‘Kiezblocks’ for Berlin: thinking beyond bollards!

An article by Uta Bauer and Thomas Stein

Over 50 ‘Kiezblock’ initiatives have now formed in various districts in Berlin alone, with Neukölln, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mitte and Pankow among the districts currently working towards making ‘Kiezblocks’ a reality. According to Berlin’s Coalition Agreement and Counting Community Agreement at district level, this figure is to increase gradually in the years to come. Berlin is not the only city taking action in this area: Hamburg calls its versions ‘Superbuettel’; in Darmstadt they are ‘Heinerblocks’ and ‘Supergraetzel’ in Vienna.

But what is a ‘Kiezblock’? The concept of many ‘Kiezblock’ initiatives recall the general traffic calming measures of the 1980s. They aimed to keep through-traffic out of residential neighbourhoods, reduce speeds and green road spaces, making them more welcoming places overall. Then as now, these goals were among the cornerstones of traffic calming. The measures that are getting people so hot under the collar today were actually envisioned and illustrated as far back as 1986, in a brochure entitled ‘Evolving Urban Traffic’ by the CDU-led Construction Ministry (bit.ly/3KQx756). So is this just an old idea repackaged

The fact of the matter is that the current ‘Kiezblock’ debate lacks a clear, shared understanding of what a ‘Kiezblock’ should be. Are ‘Kiezblocks’ just residential areas without through-traffic? Does the concept also entail reconfiguring the road space to make it more welcoming, and safer for pedestrians and cyclists? Do parked cars have to make way, requiring alternative arrangements for stationary vehicles? Are desealing works to avoid heat build-up essential or optional?

There is one key difference between the 1980s and today: The competition for scarce road space has made urgent action more important than ever. In the meantime, the dominance of passenger cars has also increased, delivery traffic has exploded and the now ubiquitous navigation systems mean that more and more drivers looking for short cuts find them on side roads. This turns side roads into relief valves for main roads. These challenges go hand-in-hand with calls for more open spaces for neighbourhood residents, more space for pedestrians and cyclists, and public spaces adapted to a changing climate. The ‘Superblock’ concept is not just an old idea repackaged: it’s about implementing concepts when the time is right. As evidence from many international projects shows, this boots acceptance.

Previous international ‘Kiezblock’ projects

The ‘Superblocks’ (or ‘Superillas’) concept in Barcelona serves a model for the ‘Kiezblock’ initiatives. The Catalan city grouped multiple residential blocks in its chessboard layout to form a ‘Superblock’. The streets in this area were redesigned to promote walking and cycling and to make them a more welcoming place for people young and old. Motorised vehicles can still enter, make deliveries and load up, but parking is strictly limited and, above all, cars can no longer drive through the ‘Superblock’ – that is a key difference. Other European cities are also taking similar holistic approaches to redesign their public road spaces. The City of London created ‘Mini-Hollands’ in three outer boroughs between 2013 and 2019. Besides banning motorised through-traffic, its measures included upgrading cycle paths and footpaths, as well as adding ‘Pocket Parks’ to make roads and squares more attractive. The British Department for Transport is currently looking for twelve local authorities outside London to deploy this successful model in their towns (bit.ly/3H8YTHA). The Traffic Circulation Plan of Ghent, Belgium, also builds on the fundamental traffic management concept of ‘Superblocks’ and ‘Mini-Hollands’. Cars can drive into an area, but can’t use it as a ‘rat-run’.

‘Kiezblocks’ as a blueprint for an urban transport revolution

The challenges of transport in the urban environment show the special advantage of ‘Superblocks’ and ‘Kiezblocks’: Cities need to increase overall mobility while reducing vehicular traffic. In everyday life in residential neighbourhoods, ‘Kiezblocks’ combine measures that increase the local quality of life and maintain mobility, even though they take space away from cars.

They make people, not cars, the fulcrum around which the neighbourhood revolves. With their local focus, ‘Kiezblocks’ are a blueprint for the transport revolution in cities, proving that urban planning responsibilities must go hand-in-glove with transport planning. Simply redesigning a street is not enough to turn it into a ‘Kiezblock’, and falls far short of a transport revolution. Ideally, a ‘Kiezblock’ should be large enough to allow important everyday destinations (e.g. grocery shopping, childcare, school) to be reached on foot. Urban design principles like the ‘15-minute city’ provided useful guidance.

‘Kiezblocks’ have the following goals:

• Significantly reduce passenger car density;
• Improve quality of life and make areas more welcoming;
• Strengthen local retail, trade and hospitality;
• Strengthen neighbourhood structures and social cohesion;
• Increase safety for all road users;
• Create low-traffic public spaces;
• Improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists; and
• Avoid urban heat islands.

Implementing ‘Kiezblocks’ – Daring to take difficult decisions

The ‘Kiezblocks’ implemented in Berlin to date are diverse. In the absence of a Berlin-wide definition, the term ‘Kiezblocks’ is most frequently associated with measures to eliminate motorised through-traffic, as is the case in the Samariterkiez and Bellermannkiez neighbourhoods and street-level changes like those in Bergmannstrasse. Not all ‘Kiezblock’ initiatives require measures such as parking management, and they have not been addressed in any of the ‘Kiezblocks’ planned to date. However, this is not a knock on the ‘Kiezblock’ movement in Berlin’s districts, as they can also be implemented gradually. Phased models are also conceivable:

1. In a first phase, structural and traffic-related measures (diagonal diverters, half closures) are taken to eliminate through-traffic from residential districts, reduce speed and selectively/temporarily redesign the road space (flower boxes, parklets or play streets).
2. The second phase takes a more consistent and comprehensive approach to redesigning the road space: Measures like a parking management system and a gradual shift in parking from public spaces to private and public collective/district garages create space for upgraded cycling infrastructure, delivery zones, attractive green spaces with play facilities, seating and pavements.
3. The third phase integrates additional mobility stations with a multimodal range of shared vehicles (www.difu.de/11815) in the residential area. While private cars are becoming increasingly unnecessary, anyone who needs one will still be able to access every building. Desealing measures and an appreciable increase in green space will help improve the air quality and avoid heat islands.

While this procedure can be construed as a modular implementation of ‘Kiezblocks’, it really shows that eliminating through-traffic from a neighbourhood is just the beginning. The first step is crucial for acceptance at local level, especially if residents are not generally in favour of comprehensively repurposing the roads.

Bollards are just the first small steps in the transport revolution

‘Kiezblocks’ mean more than just a couple of bollards; they would be a big step towards sustainable, liveable urban environments. This also shows that concepts that focus exclusively on traffic measures are too limited in scope. Repurposing and redesigning public spaces takes expertise in (landscape) design, urban development and, not least, housing policy. Transformation processes of this kind always involve protest and conflicts. Besides a fear of no longer being able to park their own car, popular arguments against the changes include shifting of traffic to the main road network and neighbourhood gentrification due to upgrades to the residential environment. ‘Kiezblock’ concepts must consider these aspects and resolve them through an interdisciplinary approach, for example through housing policy measures. It is clear that communication is the key. Conversely, this also means that targets and measures adopted democratically must be implemented consistently. The international examples from London and Ghent, where the politicians behind the projects were re-elected in spite of significant protests, prove that political courage and consistent implementation are rewarded. Experience shows that local residents are often more open to such innovative concepts than administration and politicians assume. This support must be harnessed.

To enable local authorities in Germany to successfully implement ‘Kiezblocks’ and similar concepts, Difu consolidates lessons learned and best practice from districts in Berlin and other European cities. The ‘Berliner Kiezblocks’ forum focuses on discussions about redistributing public spaces and, in particular, on implementing ‘Kiezblocks’. To this end, it networks active and interested districts with one another and the competent senate departments.

Advance publication of the text that will be published in Difu-Magazine Berichte 1/2022