Berlin : the genius of improvisation / Edited by Ariella Masboungi with Antoine Petitjean ; translation by Peter Jürgens

Foreword -- Berlin, a source of inspiration for the city's stakeholders -- Berlin and the art of improvisation: playing with the rules that safeguard the future and the acceptance of initiatives -- 01. Berlin, a kaleidoscope of recent history ; Berlin, a resilient city: from one balancing act to another ; Berlin after reunification: adventurousness, surprises and electric shocks ; Berlin in figures ; Berlin, the city with two ibas: 1957 and 1979-1987 ; tourism in Berlin: the triumph and curse of low costs ; twelve new neighbourhoods for the capital ; Alexanderplatz, the main square of east Berlin, is redesigned to wed the cultures of east and west ; critical reconstruction, a philosophy of urban recomposition in discussion ; Hans Stimmann, key protagonist of the "critical reconstruction" practised after the fall of the wall ; stadtforum: a democratic tool for town planning ; a critical architectural and urban chronicle of the past decades ; large reunification projects ; greater Berlin: an atlas analysis of the metropolis of Berlin ; social tolerance in Berlin faces the challenge of metropolitan normalisation -- 02. Strategy. A framework of thought and action ; Berlin: a radical change of perpective ; critical reconciliation ; Berlin by 2030: eight strategies, ten areas of action ; Berlin, a capital in control of its land ; Berlin-Brandenburg: one metropolis, five "regions", two states! ; the ber (Willy Brandt Berlin-Brandenburg airport): an international airport in crisis ; the creative and digital economies in Berlin: myth or reality? ; public and private stakeholders of entrepreneurial "creativity" ; an energy policy to achieve climate neutrality ; Schöneberg: an industrial showcase of energy action ; towards ecological mobility ; "Berlin by bike", a citizens' initiative ; taking action in priority neighbourhoods ; a pilot school for a difficult neighbourhood: Erika Mann primary school (Berlin-wedding) -- 03. The challenge of housing for everyone ; social housing in Germany: history and perspectives ; a history of housing estates ; social housing in Berlin: a new start after austerity ; refugees: a question of urban planning, environment and social life ; baugruppen, or do-it-yourself dwellings: know-how made in Berlin ; spreefeld, a new cooperative model ; norderoog and süderoog student residences: a collaboration between a social housing company and a baugruppe -- 04. New stakeholders, new methods ; changing perceptions and updating methods of action: informal use at the forefront of urban development ; urban "facilitators" ; structuring the debate: juni campus ; methods for taking action ; the senate round table discussions: a permanent public debate held by civil society ; direct democracy in Berlin ; the driving force of an architecture and urban planning journal, bauwelt ; the productive city, bawlet's commitment ; südliche friedrichstadt, an urban showcase ; how a sociologist and activist took over town planning in a borough of Berlin ; park akademie: towards the collective production of public space in the südliche friedrichstadt neighbourhood ; experimenting with a sustainable neighbourhood: the tegel airport site ; an ambitious programme -- 05. Three routes to discover Berlin ; 01 mitte and surroundings ; 02 kreuzberg and surroundings ; 03 west Berlin.

"Berlin is a city that continues to fascinate. It has a tormented history, is the capital of two reconciled Germanies, is an increasingly popular tourist destination, and has affordable living and workspaces for young people, artists, and other creative minds. The 3.7-million metropolis is also the scene for large-scale urban and architectural projects, bottom-up projects, and citizens’ initiatives such as communal gardening, cooperative living and other urban innovations. Is the miracle of Berlin’s success due to its genius of improvisation, that is to say its ability to adapt to a complex history, to invent specific courses of action, to negotiate? Since 2016, Berlin policy makers have developed an urban strategy to combat real estate price increases and gentrification. Another challenge for Berlin is to adapt to demographic change and the growing number of tourists. More participative, more equitable, and less favourable to automobiles, this city is looking to incorporate diverse methods: public/private partnership, citizen awareness initiatives, social and economic actions. This book aims to explore Berlin’s ability not to trivialise new ideas and thus remain a leader in innovation. The identified processes and the paradoxes deriving from them are likely to call into question the methods and current strategies of other European cities." -- Tomado de la página del proveedor.