What urban development oppor-tunities are hidden in the border and transitional parts of the metropolis? IBA Hamburg‘s METROZONE projects demonstrate how inner peripheries can be transformed into neighbourhoods worth living in.
Container stacks and dockside cranes next to residential districts and derelict industrial sites, with railway lines, docks and marshland in between. An urban roller coaster ride providing a host of completely new opportunities to develop the city. There are many such spaces in metropolitan regions around the world, and the Elbe islands are a prime example of areas within growing cities that have major development potential.
Transitional zones mean potential
A metropolitan patchwork criss-crossed by traffic arteries is located just a few minutes on the S-Bahn from Hamburg‘s main station. Few locations have such austere urban fringes and fault lines as Europe’s largest river island – a transit zone since way back. However not many other places offer as much green space, water and countryside within the city.
Uncharted territory of the future
We are using our “Metrozones – New urban spaces” key theme to generate completely new quality of urban life in inner city areas. This leads to attractive, city-centre homes and workplaces being created, which also help to reduce demand pressure on popular in-neighbourhoods. Metrozones are neigh-bourhoods featuring short distances and a high degree of energy efficiency – a piece of tomorrow‘s city today!