Sustainable renewal: Märkisches Viertel becomes a flagship project!

Sustainable renewal: Märkisches Viertel becomes a flagship project!

Märkisches Viertel, Berlin, Deutschland - On June 26, 2025, a technical discussion on the subject of “sustainable renewal” took place in the Märkisches Quarter, which was organized by the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Living. Representatives of the state, district, housing industry and local actors took part in this meeting. The district councilor for Reinickendorf, Korinna Stephan from the Bündnis 90/The Greens, emphasized the importance of the funding program for the further development of the district. The “Sustainable Renewal” program has been active in the Märkisches Viertel since 2009 and aims to improve the quality of life of the residents.

As part of the program, a large number of projects have already been realized. This includes the renovation of public institutions, the improvement of the living environment and the creation of educational and leisure activities. Urban development funding is seen as a central instrument to increase the quality of life in the region. The current discussion also focused on ongoing and planned projects such as the redesign of schoolyards as well as the upgrading of green areas and improving accessibility.

planned projects and optimizations

A significant project is the redesign of the school centers of the Thomas Mann Gymnasium and the Lauterbach schools. After the redesign, these should be publicly accessible in order to create an attractive and functional school environment for children and adolescents. The dated date served to exchange ideas about the previous successes, the record of the projects and the outlook on future developments. The continuation of the cooperation to sustainable renewal in the Märkisches Viertel was thus determined as an important goal.

The Märkische Viertel has developed strongly in recent years. It has steady growth of residents, especially through the influx of families, which leads to a growing demand for social institutions. Over 40 years after the construction of this large settlement, however, there is a considerable need for modernization. From 2008 to 2015, Gesobau AG invested more than 560 million euros in the energetic modernization of the housing stock. This has caused the Märkische Quarter to be the largest low -energy settlement in Germany today.

sustainability and social infrastructure

The high savings in energy consumption, operating costs and CO2 emissions speaks for the success of these measures. In addition, the urban development funding enables the district of Reinickendorf to better equip social institutions, public buildings, green areas as well as squares and roads. The goals of these comprehensive measures are diverse. This includes adaptation to the demographic change, the energetic renewal of public buildings, measures for climate protection and the modernization of the social infrastructure in order to increase the quality of living and living.

A comprehensive social context becomes clear through the findings of VHW research into urban change. This examines how the words "socially", "sustainable" and "transformative" are interpreted in the urban context. The aim is to critically question models and programs and to expand opportunities for urban development. In particular, the assumption that there is great social potential in quarters and neighborhoods, the quarters are in the focus of the decision -makers.

Overall, sustainable renewal in the Märkisches Quarter is part of a comprehensive process that demands new approaches to urban development and contributes to making the city parts sustainable. This makes it clear that the cooperation between politics, business and residents is a decisive factor for the success of such projects.

For more detailed information on the developments in the Märkisches Viertel, see berlin.de, sustainable renewal [vhw.de] (https://www.vhw.de/forschung/urbaner-wandel-schaften-stimmetchen/sozial-und-nachthalt-stadten-stadt-