Shaping Urban Spaces Together: In 2024, the Kiezlabor hit the road for the second time, bringing its participatory offerings to Berlin’s neighborhoods. The team reflects on an eventful year: seven locations, over 100 events, and countless interactions with residents and urban initiatives alike. The potential of mobile engagement formats to empower neighborhoods drew attention from both local and international media. The team also showcased Kiezlabor innovative approaches at conferences across Europe. In this interview, we dive into the highlights and challenges of the past year.
“Without you, we’re just a container”, with this call to action, the Kiezlabor kicked off its 2023 activities, diving headfirst into community engagement. Over the year, your team contributed to three official participatory processes in Berlin’s districts and, for the first time, hosted a citywide thematic site focused on urban gardening. How has the Kiezlabor evolved through these experiences? What key themes and community needs have emerged along the way?
Anne:“We started the project with the idea of bringing the CityLAB themes to Berlin’s neighborhoods while remaining open to locally relevant topics. From the outset, our goal was to take a prototypical approach — learning from each location and continuously improving our planning. By now, we’ve reached a point where themes are selected in close collaboration with partners, and next year we aim to conduct even more research and engage with local communities in advance to better understand what truly matters on the ground. True to the CityLAB spirit, we naturally employ many user-centered methods and leverage digital tools and technologies — but only where they genuinely make sense and add value.”
Julian:“While the Kiezlabor evolves from location to location and adapts to each neighborhood in unique ways, it’s rewarding to see that its core content and objectives have deepened and are working increasingly well. Rooted in the CityLAB mission, the Kiezlabor has, over the past two years, established itself as a vibrant interface between the administration and civil society. It’s a space where the future of the city can be tangibly presented, debated, and negotiated. More and more people from the Berlin administration are now approaching us and placing their trust in what we do. Initiatives like the mobile citizens’ office have proven to be true success stories. The Kiezlabor brings the administration and Berliners closer together, ultimately benefiting everyone involved.”
Caro:“Through our public engagement activities, we can stay even closer to what’s currently happening and important in Berlin’s neighborhoods. Networking formats, for example, facilitate exchanges between local initiatives that sometimes meet properly for the first time in the Kiezlabor. Watching them empower one another is truly wonderful. We also offer workshops and participatory activities on topics like climate, health, mobility, community gardens, and land use in urban contexts. Along the way, we tap into local knowledge by inviting experts (from the neighborhood) to share insights into their work. This approach creates diverse access points, enabling as many groups as possible to participate in our formats. The ideas and visions contributed by participants are often impressive and can provide valuable support within the neighborhood.”
What have been the most significant milestones in the history of the Kiezlabor so far? Are there specific projects or successes that have particularly influenced the impact and growth of the Kiezlabor?
Yannick:“Seven locations and over 100 events this year would not have been possible without our partners. For the first time, a Kiezlabor pop-up format was tested, where only furniture was brought in, and workshops and walks with local residents were organized. A special highlight was the event ‘Open-Air Cinema: Paradiesgarten Shorts & Queer Gardening,’ which addressed sustainability and diversity in an open conversation format and was very well attended. Successful projects such as the visualization of city visions using AI with Urbanist.AI and the development of interactive exhibits like the AI-based TreeBot made complex topics more tangible. In addition to high-profile guests such as the Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and local councilors, the partnerships with local initiatives proved to be particularly valuable.”
The Tiny House as a temporary meeting place and mobile Kiezlabor has a unique format. What experiences have you had with handling, processes, and logistical challenges? What structural or technical upgrades have been made since the first setup? What advantages do you see in the Pop-Up format for the Berlin neighborhoods?
Julian:“Sometimes things need to be done quickly: Take, for example, the district that wants to spontaneously discuss the concept for a traffic-calmed area in the neighborhood with residents. With our Kiezlabor, we have always needed some lead time for our location planning so far, as we not only bring our few-ton container but also a tailored, multi-week program. The new pop-up format allows us, with the help of a bike, to spontaneously engage with the needs of both the administration and civil society in the urban space for a day or two and initiate a conversation. This can then also serve as the basis and content preparation for an engagement with our container.”
What have you learned in direct exchange with the residents and the neighborhood about the needs and expectations of the people? What have you learned about Berlin and the peculiarities of the Berlin districts?
Stefan: “People usually want to be part of the processes happening in their neighborhood. It becomes clear time and again that people in the neighborhood are happy when they feel they can participate in shaping their area through the Kiezlabor. However, this doesn’t just mean creating that feeling. The Kiezlabor works best when discussions and work revolve around an actual object, like the Kiezblocks, which sparked plenty of discussion and feedback. Often, residents also appreciate the opportunity to come together in public spaces and exchange ideas, as has been repeatedly reported in Gropiusstadt. It is often the case that just having someone listen can work wonders, or the chance to sip a coffee on the house. This may not solve the visitors’ problems, but it opens a first door for further collaborative work.”
Caro: “Whether it’s sticky notes, visualizing visions with AI, or experimenting with materials for the city of the future, it was always important for the residents to not just speak about their ideas for the future of the neighborhood, but to manifest them as well. Even a whiteboard and the invitation to jot down thoughts on challenges in the neighborhood were enough. At the Pop-up in Schöneweide, it served as our central element. And it worked: 155 visitors shared their opinions in just two days – nearly two-thirds of them provided concrete solutions. Our opinion machine (grab a candy, eat it, and place the paper in the corresponding compartment) also did its part. 39 visitors cast their votes in two days: the majority liked the leisure offerings and the surroundings; however, community and infrastructure have a lot of room for improvement. Visitors also wanted to know what happens with their opinions and ideas, and how they can contribute to concrete progress. During the bicycle lane mapping in Gropiusstadt, we identified dangerous spots and passed on signage suggestions to the responsible city and regional planners.”
What plans and new goals do you have for the Kiezlabor in 2025? How does the Open Call play a role in this? What types of collaborations and projects should be particularly promoted to further establish the Kiezlabor as a hub for citywide innovations?
Anne: “This year, we held our first Kiezlabor Pop-Up for just two days at the square by Kaisersteg in Schöneweide. We realized that even a short and relatively simple stay can be effective. Next year, we want to implement more of these new formats and, with our new Pop-Up format, we are much more mobile, smaller, and flexible compared to the container. Of course, we will continue to have longer-term locations with the container. Through the submissions in the Open Call, we aim to select places and cooperation partners more specifically, where the Kiezlabor deployment will focus on a particular theme, and where the participation of the city’s society is desired.“
Stefan: “We want to dive even deeper into the structures and needs of the neighborhoods to be able to respond more effectively to the challenges. The Open Call helps by providing external incentives, collaborating with actors who may have a better understanding of the neighborhood, thereby enabling sustainable and productive partnerships. For example, this allows us to receive and process feedback from administrations, further promoting the mediation between civil society and the public sector.”
Julian: “All across Berlin, incredible projects and ideas are waiting to be discovered, whether in the engaged civil society or within the Berlin administration. We learned this during the CityLAB Summer Conference this year, where countless submissions from various administrations came together to form an amazing program. This is what we’ve taken as inspiration for the upcoming Kiezlabor season. Citywide innovation in Berlin can only succeed if great projects and ideas are showcased in the neighborhoods, discussed with Berliners, and further developed. We offer you the space, experience, and expertise to make this happen with Kiezlabor. That’s why we invite you to participate in the Open Call on our website, because ‘Without you, we’re just a container!’”
