The economic recession is hard to notice in Berlin. The German capital has struggled economically for years and continues to.
"For most in the German capital, the financial crisis and the ensuing economic downturn seem unreal, a distant problem affecting other cities far away. The reason? The city wasn't doing terribly well even in the good times. It has become used to a dour economy and didn't have very far to fall."
"'Because Berlin has done relatively so poorly for the last 40 years, it can't do much worse,' Michael Burda, an economist at the city's Humboldt University, told SPIEGEL ONLINE."
"If anything, the economic difficulties facing other European capitals will lead to Berlin fears that it may lose its coveted place at the bottom of the heap. The city thrives on its grungy, unkempt image, one that Mayor Klaus Wowereit immortalized in his 2003 comment that Berlin is "poor but sexy." Municipal services are kept at a bare minimum, with garbage often blowing down Berlin's wide boulevards and sidewalks left covered with ice and snow until the weather changes."
FULL STORY: Berlin's Poverty Protects It from Downturn

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

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Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
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MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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