Graefekiez Berlin – Climate Adaptation & Street Transformation
In cooperation with
District of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin and Berlin Social Science Center (WZB)
On behalf of
paper planes e.V.
Our services
Public Engagement & Stakeholder Strategy
The Challenge
Cities across Europe are facing growing pressure to adapt to climate change. Streets need to be redesigned to manage stormwater, reduce urban heat, improve air quality and create space for biodiversity and sustainable mobility. Yet large-scale implementation remains rare, as such measures often require changes to established routines and can trigger public resistance.
In 2022, Berlin's Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district took an unprecedented step. The district assembly decided to remove up to 2,000 on-street parking spaces in the Graefekiez neighbourhood to create more space for climate adaptation and alternative forms of mobility.
At the time, neither the exact implementation nor the legal framework had been fully developed. The announcement therefore sparked intense public debate, uncertainty and concern among many residents. The challenge was not only technical, but social: how could such a transformative project gain public trust and local support?
Press conference for the project launch: City Councillor Annika Gerold, Prof. Dr. Andreas Knie for the WZB, Simon Wöhr for paper planes eV (from left to right)
Significant media interest: Simon Wöhr for paper planes eV in an interview with the ARD news program Tagesthemen.
The Tactic
In 2023, paper planes e.V., the district administration and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) launched a collaborative process to accompany the transformation of the neighbourhood. As project lead for paper planes e.V., urban tactics founder Simon Wöhr designed and managed the public engagement strategy.
Our approach focused on visibility, accessibility and trust-building. Through regular neighbourhood office hours, public events and a large-scale "Marketplace of Opportunities", we created spaces for dialogue and exchange. The project team established a "Map of Local Knowledge", enabling residents to contribute their everyday experiences and identify challenges and opportunities within the neighbourhood.
At the same time, hands-on activities such as community planting events activated local networks and encouraged residents to take ownership of the transformation process. Workshops with experts, local stakeholders and affected residents helped develop solutions for issues such as waste management, noise concerns and the integration of green infrastructure.
The Result
The Graefekiez has become one of Germany's most prominent neighbourhood transformation projects and a reference case for climate adaptation in public space.
By acting as a bridge between local residents, administration and research partners, the project team helped build trust and stability throughout a highly contested process. The temporary traffic experiment evolved into a permanent and continuously expanding transformation programme.
To date, around 400 public parking spaces have been repurposed for community uses, green infrastructure and sustainable mobility. Approximately 80 of these spaces were co-designed directly with residents, creating a stronger sense of local ownership and demonstrating how public space can be transformed through collaborative urban development.
The work of paper planes e.V. was supported by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and the Mercator Foundation.
