Since 1999, Berlin’s Neighbourhood Management (NM) has been set up in neighbourhoods with special development needs like high unemployment rates, child poverty, high immigrant rates and low education rates. Basis for the scoping procedure is Berlin’s “monitoring social urban development ”. This monitoring observes the social-structural development at the small scale of 436 so called “planning areas” and identifies areas with high social inequalities compared to the whole city. After a more detailed investigation every five years and in collaboration with the particular Bezirk (district), new NM are determined by a Senate resolution according to Section 171e BauGB (Planning Code). At the moment, there are 34 Neighbourhood Managements (NM) together with 423,000 inhabitants throughout Berlin.
The NM is not a permanent loan programme. When the indicators of Berlin’s “monitoring social urban development” improve and or the social-structural conditions are stabilised, the NM ends. The decision is made by the Department of Urban Development and Housing. The anchoring phase lasts two years and is structured by an individual strategy, which sets measures to continue a sustainable development in the neighbourhood after the Social Cohesion funding. During these two years,
•the important local structures, such as community centres and networks, are stabilised
•alternative funding is raised to continue projects of proven importance
•civil involvement structure and self-organisation processes are empowered and strengthened