S!M!S!: Panel discussion with the Chief Planning Officer

"Altona Mitte – our centre!?": The young people probed the most pressing issues surrounding Hamburg’s second-largest urban development project – after HafenCity – during a panel discussion with experts. The two presenters, Merle and Lennard, were hardly daunted by their distinguished panellists. They even interrupted Hamburg’s Chief Planning Officer during a lengthy contribution – “quite rightly so”, as Prof. Jörn Walter himself later admitted.

Urban planner Mario Bloem reiterated his criticism of the “Mitte Altona” masterplan. He said he had nothing against rapid housing construction, but he was certainly against poor-quality building. Mark Classen (SPD, Chair of the Altona Planning Committee), who will chair the presentation of the draft development plan on 20 February, made it clear that the diggers would not be rolling in any time soon. First, Deutsche Bahn must state whether the Altona long-distance railway station will be relocated to Diebsteich – a decision is not expected before the end of the year.

Classen was unwilling to promise that “Mitte Altona” would actually become a neighbourhood for everyone, or that participants in the “Stadt! Macht! Schule!” programme would be able to find suitable accommodation there as students: “That depends on your financial circumstances.” Chief Planning Officer Walter highlighted conflicts of interest regarding the allocation of housing and spoke out against increasing the proportion of subsidised flats – currently planned at one-third – out of the total of around 3,500 units envisaged. Urban planner Bloem drew particular attention to the noise problem affecting the flats being built close to the railway tracks and would prefer to see a “commercial strip” developed there instead.

The audience consisted mainly of young people, but also included many experts from the fields of politics, urban planning, architecture and citizen participation. Following the event, they continued to discuss the evening’s topics in smaller groups – over pretzels and drinks.

Through the ‘Stadt! Macht! Schule!’ initiative, young people in Hamburg are formulating their ideas and demands regarding the new ‘Mitte Altona’ neighbourhood and bringing them into the political process. You can find out more about this project, which is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, here.