Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld Urban extension and public transport in East Germany IRPUD/VPL - Jürgen Brunsing, Wiebke Unbehaun, Jürgen Wixforth 1 Context 2 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Objectives and Policies 2 2 Implementation 3 2.1 Planning Process 3 2.2 Financing 4 2.3 Participation 4 2.4 Urban Design Concept 4 2.5 Transport Concept 5 3 Assessment 6 4 Conclusions 7 5 References 7
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 2 1 Context 1.1 Background Potsdam (population 135,000) is the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg and located about 25 km south-west of Berlin. Despite its government functions, the city shares with other east-german cities the problems of progressive economic structural change after the reunification of Germany in 1990 (Kuchenbecker and Rafoth, 1994). The case study Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld is one of the first examples of new mixed-use residential and working areas in east Germany after the large-scale high-rise housing areas built in the former GDR. Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld, about 5 km from the city centre of Potsdam, is one of these high-rise housing areas inherited from the GDR. The recognition of the enormous social problems associated with these dormitory suburbs led to the plan to create in Kirchsteigfeld next to the existing high-rise housing area a new multifunctional quarter for 7,000 residents and 5,000 work places. The 60 ha of the site are divided into different patterns of land use. The major part, 24,9 ha, is assigned to residential use, 9,8 ha will be used for commercial businesses and services, 9,5 ha for mixed use buildings, 10,3 ha for roads and public transport and 4,5 ha for open spaces. Originally, 110,000 m² of floor space for offices, retail and services and 2,800 dwellings were envisaged (BBR,1998). 1.2 Objectives and Policies Until the 1980s the urban development department of the City of Potsdam planned to further expand the large-scale high-rise apartment blocks in Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld built in the 1960s. After the re-unification they decided to develop a new mixed-use district with a settlement structure of a high density. The new quarter was - to serve as a bridge between the 18th-century old town of Potsdam and the high-rise apartment blocks of Kirchsteigfeld, - to be based on a comprehensive concept of urban sustainability taking account of social, economic and ecological aspects, - to promote the use of public transport and to reduce car use and car ownership. Being a relatively small city, Potsdam has an above-average proportion of walking and bicycle trips: In 1991, 47% of all movements were non-motorised. Public transport attracted 18% of all trips, and only one third of all trips were car trips (Figure 1). The number of car trips has since increased because of growth in car ownership, but is still low compared to west German cities. 30-9-99 / 2
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 3 Figure 1. Model shares of Potsdam in 1991 (Source: SNV, 1993) 2 Implementation 2.1 Planning Process The necessary changes in the land-use plan from high-rise blocks to low-rise mixed-use were made in 1991. Shortly afterwards, the developer, a real-estate investment company of Berlin, acquired approximately 60 ha of undeve loped land from private land owners. Negotiations between the federal state of Brandenburg, the City of Potsdam and the developer led to a legally-binding co-operation agreement between the developer and the City of Potsdam, the Urban Development Contract. This agreement broke new ground in Germany as it put the principle of public-private partnership into a legally binding form. In this process, private economic know-how as well as personal and financial resources are integrated into public projects in order to relieve the financial burden of local government and to enable the implementation of large-scale projects as quickly as possible (Krier and Kohl, 1997). The Urban Development Contract regulates the rights and duties of two equal partners. The public side is responsible for building law aspects and for making the requisite public funds available. The developer assumes the responsibility for investments and for adhering to the construction deadlines. Further planning studies were commissioned by the developer. After consultations with the city of Potsdam and the Ministry for Urban Development, Housing and Traffic of Brandenburg, an environmental impact study was carried out. The developer arranged a workshop to create an urban design concept to accommodate individual housing styles. Six internatio nallyrenowned groups of architects were invited The procedure proved to be very productive (Krier and Kohl, 1997). 30-9-99 / 3
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 4 2.2 Financing In the Urban Development Contract the developer committed himself to constructing 2,800 residential units as well as space for services required by their residents. In addition the developer agreed to provide the entire technical infrastructure at his own cost. The City of Potsdam agreed to provide public subsidies from social housing funds for 2,450 residential units, to finance social infrastructure, such as schools and kindergartens, and to provide public transport connections between the new area and the rest of the city (Krier & Kohl, 1997). Approximately 600 condominiums and terrace houses were built in privately-financed projects in order to offer various building types for a heterogeneous structure of population. The total investment volume for the whole project amounted to approximately 1,000 million Euro. 2.3 Public Participation Immediately after the new land-use plan was passed, the public was included in the planning process by regular information by the municipal authorities, the Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Transport of Brandenburg and the developer. No objections were raised, apart from a concern that there might be traffic problems and noise pollution caused by heavy-goods lorries going through the area. To promote the living and working together of the various population groups in the new quarter the developer introduced a scheme of neighbourhood management. The developer took on the role of a partner and promoter of social processes, which require support until they are able to work independently. Communicative and integrative activities are promoted until the people are completely integrated and are able to identify with their new home (Krier and Kohl, 1997). 2.4 Urban Design Concept The compact settlement structure of Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld is characterised by a perimeter development with 3-4 storey apartment houses. The mixed-used part of the district is concentrated at a new tram station on the extension of the existing tram line between the older, highrise parts of Kirchsteigfeld and Potsdam. Along the tram line residential buildings have up to five storeys. The new business and service quarter planned along the highway is intended to act as noise protection for the residential development behind them. The central part of Kirchsteigfeld is divided into two distinct quarters, each with a specifically shaped central space (see Figure 2). The major streets wrap each quarter like a belt. Together, the northern and southern belts form a ring, which can be used by cyclists and pedestrians but not by cars (Krier & Kohl, 1997). The two quarters share a common centre with a church, shops and an open-air market. From these a boulevard leads toward the commercial area, linking it to the centre of the older, high-rise Kirchsteigfeld. On the ground floor of the residential buildings along the tram-line supermarkets, shopping facilities and other services are located. On the first floor there are doctors and lawyers' offices and various social infrastructure facilities. An elementary school, a high school and three kindergartens were built in the residential areas. 30-9-99 / 4
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 5 Figure 2. Plan of the new development at Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld (Source: BBR, 1998) 2.5 Transport Concept The local public transport authority in 1990 created a marketing concept to promote the use of public transport including, for instance, job tickets with a 35% fare reduction for workers to increase the use of public transport for work trips An important element of environmentally orientated land-use and transport planning was the extension of a tram line into the new quarter in Kichsteigfeld. Since May 1998 Kirchsteigfeld is connected with the city centre of Potsdam by a direct tram line running 25 minutes every five minutes in peak hours and every ten during the rest of the day. Besides the new tram line, Kirchsteigfeld has since recently access to the motorway A 115. This is an important asset for the planned business and service park which is expected to create approximately 5,000 new jobs. 30-9-99 / 5
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 6 The Urban Development Contract requires the provision of only one parking space per dwelling. 60% of all parking spaces are to be located on building sites and 40% along public streets. Underground parking garages were rejected because of the costs and the high groundwater level. To strengthen the use of walking and cycling, each street is equipped with attractive sidewalks and each main street with cycling lanes (BBR, 1998). 3 Assessment Until 1998 most residential buildings and the market centre and social facilities were completed. Today 6,000 people live in Kirchsteigfeld. Most of them moved in from other parts of Potsdam. The commercial development has only partly been implemented due to a lack of demand for floor space. Reasons for this may be the closeness of Berlin, which as the new capital of Germany attracts more developers, and the competition between the neighbouring communities of the Berlin hinterland, but probably also the initially missing access to the motorway and the strict design regulations for the business and service park, which kept some investors away. The failure to attract more investors demonstrates that local urban development cannot be planned without the context of developments in the whole region and without an early participation of future users, residents as well as investors. The difficulties to implement a truly mixed-use urban development led to a change of the marketing slogan "Kirchsteigfeld: housing, working, living in Potsdam" to "Kirchsteigfeld: a real city and yet in the green". However, Kirchsteigfeld has become a full success with respect to its transport objectives. In a survey conducted in 1999 it was found that the already low percentage of car trips characteristic for Potsdam (cf. Figure 1) was further reduced in the new quarter to 27%, with three quarter of all trips being walking, cycling or public transport trips (Figure 3). Figure 3. Modal shares in Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld in 1999 (Source: FPB, 1999) 30-9-99 / 6
TRANSLAND - in-depth case study / Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld 7 4 Conclusions Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld is one of the first examples of new mixed-use residential and working areas in east Germany after the large-scale high-rise housing areas built in the former GDR. The recognition of the enormous social problems associated with these dormitory suburbs led to the plan to create in Kirchsteigfeld a new multi-functional quarter for 7,000 residents and 5,000 work places. The urban design concept of the new area is based on low-rise residential buildings partly with shops and offices on the lower floors. The area is well connected by a tram line to the public transport network of Potsdam. A planned business and service park has not yet been completed. The case study is a good example of effective integration of land-use and transport planning. The public transport connection to the quarter was established almost simultaneously with the completion of the development of the quarter itself. Only four months after completing the major part of the residential buildings and social facilities the new tram line started to run. The intended mix of functions in the area could reduce the need for long work, shopping or leisure trips, while the high residential density makes good public transport services feasible and so contributes to reducing car use. Further measures, like traffic calming and limiting residential parking to one space per dwelling, support the goal of reducing car use and car ownership. The innovative public-private partnership established for the development of Potsdam- Kirchsteigfeld is in principle transferable to all European countries. However, the high level of co-operation between state and local governments and developer may not be easy to replicate. The partners have to bring in the willingness to negotiate and work towards a compromise. The land-use and transport concept of Kirchsteigfeld is transferable especially to suburban parts of cities with a demand for new dwelling and offices. 5 References BBR - Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (1998): Stadt-Landschaft. Informationen zur Raumentwicklung 7/8. FPB - Freie Planungsgruppe Berlin (1999): Experimenteller Wohnungs- und Städtebau: Fallbeispiel Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld. Unpublished Report for the Federal ExWoSt Programme. Krier, R., Kohl, C. (1997): Potsdam Kirchsteigfeld - Eine Stadt entsteht. Bensheim: awfverlag. Kuchenbecker, B.; Rafoth, K. (1994): Park and Ride für die Region Potsdam. Diploma Thesis. Dortmund: Department of Spatial Planning. SNV - Studiengesellschaft Nahverkehr (1993): Verkehrsentwicklungsplan Stadt Potsdam, Sachstandsbericht. Berlin: SNV. 30-9-99 / 7