Community action/Berlin
Berlin community action
Sustainability initiatives
- ufaFabrik, International Center for Culture and Ecology, Berlin
Arts, sport and culture
Cooperative for Urban Creativity
Kulturlabor Trial & Error Berlin based non profit, working with crafts, D.I.Y. culture, sustainability, arts and media
See also: Community resources
Cycling activism
bikesurf.org, bicycle sharing project - wikipedia:Cycling in Berlin
Ethical consumerism
Original Unverpackt, zero waste store [1]
Sustainable Berlin, information from visitberlin.de
Food activism
Berlin has a tradition of communal neighborhood gardens (Schraebergaerten) stretching back over 150 years. That tradition lives on in projects like the huge Prinzessinengarten (Princess Garden) in the multicultural Kreuzberg district and the Mauergarten (Wall Garden) in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. This list from Foodtank explores many similar projects. [2]
foodsharing.de (in German) coordinates a network of community food fridges across the country and recruits groups of volunteers to "rescue" food which would otherwise be thrown out from willing shops and producers. [3]
Prinzessinnengärten (Princess gardens, Berlin), Wikipedia (German) Prinzessinnengärten
See also: Urban Foraging in Germany
Sharing
The bustling German capital is an amazing city to visit for all sorts of reasons, but it has a lot to offer for those who are interested in cooperatives, squats, and other local sharing projects.
Köpi is a well-known squat where free alternative movie nights are organized three times a week. Discover new films and enjoy cheap drinks while meeting people and learning more about the Berlin squat scene. [4]
See also: Food activism, Community resources, Maps
Resources
Community resources
Baumhaus (Treehouse) project space (in German) in the Wedding district is a nonprofit project and event space dedicated to creating a hub for the development of neighborhood sustainable development projects. A repair café, an improvisational orchestra, and a vertical gardening program are just a few of their initiatives.
Leila Berlin (in German) is a thriving tool library in East Berlin that has spawned several imitators across the country. Their selection goes way beyond household carpentry tools. Need to borrow a bicycle helmet, a drill, or a set of wine glasses? Go see them. [5]
Maps
sharingcityberlin.org, 2nd Open Street Map of Berlin
News and comment
2017
Berlin's Holzmarkt Shows the Incredible Potential of Urban Villages, Aug 23 [6]
The Urban Common Spaces That Show Us We Belong to Something Larger, May 3 [7]
Berliners finally dump the car for love affair with the bicycle, Apr 26 [8]
In Berlin, a Model for Creative and Affordable Housing, Apr 12 [9]
Coming Soon to Berlin: Bike Superhighways, Mar 6 [10]
To engage citizens in planning technology must be matched with a participatory culture, Mar [11]
2016
Berlin pulls funds out of fossil fuel companies, Jun 23 [12]
2014
Berlin 'borrowing shop' promotes the benefits of sharing, March 17 [13]
30,000 show how fed up they are with industrial food, January 19 [14]
2012
Berlin beats London and Washington DC in league table of world’s best democratic space, [15] August 8
2010
Sehr gut: Why cycling in Berlin is a dream. Wide streets, bikes in parks, cycling culture ... 10 reasons why the German capital is a marvellous place to cycle, [16] April 22
2008
Reichstag to run solely on renewable power, [17] March 21
Interwiki links
Wikipedia: Berlin
Wikitravel: Berlin, Get around