Historical Gängeviertel district in Hamburg: A nightmare comes true...

What did Hamburg expect? There is always a moment, when they have to realize that a city belongs to its citizens and not all of them are left-wing and oppose change for political reasons. This article describes very well what happens when majors do not ask the city. The citizens.



From Thomas Daily on 17 December 2009

The tug-of-war concerning the historical Gängeviertel district in Hamburg is over: the city reported that the Hamburg senate and the Netherlands-based Hanzevast Group are going to cancel their contracts for the €50mn project. Hamburg will acquire the rights to the existing planning and will pay the investor nearly €2.8mn for incurred expenses. In September, 2008, the borough of Hamburg-Mitte and Hanzevast signed an urban redevelopment contract that projected modernization of some buildings, demolition of others, and increased density after new construction. Triggered by an artists' initiative, a heated controversy concerning the future of the quarter had flared up since the end of August, 2009, finally leading to court procedures. The City now wants to work out a new concept which can gain broader popular consensus.