3 ms·

I wonder what the zoning laws are like in Berlin. Specifically, I wonder if zoning laws prohibit small homes that allow for pretty good high-density housing. Su

by rocqua 9y ago

I wonder what the zoning laws are like in Berlin. Specifically, I wonder if zoning laws prohibit small homes that allow for pretty good high-density housing. Such zoning laws could contribute to the high rents in the center of town. In any case, this method is much better than rent-control. There is still then monetary incentive to skip on maintenance, but the institution should insulate from that. The biggest potential downside I see is a slowing of development in general. That might obstruct development of cheap rents more than it saves. In general I wonder what prevents building higher, cause you can build high and cheap and if there is demand, why not?

lobotryas 9y ago
To answer your last question: 1) The type of land in which you are building. Some can't support high-rises or can only do that at great expense (which defeats the purpose of building high). 2) Infrastructure. It's easy to cram a lot of people into one building but it becomes harder to alleviate traffic or ensure access to things like shops and health care.
matt4077 9y ago
I'm not sure what you mean by "small homes". Here, take a look at the house I live in, which is very typical of the buildings in central Berlin: https://www.google.de/maps/@52.4952517,13.4168985,3a,75y,199.05h,101.08t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSlbQbKKWe2BjeVennexFpw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DSlbQbKKWe2BjeVennexFpw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D55.752544%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.de/maps/@52.4952517,13.4168985,3a,75y,199... Generally, Berlin has mixed zoning with retail on the street level, apartments above, and offices and small manufacturing in the back. You can't build higher than what you see in the photo (the old limit for fire ladders), unless it's in an area with other higher buildings already. Rents are rising as a return to normal. Most people pay around $1.2/ft^2 (sorry, I have no idea what unit the US uses for rent)
- rocqua 9y ago
  For small homes I'd say < 40m^2 spaces, getting as small as 25m^2. Those allow young single people to live where they want at prices they can afford. A related factor is required parking space. Such space, when there is no demand, makes high-density housing take up much more land.
danohu 9y ago
Berlin is pretty dense, even without skyscrapers. Tightly-packed six-storey buildings can get you very high density (look at Paris for a more extreme demonstration). The area of Kreuzberg I'm in now has the same population density as Manhattan (28,000 people per square kilometre), despite not having anything more than 7 storeys high. Housing everywhere in Berlin -- especially new-build -- is very dense. Importantly that's true throughout the city, not just in the centre. Keeping Berlin so dense is an impressive achievement, given that it's surrounded by flat, empty countryside. Partly it's because of the cold war division of the city. But mainly it's cultural -- most Berliners are happy with apartments rather than individual houses. Politicians religiously promise to maintain the 'berliner mix', where zoning encourages housing and commercial use in the same area, and keeping a social mix by having affordable housing everywhere. A new higher-density mixed-use zone category ('urban area') has just been introduced nationally, largely at Berlin's request.

by rocqua 9y ago

lobotryas 9y ago

To answer your last question: 1) The type of land in which you are building. Some can't support high-rises or can only do that at great expense (which defeats the purpose of building high). 2) Infrastructure. It's easy to cram a lot of people into one building but it becomes harder to alleviate traffic or ensure access to things like shops and health care.

matt4077 9y ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "small homes". Here, take a look at the house I live in, which is very typical of the buildings in central Berlin: https://www.google.de/maps/@52.4952517,13.4168985,3a,75y,199.05h,101.08t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSlbQbKKWe2BjeVennexFpw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DSlbQbKKWe2BjeVennexFpw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D55.752544%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656 https://www.google.de/maps/@52.4952517,13.4168985,3a,75y,199... Generally, Berlin has mixed zoning with retail on the street level, apartments above, and offices and small manufacturing in the back. You can't build higher than what you see in the photo (the old limit for fire ladders), unless it's in an area with other higher buildings already. Rents are rising as a return to normal. Most people pay around $1.2/ft^2 (sorry, I have no idea what unit the US uses for rent)

rocqua 9y ago
For small homes I'd say < 40m^2 spaces, getting as small as 25m^2. Those allow young single people to live where they want at prices they can afford. A related factor is required parking space. Such space, when there is no demand, makes high-density housing take up much more land.

danohu 9y ago

Berlin is pretty dense, even without skyscrapers. Tightly-packed six-storey buildings can get you very high density (look at Paris for a more extreme demonstration). The area of Kreuzberg I'm in now has the same population density as Manhattan (28,000 people per square kilometre), despite not having anything more than 7 storeys high. Housing everywhere in Berlin -- especially new-build -- is very dense. Importantly that's true throughout the city, not just in the centre. Keeping Berlin so dense is an impressive achievement, given that it's surrounded by flat, empty countryside. Partly it's because of the cold war division of the city. But mainly it's cultural -- most Berliners are happy with apartments rather than individual houses. Politicians religiously promise to maintain the 'berliner mix', where zoning encourages housing and commercial use in the same area, and keeping a social mix by having affordable housing everywhere. A new higher-density mixed-use zone category ('urban area') has just been introduced nationally, largely at Berlin's request.