Unit 7: Urban development in the divided Germany

(Timur Dietz, Philipp Greiff, Susanne Schmidt, Thomas Schüttenberg; revised by D. Wiktorin)

Urban structures and their evolution are - at all times and in all societies - a mirror of the underlying general political, economic and social conditions. Insofar, the development of the German cities between 1945 and 1990 is very much determined by the political systems in the two Germanies. As much as the East German cities were going to be remodeled into the direction of a socialist city, the urban structures in West Germany were the result of processes of a democratic market economy. However, besides many system related differences, there were parallels in the general principles of urban development between both societies (Nutz 1998: 24). Berlin [1], the city which was probably most directly influenced by the German separation, is a particularly good example of demonstrating the succeeding phases [2] of urban development. Only separated by the Wall [3], in both parts of the city processes were carried out, which influenced the structures in other cities in West and East Germany in similar ways.

The first years after WW II were almost exclusively determined by clearing the rubble [4] and repairing damaged homes [5]. The bombing resulted in piles of rubble [6] everywhere and a speedy reconstruction seemed to be very unlikely. Meanwhile, urban planning experts in East and West had controversial discussions about different concepts of reconstruction. The concept of historical reconstruction and that of modern new construction were the most extreme positions (Nipper 1993: 73). The first time a concept could be realized was when laws for general planning conditions had been passed.

In the GDR, founded in 1949, the Volkskammer (parliament) passed the Aufbaugesetz (development/construction law) in 1950 which included 16 basic principles of urban development. These principles became the general guidelines of East German urban development for the next decades. The decision to establish an organized evolution of socialism resulted in urban development as an explicit task of national policy. The socialist city would follow the concept of the 'nice German city' i.e. being national in form and socialist in content. This was true for planning new cities [ 7] and urban districts as well as for remodeling inner city core areas. From then on, characteristics of the centres of a socialist city are the central square (used for parades etc.), over-dimensional 'magistrales' and imposing buildings for political and cultural functions. The ambitious plans only had a chance of being carried out if a comprehensive land reform and nationalization of the housing sector could be put into effect. The representation requirement of the young state became evident in particular in the process of remodeling its capital, East Berlin. By dynamiting the city palace [8] of the Prussian emperor, space was provided for a central square. In 1952, the construction of the Stalinallee [9] as the future 'magistrale' of East Berlin began. The visual effect of this 'magistrale' was to be intensified architecturally by a giant high-rise building in the so-called wedding cake style following examples in Moscow [10].

While the reconstruction of cities in the GDR was determined by a concept decreed by the state, cities in West Germany followed very different concepts of reconstruction in the 1950s. Some cities, like Hanover or Mainz [11], are exponents of trying a comprehensive modernization. However, the majority of cities - West Berlin, too - developed a kind of mixed conceptfrom the very beginning, in which retaining historic ensembles was combined with comprehensive remodeling of urban structures, meeting the necessities of modern life. Substantial changes in the historic urban structure were difficult anyhow, because of what was left of underground utilities (supply and disposal systems, basement vaults, foundations, etc.) on the one hand and the continuation of the former landownership on the other. The lowest common denominator of all the concepts was the idea of the 'gegliederte und aufgelockerte Stadt' [12] (Beyme 1987: 71). The main characteristic of this concept is the spatial division of functions, which was already a main claim of the Charter of Athens [13] in the 1920s. The first land use plan for West Berlin of 1950 can be regarded as a typical development scheme of these years. The main elements of this plan were the grouping of urban space into spatial units of different functions and the expansion of the transportation system - widening of main streets and construction of new ones. At least as important as the reconstruction of the core areas was progres in the housing sector. In 1950, the West German parliament passed the Wohnungsbaugesetz (housing construction law) in order to simplify the construction of urgently needed social housing. By 1956, more than two million dwellings had been built as a result of this law (Heineberg 1989: 81).

From the mid 1950s, a new phase of urban development was introduced in the GDR. In the housing sector, the target numbers had not been fulfilled in the Stalinist period and as a consequence a more effective way of construction was striven for by using methods of industrialization and standardization. In the following years spaciously grouped, linearly ordered housing complexes were built mostly at the fringe of the cities. From then on these settlements were the very characteristic of East German urban planning and the industrially prefabricated Plattenbau [14] (template construction) became the physical symbol of a socialist way of life. Although production increased, the shortage problems in the housing sector could not be solved until the end of the 1960s. Only the housing program of the GDR from 1973, which concentrated the activities onto the peripheries of the industrial urban agglomerations paved the way to overcome this chronic under-supply in the housing sector (Hoscislawski 1991: 67). Like in Berlin-Marzahn [15], in many cities of the GDR, 'Plattenbau' settlements [16] of an enormous size and an enormous housing density were constructed based on a consequent standardization and simplification of the prefabricated series.

Ordered spatial patterns and visual relations between architectural ensembles were the main elements of developing the inner cities up to the 1970s. Since 1961, the planning of the centre of East Berlin was concentrated onto the axis Alexanderplatz - Unter den Linden (section II of the Karl-Marx-Allee). Works of fine arts like sculptures and murals enriched the architectural design and fit into the idea of the imposing socialist centre. In contrast, the stock of old houses in the inner city had been neglected since the end of the war and resulted already at the mid 1960s in a situation which can best be described as spacious areas with old houses in an incredibly bad condition. As a consequence whole quarters with old houses were demolished in many cities of the GDR and the historic houses were replaced by modern buildings in 'Plattenbau' style as for example in Berlin-Fischerkietz in accordance with the new general principle of the 'compact city'. Historic features were strictly subordinated to the ideal of a new cityscape and is best illustrated by the complete remodeling of the Alexanderplatz [17]. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the GDR in 1969, this traffic node was crowned by a new dominant high-rise feature, the TV tower [18].

In the Federal Republic of Germany, urban development in the 1960s and early 1970s was mainly dominated by the general principle of the 'autogerechte Stadt' (automobile oriented city). The reconstruction of the West German cities was completed to a great extent by the beginning of the 1960s and the expansion of transportation systems came into the focus of urban development. The main reason for doing so was the drastic increase in the degree of motorization, which for instance in West Berlin rose from 4.8% in the early 1950s to more than 20% in 1965. For 1970, a number of 388,000 private cars was forecast for West Berlin but was by far exceeded in reality when 428,000 cars were counted (Hofmeister 1990: 94). The developments in the private transportation sector [19] encouraged particularly the process of suburbanization and resulted in a temporary peak in the 1970s. More and more people were attracted to leave the densely built up quarters of the inner city and to move into single family homes at the urban fringe. The result was a tremendous sprawl of the urban agglomerations [20]. In a kind of anti-reaction, urban planning experts elaborated a new general principle 'Urbanitaet durch Dichte' (urbanity by density) as a consensus. The main idea was to stop the threat of loosing quality of urban life. So, new high-rise housing areas (Grosswohnsiedlung), similar to the ones in East Germany but of smaller size, were built at the urban peripheries. Gropiusstadt and Maerkisches Viertel in West Berlin became the contrast to the new district of Marzahn in East Berlin. By 1990, 70 high-rise housing areas (Grosswohnsiedlung) with a population of more then 5,000 had been built in East Germany compared to only 14 settlements of that size in the West (Hohn/Hohn 1997: 237). The main goal of the concept, to improve the quality of urban life, was rarely achieved, often because the facilities of infrastructure did not exist, at least not in a sufficient number.

An attempt was made to counteract the tendency towards suburbanization in the core areas of West German cities, too, by incentives of concentration and redevelopment. In the city centres, big commercial buildings, often high-rises as well, were succesfully built on vacant plots successively. The remodeling of the city centre of West Berlin [21] around the Kurfürstendamm [22] (Heineberg 1977) is an impressive example of the inner city construction boom of the 1970s. Almost at the same time, the living quality of quarters consisting of old buildings was detected, particularly of the residential areas of the so-called housing and commercial ring of the period of promoterism. In such quarters, intensive and expensive renovations lead to an upgrading not only of the buildings but of the whole neighbourhood, too. The urban renewal process in Berlin Kreuzberg [23] is only one of the many prominent examples.

A strong wave of suburbanization comparable to that in West Germany never took place in East German cities. On the one hand the degree of motorization was distinctly lower in the GDR, on the other hand public housing construction was concentrated within the boundaries of the cities. However, the value of old housing was recognized in East German cities, too, but somewhat later, in the early 1980s. Old housing was considered as a valuable stock of housing and later also as urban heritage, which was to be retained. As a result, the state-run urban development policy declared reconstruction and preservation of old buildings as a centre piece of its activities. But reconstruction was very rarely carried out close to the original: in the majority of projects specially produced, prefabricated templates with an historical appearence were used in most renewal projects. Examples are the East Berlin Nikolaiviertel [24] or the Gendarmenmarkt [25].

The advantages of a mixture of functions became known in West and East Germany as well as a result of the urban renewal projects in the 1970s and 1980s. Moreover, in West Germany environmental issues - like in all other areas of societal life - achieved a central part in urban development since the mid 1980s. Very characteristic of this tendency are changing policies in transportation [26] - support and expansion of public transportation - as well as the propagation of ideas towards a sustainable urban development. This trend continues through the 1990s to the presence. However, when the reunification agreement came into effect in October 1990, the conditions of urban development in the East as well as in the West changed quite substantially. The East German municipalities got back their planning sovereignty and have been in a very essential and comprehensive process of transformation since then, the West German cities have suddenly been confronted with a reduction of public financial support as well as of private investment - a situation which of course does have consequences for urban development.

[1] http://www.berlin.de/stadtplan/map.asp
[2] http://slws1.bau-verm.uni-karlsruhe.de/vrl/stew/ab2610.html
[3] http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/BIW/wall.html
[4] http://www.luise-berlin.de/bms/bmstxt99/9901prog.htm
[5] http://www.wowi.de/info/history/bestand/kriegsschaeden1.htm
[6] http://www.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/685_2/index.html
[7] http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/aufbau/e_overview1.htm
[8] http://www.berliner-schloss.de/start.php?navID=71
[9] http://www.berlin.de/stadttouren/en/kma.html
[10] http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/aufbau_west_ost/katlg09.htm#
[11] http://www.archinform.de/projekte/4320.htm
[12] http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/aufbau_west_ost/katlg05.htm
[13] http://www.byplanlab.dk/english/athen.htm
[14] http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/verlag/diss/ott/platte2.htm
[15/27] http://www.sky-line.de/stadtteil/sta_15_398.html
[16] http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/verlag/diss/ott/platte1.htm
[17] http://www.bz-berlin.de/bz/ecken/alex/alex.htm
[18] http://www.berlin-alexanderplatz.de/img/bild01.html
[19] http://www.bg-dvr.de/fakten/umwelt/umw111.htm
[20] http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/factsheet.asp
[21] http://www.berlin.de/panorama/.html/index.html
[22] http://www.winkelewski.de/fotos2/dia/alex_uhr_mit_forum_turm_tram.jpg
[23] http://www.kreuzberg.de/
[24] http://www.berlin-info.de/english/sights/sight08.html
[25] http://www.deutsche-heimat.com/berlin/gendarmenmarkt.html
[26] http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/uba-info-daten/daten/momcheck/

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