Shopping streets are under pressure from online retail - the state of Berlin wants to help with a ten-point plan. (archive picture)
© dpa
The state of Berlin wants to support the malls and shopping streets with a ten-point plan. Among other things, a central coordination office for vacancies will be set up to find spaces for temporary use.
"The aim is to make flexible transitional use easier and to avoid vacancies in the centers," says the ten-point plan published today. A Berlin-wide campaign is also planned to raise people's awareness of waste avoidance.
"Berlin's shopping malls are undergoing profound changes due to the structural transformation in the retail sector. We see this change as an opportunity to strengthen the diversity of uses," said Christian Gaebler (SPD), Senator for Urban Development, according to a press release. "New synergies between retail, gastronomy, culture, crafts, services, education, health and housing play a central role in this."
The ten-point plan also provides for more money for the districts: The funding share of the districts is to be reduced in the "Business-related measures" funding program so that "business-related measures such as location management, vacancy management or networking can be financed more easily". Surveys of passers-by should help to identify further opportunities for improvement.