The no man's land once occupied by the Berlin Wall has been the focus of redevelopment efforts for nearly two and a half decades now. But the slow pace of rebuilding means the scars of the Cold War remain visible across the city's landscape.
William Boston looks at the slow pace at which the gulf between Berlin's two halves is being repaired. "It is taking much longer to fill in the open spaces left by the division
of the city than many experts and city planners once expected," observes Boston. "The
rebuilding of Berlin, the main driver of property investment in the
city, is far from over. It may not even be half-time, property experts
say, which makes Berlin a huge exception among European capitals."
Despite Germany's strong economy, the room for redevelopment has
allowed commercial rents in the city to remain well below Europe's other
capitals.
"That means not only will the Berlin building boom likely keep chugging
along for years, but there is little reason to expect a squeeze on
supply to put pressure on prices as long as there is ample space to
build new offices, hotels and shopping centers in the shadow of the Wall
in central Berlin."
In some areas, however, the lack of large-scale rebuilding is not for lack of trying on the part of developers.
"The removal of the Wall created new open spaces for citizens in a city
that had grown used to being, well, walled in. In some cases, local
citizens have successfully blocked or delayed development of stretches
of the former death strip in order to preserve that open space for
public use."
Thanks to Daniel Lippman
FULL STORY: A Slow Pace to Reconnect East and West

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

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)