Environmentalists are calling for a change of course in housing construction in Hamburg

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Without hesitation, Olaf Scholz (SPD) said "housing construction" when he was asked shortly before his move to the Federal Ministry of Finance in 2018 what would be remembered as the most important element of his tenure as Hamburg's First Mayor. The housing construction policy of the SPD, which has formed the Hamburg Senate alone and together with the Greens since 2011, is seen as a model in Germany. Unlike Berlin, for example, whose housing market is sinking into chaos, Hamburg is countering the urgent housing shortage with the approval for the construction of 10,000 new apartments per year with market-based funds.

The environmental organization BUND in Hamburg fundamentally criticized this widely recognized policy on Thursday. It calls for a paradigm shift in urban development and a move away from the goal of approving the construction of 10,000 new apartments a year. The reason for the criticism right now is the ongoing negotiations between the Senate and the districts and the housing industry on the “Alliance for Housing” and the “Contract for Hamburg - New Housing”.

"Nature and species protection must no longer be subordinated to the building frenzy," said Christiane Blömeke, state chairwoman of the BUND in Hamburg and a former member of the Greens in the Hamburg parliament.

“10,000 homes a year are irresponsible in a city-state with limited space.

A simple new edition of the contracts for housing construction is wrong - a tense housing market is not a license for building at any price. "

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The goal of sustainable urban development, the climate crisis and the extinction of species required “a change of course in housing construction”.

Apart from the ecological damage, rents continued to rise.

This type of housing construction seems to be "not the solution".

Against surface sealing: BUND calls for a "net zero concept"

In essence, the BUND criticizes the increasing surface sealing for residential construction in Hamburg, the growing pressure on green spaces and biotopes, the lack of space for climatic regeneration in the city and for biodiversity.

BUND state managing director Manfred Braasch admitted that the database for the exact description of the surface sealing in Hamburg had to be improved.

But that doesn't change the fundamental problem: “The current urban development by 'Building Senator' Dorothee Stapelfeldt has no future.

There is no democratically legitimized overall planning for the city, and an area the size of the Outer Alster is planned every two years, ”he said.

"Europe and the federal government are committed to a circular economy when it comes to land use, only Hamburg has no plan."

Source: WORLD infographic

The BUND calls for all apartments to be actually built on the privately financed housing market that have already been approved.

There should be no new building permits in this market segment for that long.

Since 2011, more than 106,000 apartments in Hamburg have been approved.

Of these, however, only around 70,000 apartments had been built by the end of 2020.

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Hamburg must develop a “net zero concept” for future permits.

This already exists on a small scale, in the contract for the maintenance of green spaces in the city, said Braasch.

Where areas would be sealed, others would have to be “unsealed” in return, such as unused or hardly used commercial space, said Jörg Knieling, board member of BUND Hamburg and professor for urban planning and regional development at HafenCity University Hamburg: “Hamburg's urban development is well below its potential .

There are no sustainable concepts for affordable living space, a land policy oriented towards the common good and a space-saving and innovative mobility transition. "

Balance between social and ecological requirements

The right balance between the social and ecological requirements of urban planning and housing construction has considerable potential for political controversy.

Hamburg's housing construction policy is also considered successful because it always focuses on affordable housing for people with lower incomes.

Cooperatives and building associations are closely involved and supported in new construction projects.

"Social landlords consider the Alliance for Housing to be indispensable in order to provide enough affordable housing for those who have little income in a dynamic housing market like Hamburg," said Andreas Breitner, Director of the Association of North German Housing Companies (VNW): "This also includes agreeing on the construction of a certain number of apartments."

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The construction of more than 70,000 apartments since 2011 has meant that the rise in rents in Hamburg has recently declined significantly.

In Hamburg, the VNW represents a total of 134 housing cooperatives, housing associations and sponsoring members with a portfolio of around 300,000 apartments.

Hamburg's housing policy has proven itself, said Breitner: “However, social landlords also see the conflicting goals that exist between housing construction and climate protection.

It is clear to us that the construction of apartments already consumes part of Hamburg's available CO2 budget. ”However, tenants with medium and low incomes must also be able to find affordable accommodation in Hamburg in the future:“ A a significant reduction in residential construction would primarily be at their expense. "

The BUND demands that all potential be exploited in order to create new apartments without taking up additional space.

This could be achieved through a stronger concentration of commercial properties - for example with multi-storey supermarkets - as well as through a closer planning connection between the mobility transition and construction planning, and among other things also through more residential development along the main streets.

More communally used living space and a further strengthening of non-profit housing construction, especially in the cooperatives, are desirable, said Braasch: "We do not want to ban building, but to achieve responsible urban development and land use."

Ultimately, however, the environmentalists also want to initiate a discussion about how much living space everyone actually needs. Nationwide there is currently an average of 47 square meters per person, but only 35 square meters in model projects, for example in Zurich - the aim is to encourage people to “think” about the living space that is actually required, said state chairwoman Blömeke, “and perhaps to arouse awareness that one is as a single you don't have to live in 140 square meters ”.