In my last post I sat down with economic historian Dr. Nikolaus Wolf for a crash course in how Berlin’s economy has remained so much weaker than that of comparable Western and European capital/large cities until now. And until now, of course, that economic anomaly has been mirrored by abnormally low housing prices.
With that in mind, it would be easy to imagine that the sudden leaps in rent that Berlin is currently experiencing are simply the direct result of a finally recovering economy.
To a certain extent, this is true. But it’s not quite the whole story. Continue reading…
As soon as one begins trying to understand why rents are currently rising so sharply in Berlin, there’s one question that immediately and unavoidably comes to mind right off the bat: why have the rents historically been so low in the first place?
Consider, for instance, that the average rent in London recently broke £1,000 (over €1,200) per month, or that a studio apartment without a doorman in Manhattan fetches an average $2,200 per month (€1,697) and a one-bedroom just short of $3,000 (€2,315). Meanwhile, an average-sized apartment, measuring 70 m² (about 750 square feet), at the average Berlin price of €7.38/m² (compared to upwards of €20/m² in Paris) would ring up at €516.60. The difference is obviously staggering.
And it’s a touchy topic here. Bring up the fact that Berlin’s rent prices have, until now, been scores cheaper than in almost any major comparable Western/European city on average, and Berliners will batter you with a fuming slew of reasons why it’s an unfair card to pull out. Continue reading…
• How about a little culture with your commute? Copenhagen subway riders were treated to a flash-mob-style performance by the city’s philharmonic in collaboration with Radio Klassisk. Watch as passengers’ reactions change from confusion to delight as more musicians join in on the fun:
• On Tuesday, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Citibank is pouring $41 million into the city’s first-ever bike-share program. Dubbed “Citi Bike,” the self-service system will provide 10,000 bikes on a staggered pricing system. The first bikes are set to arrive in Manhattan and Brooklyn this July.
As the BMW Guggenheim Lab makes its way around the world this blog will be our travel diary. It will be a forum for us to digest and find context for the ideas that we encounter as the Lab makes its journey, and further examine the questions that we come across. This blog will be presented in English through the duration of the project.
Christine McLaren “Hey Ronn - I posted the bibliography on the blog this week. Check it out here: http://blog.bmwguggenheimlab.o...
Thanks for following...”
