Neighbourhood and Community

New residential districts are a great challenge. They lack the advantage of a milieu developed over decades and shaped for generations by the people who live there. But a lively residential environment is an important factor in the well-being of residents. The goal of the IBA Hamburg is to create stable and liveable neighbourhoods as well as new housing.

The people living in the district, whatever their age group, should have as wide a range of their communal needs covered as possible. At the same time, this should also grow and develop as the new inhabitants move in.

The IBA Hamburg starts early with the prerequisites for networking new residents with each other and with neighbouring districts. Neighbourhood parties or active collaboration on subsections of the district such as e.g. playgrounds or courtyards for residents bring neighbours together and create collective identification. Already established clubs and initiatives from the surrounding area can contribute to the growing together of neighbourhoods.

The goal of the IBA Hamburg is to create lively centres in the form of local squares with restaurants, retail, cultural and social uses. Encounters can also take place on an education campus which makes provision for all neighbours, including after school. Through forward-looking planning, public spaces should be created that are easy to reach and diverse in structure, thus promoting neighbourly exchange.

25
communal and intercultural gardens in Hamburg invite people to garden together.
34%
of Germans call at least one neighbour a good friend (yougov.com).
Since 1999,
on the last Friday in May, European Neighbours’ Day has been celebrated in 49 countries. In 2018 Neighbours’ Day was also introduced in Germany.
Förderprogramm
RISE strengthens Hamburg neighbourhoods www.hamburg.de/rise/

What does neighbourliness mean to you?

“Living here means being very close. Thanks to the small squares and close neighbourhoods, some friendships have already been forged. What pleases me particularly is that direct contact means you can borrow and share things – from garden machinery to cars.”

KATJA NIEMEYER

RESIDENT OF VOGELKAMP NEUGRABEN

Requirements for good neighbourhoods

Creating identities

The IBA Hamburg identifies the strengths of the locations and builds on them: Living close to nature has become a state of mind in the districts of Vogelkamp Neugraben and Fischbeker Heidbrook, and for its residents, a way of life. Here, the statement is filled with content: from higher-level developments through planning and construction requirements that builders must comply with to educational provision and neighbourhood activities.

Strengthening and demanding quality

To create a district of value with a stable neighbourhood, all participants need the right tools and offer their commitment. Clear design requirements for private owners and investors lead, ultimately, to high-quality results, so that everyone in the district can feel good. A plus point: during the processes, neighbourly communities will already have formed.

Planning for people

From the very beginning, IBA Hamburg works out what is needed for a balanced neighbourhood and lay it down in the plans according to the district’s character: housing provision for very different needs, good social infrastructure, a people-oriented urban design creating lively public space through green areas and squares and well-designed ground-floor zones.

Encounters and networking

Old and new neighbours ought to get to know each other. To do so, they need places and opportunities to meet and benefit from this, such as parties and activities, communal rooms, shared gardens, playgrounds, parks or space for retail and restaurants. Of importance are good paths and routes leading into the surrounding neighbourhood and within the district to revitalise public space and foster mutual exchange.

Sport and leisure opportunities

Sport connects people – that is why exercise, sports facilities, leisure and cultural activities also promote good neighbourly relations. If the prerequisites are met in the plans, groups and like-minded people will usually find each other of their own accord.

Including local stakeholders

Exchange should be sought with present and existing associations, initiatives and organisations at an early stage. These, as a rule, have a broad local network and contribute to integration. New residents can network here with old and new neighbours. In addition, new district developments often provide opportunities for existing organisations to grow or extend.

Designing neighbourhoods together – courtyards for residents

Residents’ courtyard workshop
Completed courtyard for residents in Fischbeker Heidbrook
Completed courtyard for residents in Fischbeker Heidbrook
Completed courtyard for residents in Fischbeker Heidbrook

What does neighbourliness mean to you?

“For me, neighbourliness means being there for each other and respecting each other; cohesion in a small community and the village-like feel overall make Georgswerder something special. For the new project, I would like to see the arrival of young families and the social strengthening of the Niedergeorgswerder Deich.”

STEVEN HARDER