Berlin’s Fight to Save Gardens

With Berlin in the midst of an unprecedented property boom, many small garden and allotment holders are coming under pressure to relinquish their land to new property developers. Some figures project that some parts of Berlin are experiencing 10% annual rise in property prices.

All this has led to the city’s urban gardeners to feel the squeeze.  Across the German capital, 73,000 garden plots in 900 complexes are coming under pressure from international investors and the bulldozers.

Gardeners have accused local politicians of selling parts of the 7500 acres of green space by designating it the status of “green land” to entice developers, before converting it to “building land” – worth almost nine times the value.

Politicians have argued that with Berlin’s population forecasted to rise by a quarter of a million by 2030; around 6000 affordable flats are needed annually in order to meet demand.

Full Story

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/05/berlin-garden-colonies-threat-developers

The post Berlin’s Fight to Save Gardens appeared first on Gabriel Ash - Gardeners Corner.