About

The public space has no lobby! Stadtmonitor Berlin is a contribution to the discussion on the development of the German Capital as well as on its functionality and design of public space. My films linked here are an audiovisual inventory of Berlin. Since our capital has developed into an international metropolis, some of them are also available in English. My inventory is necessarily critical – a prerequisite for any development. But since simply complaining doesn’t help anyone or anything, I try to argue constructively and show alternatives, specifically related  (concrete) to the respective situations in Berlin, with the big picture of the city and the environment in mind.

With the camera I travel as an ‚urban space researcher‘, committed to a Berlin worth living in, without scientific pretensions, striving for the honesty and correctness of my images, information and comments. Stadtmonitor Berlin is a subjective monitoring of the city, presented on the monitor of our digital devices. In addition to the design and order of public space, my topics include urban climate and nature as well as environmentally friendly, safe mobility for everyone. My guidelines are an improved quality of life for the residents and visitors of Berlin as well as the dynamic, sustainable development of the city. –  C.H. Meyer

Why Berlin?

The German capital is a metropolis marked by multiple breaks and contradictions, its surface ‘readable’ like an exciting book, an international magnet as a party and cultural metropolis, but also internationally ridiculed as a ‘failed city’ (The Economist), which does not nearly manage to complete and open the capital’s airport on time or reliably organize a federal election like in 2021 after which part of Berlin’s vote had to be repeated.

And this in a city that was developing extremely rapidly in the 1990s when the two divided halves of the city were merged. But then this development was massively slowed down at the turn of the millennium by a disastrous administrative reform and a rigorous austerity dictate. “Save until it squeaks” was the motto of the then Lord Mayor Klaus Wowereit. The skid marks are visible everywhere.

Berlin needs a vision again: in which direction should the city develop? Immediately after the fall of the Wall, there were still clearly defined goals: merging and supplementing the transport systems of the divided city, massive renovation programmes, a new East City Centre, and, last but not least, the government’s move to the ‘new old capital’.

Today, our rulers obviously lack a vision: How do we want to live here in 30 or 40 years, how do we want to welcome our guests, how do we want to present the German capital to the world? I cannot find such a vision in current transport policy, for example, which is increasingly oriented towards the traditional idea of a car-friendly city.

How about the goal of making Berlin a modern, down-to-earth metropolis that addresses climate change with intelligent, innovative methods and well-designed and well-maintained public space – for the benefit of all of us, for whom this space is our ‚extended living room‘?

Some of my videos may be outdated in the foreseeable future – because something has changed for the better! I illustrate this development with a ‘dynamic indicator’: red for standstill, yellow for gradual improvements, green for almost everything is fine. What might it show in two or five years?

Enjoy watching!