Hamburg supports post-Covid neighbourhoods and city centres

Creative activities will bring life back to the cities

Hamburg will assist neighbourhoods and city centres in reviving after Covid-19. It was announced at a kick-off meeting and the city Senate has now launched funds for this plan. The fund is initially endowed with 1.1 million euros and can be used until the end of 2022.

The money is intended to help with the recovery from the pandemic and to make the shopping streets in the city centre and districts more appealing. The special funding programme is intended for interest groups, advertising associations, community projects, and other organisations.

The finance senator Dr. Andreas Dressel commented on the new initiative: “We are already providing more than one million euros today to make it easier for the districts in the city centre and districts to restart after the lockdown and to lure customers back to the shopping streets. In this way, creative measures can create space for the diverse encounters and exchanges that make up our centres. We have already received a lot of good ideas on this topic.

That is why we have also increased the funds for the design and upgrading of public spaces by around 18 million euros through a grant from the Hamburg Economic Stabilisation Program (HWSP) launched to cope with the corona crisis. With the new start fund, we also want to support the strengthening of the city and district structures."

The Senate's concern about the numerous district centres and the city centre actually predates the corona pandemic. The city has been supporting districts for years and with municipal funding, and special projects in difficult locations had been initiated as well.  

Hamburg to remain a sustainable vibrant centre for residents and visitors

The Senate plans to invest 50 million euros in the city centre over the next few years to ensure that it remains sustainable, fashionable, vibrant, and a centre of attraction for both Hamburg residents and visitors.

Depending on the size, the money from the funding is distributed among the seven Hamburg districts as follows:

• Hamburg center including city centre - 300,000 euros
• Harburg & Bergedorf - each 100,000 euros
• all other districts - each 150,000 euros.

Promotional events or other activities of interest groups, advertising associations or other associations are eligible in the years 2021 and 2022. These include seasonal specials, cultural events, pop-up events, planting campaigns, flea markets, city marketing, temporary quarter management, lantern parades, Christmas lights or internet presence for interest groups.