The Berlin mobility lab Flaniermeile Friedrichstrasse

Exploring cooperation towards tomorrow’s cities

Abstract

In Berlin, measures that promote cycling and walking have moved up the political agenda and gained momentum over the last couple of years. This is in parts due to the strong involvement of civil society actors in designing, planning and implementing said measures. This article will use one of the measures planned in Berlin, as an example to illustrate the benefits and potential of cooperative planning and civic involvement in the design and implementation of drastic sustainable transport measures in cities. Cycling and walking are vital to achieving “Tomorrow’s Cities”, a vision developed by the German Environment Agency. Tomorrow’s City avoids unnecessary traffic. It is quiet, compact, green, climate-friendly and dominated by mixed-use developments. However, drastic measures changing the status quo are necessary to achieve this vision. This article argues that allowing for more civic participation and involvement and promoting experiments for sustainable mobility in public space help gain support for sustainable mobility in general, as well as the measures needed to achieve this goal. Flaniermeile Friedrichstraße, a mobility lab planned for 2020 at the heart of Berlin, serves as an interesting case of long- term civic involvement, cooperative public experiments translating an idea of sustainable mobility into temporary practice.