Berlin is like an ever-changing organism, heavily influenced by factors like gentrification and other aspects. Now that former worker and student boroughs like Kreuzberg have become unaffordable for exactly these occupation groups, the students and simple blue-collar workers are flocking to other boroughs to live there. Neukölln is absolutely en vogue when you consider the rising gentrification rates there. Neukölln, a borough that was formerly considered to be fertile ground for crime, is attracting more and more working and studying people. But it seems that this phenomenon is applying to all boroughs in Berlin. The truth is that the apartment market in Berlin has been a problematic topic for a long time. The rents are rising, free apartments are scarce.
But it seems that there is a borough in East Berlin that has the potential to become a new so-called Szenebezirk in Berlin, a trendy district. Lichtenberg is becoming more and more popular. The borough that many call a nazi district is, right now, experiencing a real image change. Of course, if you walk along the Storkower Straße or take a walk around the Anton-Saefkow-Platz, you won’t particularly feel a very hip vibe. Instead, you will see a lot of industrialized concrete buildings. However, you cannot deny the fact that Lichtenberg is characterized by excellent public transport connections, supermarkets and other infrastructural traits that make it a good place to live in general. And if you walk along the Möllendorffstraße heading to the Frankfurter Allee, you will notice Lichtenberg’s proximity to more popular and trendier boroughs like Friedrichshain, a characteristic which makes Lichtenberg very attractive for students and young families.
Furthermore, it seems that Lichtenberg does a lot to support youth culture. Formerly empty buildings and rooms can now be rented and many of them are nowadays used for offering young musicians a place to play and practice for instance.
Well, still Lichtenberg is a borough that is undergoing a lot of demographic changes. But I am sure that soon, many more incomers will notice the advantages of this promising district.
Image: © www.berlin.de
