Organized by the Urban Design Forum, the 3-day study trip offered Global Fellows a chance to home in on the housing issues they want to address during their 9-month Global Exchange fellowship.
Intended to give the Fellows an up-close look at Berlin’s internationally praised housing solutions, the study trip included senate meetings, guided tours, communal reflection moments, and more. “We were immersed in Berlin for three intense and exciting days to learn about a housing system that is socially and structurally fundamentally different from the United States,” says KPF Senior Associate Principal Franz Prinsloo. “We explored the topic of housing from different approaches: federal and state level policy, grass roots activism, and communal ownership groups.”
The trip revolved around the global exchange of ideas among the diverse cohort of Fellows, stimulated by visits to Berlin’s array of residential projects and the planning organizations that generate them. The group toured senate-led developments such as Tegel Airport and Haus der Statistik, both sustainability-oriented affordable housing initiatives, and citizen-led projects such as Dragonerareal and Kotti & Co, examples of the tenant-led movement to socialize city housing. “Sprinkled throughout our time in Berlin was a high level of debate and lively discussion around topics of housing, affordability, policy, and sustainability,” says Franz. “The highlight of the trip was the great group of fellows, sharing this experience with them, and learning from their diverse perspectives.”
Read more about the trip here.