rising faster than in any other European city. Many Berliners can no longer keep up with this development. Even if investors and economists forecast excellent growth opportunities, the metropolis on the River Spree is still a city of low-income earners: around 50 percent of the population have a below-average income, 30 percent are entitled to social housing. But this is virtually non-existent, because Berlin – like other municipalities – has sold around 310,000 of the former 585,000 social housing units. Currently, only 14 percent of the apartments are in public ownership. And the number continues to shrink because 10,000 flats fall out of the social housing system every year. Experts believe that one third of all housing should be social housing as a prerequisite for a balanced housing policy. Most German cities are far away from achieving this goal. The proportion of municipal housing must therefore be significantly increased. Development areas such as the water city of Oberhavel make a significant contribution to this.