Prospects

Unter den Linden © Presse- und Informationsamt des Landes Berlin / G. Schneider

Berlin is located in the middle of a Europe in the process of uniting. As a symbol of the surmounting of the old East-West conflict, the city plays a signal role in the European integration process. European Union enlargement will open up great opportunities for Berlin. A metropolis of diversity and contrasts – a city of opportunities – is emerging here, where different political, cultural, and historical experiences of what was once a divided continent come together.
In an era of globalization and social change, Berlin confronts challenges similar to those facing other large European cities. The city also faces its own special challenges, although these also number among Berlin’s strengths. The city is, for instance, an international meeting place for people from all over the world. It is unfinished and open to innovation in many ways and in many different places, which makes the city exciting both in terms of its cultural environment and as a site for investment. Intriguing possibilities can be realized here, and that makes locating in Berlin a good idea.

Media, music, and film

As the center of political decision-making in Germany, Berlin attracts both economic and social institutions. Its new function as the seat of the federal government and parliament also reinforced its role as a media center from which the national and international media report.

DeutschlandRadio Berlin broadcasts from its studio on Hans-Rosenthal-Platz, the former home of RIAS, the American sector radio station, while the Berlin television station Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) merged with Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB) in May 2003 to form a two-state broadcasting corporation, Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg (rbb).
The public broadcasting corporations ARD and ZDF maintain studios in the capital city right in the heart of the government district, and many private radio and television stations have followed suit. The Federal Press Association (Bundespressekonferenz) also has its offices very close to the Reichstag building and the Federal Chancellery.

Federal Press Association © Allianz Immobilien GmbH

Berlin’s significance for the media industry, especially the music, publishing, and film and television sectors, has been growing for years now, and Berlin is now considered Germany’s most important center for the film industry. The studios in Babelsberg and the Adlershof media center, among others, have contributed to this development. Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH helped to fund projects in this sector.

Berlin has also regained its position as a major publishing industry location. With a total of 6,600 books, the Berlin-Brandenburg region now ranks second in Germany in the number of books published each year. And when it comes to the press, the region is unique in Germany and Europe, with 11 daily newspapers, one weekly, six Sunday papers, 13 advertising journals, 15 entertainment guides, and many national magazines. As the hundreds of larger and smaller companies working in this sector demonstrate, the music business has also discovered Berlin. Some of the music industry’s most prominent members, such as Universal Music, offices of Sony BMG and EMI have settled in Berlin.

City of initiatives

The expertise concentrated in Berlin and its renowned institutions in the humanities and sciences have continued to distinguish the city as a leading center of academics and research and as a city of initiative. In the information society, knowledge is a prerequisite for responsible political action and for the emergence of innovative prospects. A commitment to the common good and the concept of an open, socially just, and environmentally appealing city supported by civil society are two of the guiding principles for Berlin’s future development. The goal here is to involve as many interest groups as possible in a “local partnership.” This integrative approach also means continuing to bring East and West together, creating more of a dialogue between the German and non-German population, and inspiring more of a sense of solidarity between young and old.

E-government

The public sector is also attempting to accommodate citizens by using the new media to make the administration more effective and more “resident-friendly.” E-government here includes e-administration and e-democracy. The e-government master plan adopted in August 2002 points the way towards a modern, efficient, and customer-oriented administration, while the Web site “Bürger aktiv Berlin” launched in December 2003 on Berlin’s Internet platform offers the city’s residents a broad forum for helping to shape political opinion and organizing citizen participation.

Shaping the cityscape

One key urban planning challenge involves the approach to be taken to Berlin’s historic core and how best to ensure its future as a vibrant cultural and academic center. The international panel of experts convened to discuss the historic city center concluded its deliberations in April 2002 and made new recommendations, based on previous discussions, for construction at the site where the city palace once stood and where the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) was later built by the GDR. The majority of the panel’s members argued for reconstructing the baroque façade of the original palace on three sides and taking a modern architectural approach to the eastern wall of the building and the interior. On 4 July 2002, the German Bundestag decided in favor of constructing a building that would be on the same scale as the city palace and would recreate the historic baroque façade on three sides and the Schlüter courtyard inside. The Palace of the Republic was torn down, and in November 2008 Franco Stella won the architecture competition to rebuild the City Palace. The new Humboldt Forum there will showcase parts of the National Museums (Staatliche Museen), the State Library (Landesbibliothek), and Humboldt Universität.

The gap next to the Palace of the Crown Prince (Kronprinzenpalais) was also closed with a “historic” structure. The media corporation Bertelsmann rebuilt the Kommandantur at Unter den Linden 1 using the original structure as its model. This residence of Berlin’s city commandant, built in 1794 and significantly altered in 1873, was destroyed in World War II. The new building has been the capital city representative office of Bertelsmann AG and the foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung since November 2003.
Approximately ¤250 million was invested in the modernization of the Olympic Stadium. The structural design permits a variety of uses, so that international sports competitions and other large events can be held here along with soccer games. The 2006 Football World Cup final was played in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on 9 July 2006.