Hamburg, Germany’s main dynamic port city, is ambitious. In the last decade, it has developed a former port area into a new part of the city, HafenCity. It is Europe’s largest regeneration site, and in the coming years, the project will be completed. The redevelopment is very innovative, with great examples of user-led urban development, and lots of attention for quality of public space and public life.
This is no reason for complacence, however. The next challenge lies east of the city centre, now a rather messy industrial area, to be transformed into something…..better, fitting with the growth and ambitions of Hamburg as busy, knowledge based, innovative city. One big site, a former station area, is lying vacant, and currently plans are being developed to turn this area into a 21th century urban industrial site. The big question is: what could be developed there, with a view to a long-term sustainable development of the bigger area in the future. UrbanIQ is asked to help in the process.