Gleisdreieck / Parklife Berlin

East Park / Gleisdreieck. A summer evening. Mothers ask their children to come home for supper. Bottle collectors are on their beat while an English-speaking guide illuminates a group of tourists on the significance of intercultural gardens. A crowd of mostly grey-haired Kreuzberg natives equipped with picnic baskets meets for their weekly game of bowls. The soft evening light shines through the treetops of the small birch wood. Gleisdreieck paradigmatically evokes questions about the right of partaking and participating in decision-making, ownership of urban space and about planning procedures for a city centre wasteland in a time of increasing demands for housing. This book addresses the changeful history of the site, showing in vivid images the contrasts of Berlin park life in the 21st century. Numerous interviews with activists, the creative community and planning experts allow sensitive insights into a complex microcosmos of views on »our city«. Six essays give inspiring statements on the current urban development debate. With photographs by Hans W. Mende, Lorenzo Pesce and Mario Ziegler.

Andra Lichtenstein, Landschaftsarchitektin, und Flavia Alice Mameli, Produktdesignerin, sind zwei Stadtforscherinnen mit Leidenschaft für Berlin.