Urbanism
Environment
Design

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The TEN Group's study tour to look at residential renewal and new communities in and around Berlin discovered some surprises. As well as some superb new architecture, including one of the best railway interchanges in Europe, a host of small scale renewal schemes in the former Eastern sector are turning Berlin into a major creative centre. The main themes of the report are integrating transport and development, achieving a first class public realm, renovating existing estates and promoting sustainable new communities. The new community of Kirchsteigfeld is an excellent model for what a sustainable suburb should be like, while the older border area of Kreuzberg offers many lessons for careful urban renewal. Now that Berlin is no longer growing it offers useful lessons for British cities that find it hard to attract private investment.