Hamburg

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany with 1.7 million inhabitants and the second largest port in Europe, providing employment for 50,000 people. Hafencity is a collection of small basins and riverbanks, which is no longer suitable for modern container technology and is to be redeveloped, increasing the size of Hamburg city centre by 40%. In addition to its proximity to the city centre, the Hafencity site is right next to the historical Warehouse City, which provides rich architectural heritage.

As part of the Waterfront Communities Project, Hamburg led on two themes, Citizen participation and governance and Harbour heritage and arts/culture as a catalyst to redevelopment.

The citizen participation theme has enabled the Hamburg Project team to address the issue of balancing the needs and demands of the local authority and investors on one hand and addressing the issue of social inclusion on the other.

Additionally, the Hamburg team are working to increase the visibility of the waterfront area and promote harbour heritage. Interreg funding has also been used to finance material investments including a lighting project in Sandtorhafenkopf square, the development of the Hafencity Hamburg viewing tower and information centre and restoration of a historic bridge and harbour cranes.