Redesign of John-F.-Kennedy-Platz: More life for Schöneberg!

Redesign of John-F.-Kennedy-Platz: More life for Schöneberg!

John-F.-Kennedy-Platz, 10825 Berlin, Deutschland - On June 17, 2025, the vernissage for the exhibition "Ideas for the Future of John-F.-Kennedy-Platz" took place in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg participation. This exhibition, which runs until July 10, 2025, is a cooperation project between the district office Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the Bauhaus University Weimar and the neighborhood bread e.V. graduates, including Jan Giesenhagen, Julian Feld and Otto Schlosser, have developed concepts for redesigning the square and the neighboring streets. The focus is on increasing the quality of stay and the revitalization of the market, which also takes into account the current use as a marketplace, event location and traffic area. The results are also available online on Mein.Berlin.

John-F.-Kennedy-Platz has a historical importance, since John F. Kennedy's famous speech was given here on June 26, 1963. This redesign is part of a more comprehensive process that started at the end of 2024. The aim of the project is to redesign the space and improve the quality of stay, especially with regard to the weekly market, which plays a central role in community life.

future planning and measures

On June 2, 2025, the results of the redesign project were presented in the committee for order, green, environment and climate protection. The district office now checks the feasibility of the proposed measures. One of the first measures will be that a mobile village oven on the southern part of the square will be operated from July 2025. This idea integrates the aspect of communal food into public space and promotes the encounter between the citizens.

In addition, various measures are proposed, including:

• plantings of new trees along historical axes;
• limitation of the parking space in favor of residence areas;
• Setting up seating in the entrance area of ​​the town hall;
• Suggestion for the temporary blocking of the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Straße for use as an extended city square.

District Councilor Saskia Ellenbeck emphasized that the place in its current form was no longer up to date. The redesign process pursues the goal of involving administration, science and civil society in order to create a place that meets the needs of the Berliners: better inside and offers a more appealing ambience.

cities in change

The redesign of the John-F.-Kennedy-Platz is not only a local initiative, but also reflects a wider trend in urban development. As the Federal Center for Political Education constantly changing, cities are constantly changing and are social organisms that build up historical layers. Cities have to adapt to meet the needs of their citizens, which often requires new concepts for public spaces and infrastructure.

In this context, the integration of community projects, as is now taking place in Schöneberg, is of great importance. These approaches are necessary to meet the challenges of a modern city, including the lack of affordable living space and the social segregation, which have been reinforced by the wave of refugees since 2015

The developments around John-F.-Kennedy-Platz clearly show how urban areas can be actively designed in order to create more lively and more inviting places for all citizens. The mixture of tradition and innovation that becomes visible in these projects could serve as a model for future urban designs in Berlin and beyond.