Bremen-Neue Vahr Nord „Family and Neighbourhood Centre“
In a large housing estate of the 1950s, three very different but neighbouring buildings have been converted into a community centre. In doing so, the property and building owners cooperated very closely on site and in terms of organisation and structure. A lively meeting point was created concentrating local powers and social offers.
Context
Source: GEWOBA
The “Neue Vahr” large housing estate was created in the 1950/60s. In between, the groundbreaking type of settlement had shown symptoms of old age, but now the buildings are in a well physical state again. The green and open spaces of the residential environment look well-tended.
The area is part of the programme of the German federal state of Bremen “Wohnen in Nachbarschaften WiN” (Living within Neighbourhoods) funded under the German Social City programme of the German Federal Government and the federal states. The local housing company GEWOBA plays an active role in renewing the neighbourhood area. Due to spatial barriers, “Neue Vahr” is divided up into several parts. This fact and the negative image of “Neue Vahr” have contributed to a social “habitat fragmentation”. The shares of older people and migrants, especially of German emigrants who returned to Germany long after the end of World War II, are comparably high. Furthermore, “Neue Vahr” has a lack of social infrastructure.
Project description
Source: GEWOBA
The family and neighbourhood centre is a key project of social renewal in “Neue Vahr Nord”. It is to improve the situation of the residents of “Neue Vahr Nord” and to bring generations more closely together again. Citizen’s exertion of influence and participation in developing offers and organising the use of spaces were of main relevance.
People of all age groups, nationalities and cultures are target groups of the family and neighbourhood centre “Neue Vahr Nord”. A special focus is on (young) families and older people as both groups are strongly represented in the neighbourhood and as there is a lack of related social infrastructure.
The project builds on the existing stock of buildings. A wash house, a bank branch and church rooms were converted into a family centre. Various organisations and offers, which had already existed in various places of the neighbourhood, form the heart of the new institution. The project partners bring current offers, users and elements to finance the facility.
A great challenge was the large number of person and parties involved when putting the project to practice. On the one hand, cooperation issues between three property and building owners (parish, GEWOBA, bank) had to be settled. On the other hand, an organisational model was created involving further relevant parties (City of Bremen, parish, commercial welfare services).
The connecting open space between the three buildings was integrated in the overal concept of the community facility as so-called “playground of generations”. The open space has various functions. It serves as the institution's entrance area and "business card". At the same time, the back part provides sheltered amenity value in terms of recreation but also for activities of young and old people.
Source: Manfred Fuhrich, BBSR im BBR
The persons and parties involved were able to bring in their various competences, perspectives and needs, to gain feedback on them and to manage that they were made realisable over the whole planning phase. A good precondition for cooperation within the planning process are existing networks that have emerged in the context of implementation of the Social City and WiN programmes. The project was from the beginning managed by the local department for social services of the City Council of Bremen and was supported by all persons and parties involved in the working group. The department’s network also inlcuded local politicians - both on the neighbourhood and the overall urban level - so that the project received strong policial support.
In autumn 2009, the parties involved founded a non-profit sponsoring organisation. The organisation and its chair assume the project management and are responsible for the overall project. This organisational structure also formally reflects the underlying integrative principle of cooperation based on equal rights.
The building costs of 1.1 million euros are mostly financed by public funds of the Federal Government (Social City) and the City of Bremen (Senator for Social Affairs, Children, Youth and Women and funding programme „Impulse für lebenswerte Städte“ (Impetus Towards Livable Cities)). A part of the funds came from the foundation „Wohnliche Stadt“ (Habitable City). The local housing society GEWOBA and the St. Petri Church also contributed parts of the funds. By involving all project participants in the sponsoring organisation model and by all stakeholders engaging to bear the rental expenses for their own rooms, the basic financing is ensured in the long term. The owner (GEWOBA) engages to make the rooms available free of charge for social, non-profit uses of up to twenty years. This is why the organisations involved only have to bear the incidental rental expenses and the constant running of the community centre.
Project chronology
Year | Event |
---|---|
2005 | Working group as initiating body founded |
2009 | Sponsoring organisation founded |
2008/2010 | Wash house converted |
2010 | Open spaces redesigned |
Aims
- To improve the neighbourhood's attractiveness
- To concentrate and strengthen the social infrastructure
- To convert and change the use of vacant, rarely used rooms
- To create a neighbourhood meeting point
Types of measures
- Founding a sponsoring organisation
- Converting the wash house and adjacent spaces
- Designing the “green middle”
Innovations
Source: GEWOBA
The joint project development, the open process and broad participation were main success factors in order to get through difficult phases and to run the centre successfully based on these experiences. In order to establish the family and neighbourhood centre within the urban district and to involve more people, a supporting association was founded in 2008. The unusual cooperation between public, social and commercial providers, however, represented a challenge in terms of law of association and funding conditions, which could only be coped with through high engagement ("honorary post on a full-time basis"). Success and financing of the project would not have been possible without the large support by residents, politicians and administrations.
Sources
- BBSR website concerning the ExWoSt field of research „Innovationen für familien- und altengerechte Stadtquartiere“ (Innovations for urban areas suitable for families and elderly people) (in German), >> more information
- BMVBS / BBSR (ed.): Urban neighbourhoods for young and old - a challenge for the future. Results of the ExWoSt field of research "Innovationen für familien- und altengerechte Stadtquartiere" (Innovations for urban areas suitable for families and elderly people). Werkstatt: Praxis Issue 71, Bonn 2011 (Abstract in English, long version in German), >> more information
- BMVBS (ed.): Stadtquartiere für Jung und Alt. Bilanz im Forschungsfeld "Innovationen für familien- und altengerechte Stadtquartiere" (Urban neighbourhoods for young and old. Results of the field of research “Innovations for urban areas suitable for families and elderly people"), Berlin 2010
- BMVBS / BBR (ed.): Urban neighbourhoods for young and old, Bonn, September 2007
Further information
- http://www.fqz-bremen.de/
- http://www.buergerengagement.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen89.c.7702.de
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 28329 - town: Bremen - street: August-Bebel-Allee 284.
Poject site on Google-Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/Tt5VVgm6L3P2
Last update: 21.02.2018