Frankfurt Downtown Post-Corona
Joint paths for Frankfurt’s downtown to emerge from the crisis all the stronger.
Ms. Andrea Schwappach
fone: +49 (0)69 212 40042
Project description
Reason for the project
In a nationwide call for applications which attracted 222 submissions, the National Urban Development Policy selected 17 pilot projects that during the 2021–3 funding cycle address the consequences of the Corona crisis.
As in other cities, in Frankfurt the pandemic served to bring things clearly into focus: The pressure for change became visible and manifest at many levels. As a result, innovative and paradigmatic solutions for crisis-resilient urban and district structures were called for.
Project area
At the same time, the city is more than the sum of all its parts. Therefore beyond the legal framework of the central core city, likewise, various linkages to neighborhoods that border on it and to other districts in town were also considered.
Planning objectives
Fundamentally, in the “Post-Corona City” research and model project, the emphasis was on experimentation and exploring new paths. Straightforward structures and short and swift lines for decision-making proved advantageous if not to say elementary when coping with crises.
At the same time, urban development is a complex task that affects all aspects of life in the city. It involves many experts, including those from both the political domain and civil society. Moreover, the Corona pandemic has strengthened numerous trends in confined spaces. They were already manifest prior to the crisis and remain a challenge for many cities: The excessive increases in the price of land and in rents with the simultaneous growth in online retailing and mail-order systems is putting immense pressure on retailing. Remote work leads to changed demand patterns in the housing and office markets. Dwindling visitor and commuter figures will possibly render retail and hospitality outlets, leisure and cultural facilities no longer economically viable. Mobility patterns are changing. There is greater demand for the public realm.
New, innovative processes were required in order to find integrative solutions to the planning tasks that resulted from both the above-mentioned and from other challenges. The focus was less on spatial-functional requirements. Rather, the various needs and interests of the different stakeholders in particular in the fields of retailing, hospitality, culture, administration, politics, and civil society needed to be aired, and such parties were therefore be invited to participate. In the context of the model project, different types of process ownership, project management, and participation were devised and tested using smaller projects and agile processes.
The funding in the framework of the National Urban Development Policy offered an opportunity to start things off. It also provided a space to explore activities that took things further – and that includes beyond the funding period. Furthermore, the idea was also for it to be possible to transfer the insights and methods developed to other places and projects.
Lead-managed by the City of Frankfurt Dept. of Planning and in cooperation with various project partners (Making Frankfurt, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, the Urban Planning Advisory Council, universities, the city marketing section, the business promotion council, Initiative Gastronomie, and many others), pilot projects, public downtown dialog sessions, and workshops were initiated and collaboratively realized. On the basis of studies and with a view to the future, the emphasis was on action and realization, not as the municipal administration on its own but together and alongside civic society.
Course of the project
from January 2024:
- Further development of the model project and establishment of an interdisciplinary "transformation design" team to run the urban change agency.
- The internal administrative workshop series "Future city center" will be continued
December 2023: Submission of the final report "Post-Corona inner city Frankfurt"
14 October 2023: first summit meeting at Long Bench, to which all citizens were invited to determine the next location of Long Bench(Paulsplatz and Agentur des städtischen Wandels)
September 22, 2023: Agency for urban change wins DDC competition WHAT IS GOOD 2023
12 an 13 September 2023: 16th Federal Congress in Jena entitled "Zukunftswerkstatt StadtLand - Wege zu einem neuen Miteinander!", Post Corona City side event "Post-Corona-Innenstadt: aktiviert I kuratiert I transformiert?".
11 to 30 August 2023: DAM touring exhibition "Zukunft Innenstadt" moves to the Hauptwache. Among other things, the exhibition focused on the actions that took place as part of Post-Corona-Innenstadt.
04 July to 20 August 2023: Urban space festival "Summer on the Main 2023"
04 to 30 July 2023: DAM touring exhibition "Future city center" on the Mainkai
from April 2023: Interim use of the Agency for Urban Change with a variety of different formats
23 to 30 March 2023: Test week at the Agency for Urban Change, Braubachstraße 7
02 March 2023: Internal administrative workshop "Future city center" with representatives of the city offices, staff units and companies. The function of the Agency for Urban Change and the future of the city center in general were discussed.
February 2023: Transfer agreement signed for Braubachstrasse 7
06 February to 22 March 2023: Pop-up shop window exhibition at Braubachstrasse 7
07 September to 12 November 2022: DAM real-world laboratory "Hauptwache Living Room", temporary use of the public space on the Hauptwache for sports, cultural and educational activities, etc.
22 July to 04 September 2022: Urban space festival "Summer on the Main 2022"
23 June 2022: Jury meeting for the Call for Ideas for the "Hauptwache Living Room"
April/ May 2022: three-part stakeholder workshop on the Karstadt site
December 2021 to June 2023 Visit to the pilot project by the funding bodies:
- Third visit to the pilot project to exchange information (14 June 2023) (representatives of BBSR, BMWSB, urban catalyst, forward visit Frankfurt)
- Second visit of the information exchange pilot project (19 October 2022)
- First visit of the pilot project to exchange information (14 December 2021) incl. live video transmission of a city walk with various project partners
October 2021 to December 2023 Cooperation with Frankfurt University (FRA UAS) as part of the Studium Generale on the topic "High-Street vs. online shopping. Strategies for the re-activation of downtown Frankfurt":
- Presentation of the student research projects
- from Module 05 (20 December 2023)
- from Module 04 (05 June 2023)
- from Module 03 (11 January 2023)
- from Module 02 (29 June 2022)
- from Module 01 (02 February 2022)
18 September 2021: Second "City Center Action Day" of the Making Frankfurt initiative
14 to 16 September 2021: 15th Federal Congress in Berlin under the title "Shaping Transformation - Towards Urban Resilience", Post Corona City pilot projects side event on the topic of "Test Field Street"
07 to 26 July 2021: three-part citizens' dialog "Urban Green"
June 2021 to November 2023: Networking workshop of the 17 Post Corona City pilot projects:
- Networking workshop #4 of post-corona city projects from all over Germany in Frankfurt am Main (November 01, 2023)
- Networking workshop #3 in Erlangen (24 and 25 April 2023)
- Networking workshop #2 in Wittenberge (18 and 19 May, 2022)
- Networking workshop #1 (digital) (14 and 15 June 2021)
18 March 2021: digital welcome meeting of all 17 selected Post Corona City pilot projects
27 January 2021: Funding approved as part of the National Urban Development Policy's "Post Corona City" call for projects
22 August 2020: First "Day of Action on the Mainkai" of the Making Frankfurt initiative
“Frankfurt Model Project for the “Post-Corona-City” nationwide support and research program,” article in Frankfurt baut, issue 16, Fall/Winter 2021
Homepage Nationale Stadtenwicklungspolitik
Post-Corona-Innenstadt Frankfurt bei Stadtimpulse
PDF files relating to the project
More information
Agency for Urban Change
Since March 2023, Braubachstrasse 7 is home to the Agency for Urban Change. It is a place where Frankfurt citizens and guests can swap ideas for the city and get involved in realizing them. The agency is a meeting point in order to start a conversation with city representatives. A kind of workshop that serves to set joint projects in motion and overcome bureaucratic hurdles. Because urban development is a task shared by many whose different interests, perspectives, and requirements need to be seen and considered as best as possible. The cooperation and commitment of all partners in projects lays the basis for the success of the ambitious transformation process of the future of downtown / central frankfurt.
The Agency for Urban Change is an outcome of Frankfurt’s Downtown Post-Corona Project that continues to shape the future.
The Post-Corona City – networking workshops
The players in the 17 “Post-Corona City” pilot projects met four times in the course of the three-year research period. The emphasis was on interaction, learning from one another, and benefiting from synergy effects. The first three networking workshops took place as follows: the first was digital, in Wittenberg, the next likewise in Erlangen. On Nov. 7–8, the project leads met in Frankfurt for the last time.
On two intensive workshop days the participants sought to assess whether and how the approaches developed by the pilot projects could lead to improving urban crisis management. The conclusion was that resilient spatial structures, meaning crisis-proof urban organization, require new organizational models.
Another key outcome: The knowledge gained in experimental model projects requires greater public involvement! The collection of sketches created as a graphic recording by Tiziana Beck and Johanna Benz documents the ideas in an appealing and entertaining manner.
Urban space Festival Summer on the Main River
The beginning
In 2022, two test zones were created for integrated urban development. The initiators were an alliance of all manner of individuals, groups, and institutions in the city administration and civic society.
Things kicked off with the “Summer on the Main River” urban space experiment. An artists collective teamed up with Frankfurt school students to turn the riverside into a colorful sports and themed area for kids and adults alike.
At the same time, different spaces for dialogs relating to the future of downtown and recreational space arose on the riverbank. The diverse formats with sports and movement, art and culture, environmental and sustainability as well as planning and urban development themes on the riverbank offered plenty of opportunity for hands-on experimentation.
The idea was to address interested citizens and members of civic society as well as people working in the civic administration. At the events they all had a chance to develop their ideas of what features the northern river bank between the Untermain and Alter Bridges could have if traffic speeds were reduced or traffic was barred from it entirely.
The participatory process of redesigning and finding new uses for the Main riverside was continued in the 2023 summer months. While in the first year, the black-top was temporarily redesigned using StreetArt, sports, movement, and countless other activities, in 2023 the focus was on the seating and leisure-time spaces – as well as on shading, greenery, and care for the surroundings by the local hospitality outlets.
Touring exhibition “The Future of Downtown”
Moreover, a touring exhibition organized by Deutsches Architekturmuseum presented everything that had taken place on large panels and rounded this out with expert information, encouraging everyone to take part. The exhibition went on show from July 4–30 on the riverside and from August 11–30 2023 at Hauptwache.
Looking to the Future
The need for recreational spaces instead of traffic chaos was clear not just during the Covid-19 pandemic. For this reason, the Mainkai should in future cease to be a road and be converted into a leisure-time space. That is what the Frankfurt municipal government resolved in its coalition agreement. The exact form the conversion should take and what design and functional elements the new urban space should possess was discussed and played through at “Summer on the Main”.
Hauptwache – Living Room
Gather, take part, contribute – that was the motto of the DAM Real Lab “Hauptwache Living Room 2022”. In the fall, Frankfurt’ Hauptwache, one of the most important transport hubs in town, was transformed into a test zone for integrated urban development. There were music and sports events as well as discussion formats and artistic interventions encouraging people to develop their own visions and perspectives for the Hauptwache.
Together with everyone, Deutsche Architekturmuseum (DAM) set out to explore what a livable inner city should look like. In the shape of the Real Lab, the DAM created a new curated space in the public realm. At the same time, it also established a platform for networking urban players.
The Long Bench
Derived from the research outcomes of the prior year, in 2023 the Long Bench was launched. It is a multifunctional, co-creatively designed artistic intervention by Deutsches Architekturmuseums (DAM) that can be flexibly deployed at different places. In order to not forever being postponing change, within the space of only a few months interdisciplinary collaboration by a variety of players gave rise to this modular piece of urban street furniture.
On the one hand, the Long Bench can function as a curated space for cultural production and reception.
On the other, it can be used as a free space that caters to personal and interest-specific uses.
Thanks to these qualities, the Long Bench can be placed at various different locations in town and visualize their respective potentials and needs. In this way, a sustainable improvement of leisure-time quality can be tested specific to the respective location: at the Hauptwache, on the Main riverside, or at other places and interstices in downtown Frankfurt.
Changing locations of the Long Bench
Feb. 25 – May 26, 2024: on Kaiserplatz
Nov. 9, 2023 – Feb. 25, 2024: on Willy-Brandt-Platz
Nov. 23 – 27, 2023: in the Wallanlagen park during the Opera Gala
Oct. 14, 2023: First Summit Meeting on the Long Bench. All the citizens were invited to decide what the next location for the Long Bench should be (Paulsplatz and Agency for Urban Change)
Oct. 9 – Nov. 9, 2023: on Paulsplatz – opened by the Paulskirche Staff Unit and Lord Mayor Mike Josef on Oct. 9, 2023
Sept. 9 – Oct. 9, 2023: on Francois Mitterand Platz in Bahnhofsviertel. Start on the occasion of OPEN VIERTEL 2023 on Sept. 9, 2023
Sept. 8, 2023: the Long Bench as a grandstand for the ECB Basketball Open Gym Action
Aug. 21 – Sept. 9, 2023: on Hauptwache
Aug. 10 – 21, 2023: on Mainkai during “Summer on the Main”
June 30 – Aug. 10, 2023: on Hauptwache and Friedrich Stoltze Platz
June 30, 2023: The Long Bench is launched on Hauptwache
Activity Days
In August 2020 and September 2021, together with numerous other players, Making Frankfurt initiated two Action Days. These were designed to explore the urban space on the north Main riverbank and the central downtown plazas round Hauptwache, put different activities to the test there, and engage in dialog with everyone present. Selected sections of downtown Frankfurt were transformed into a diverse, creative and surprising lab. The core of the activities on site was composed of yellow circuit boards composed to form 4x4 meter squares. These highlighted empty spaces in town that could be activated, filled, and thus filed with life. The action zones formed the spatial and conceptual framework for a variety of in part interactive actions and presentations. Alongside representatives of the worlds of politics, public administration, and business, above all people from the art and culture scene as well as active city-makers took part, showing what is conceivable, doable, and thus possible.
In-between the two Action Days, Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) hosted three public civic dialog sessions that addressed the focal theme of “Urban Green”.
(Making Frankfurt Downtown Activity Day in September 2021 @ Moritz Bernoully)
Video documentations of the 2nd Making Frankfurt Activity Day in downtown Frankfurt on Sept. 18, 2021
Video documentation of the 1st Making Frankfurt Activity Day on the Main riverside on Aug. 22, 2020
Visits by the Funding Providers
In the context of one of three one-day trips kindly funded by Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Stadtentwicklung und Bauwesen (BMWSB) and Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) together with the research support from urban catalyst and Forward Planung und Forschung GmbH a lively exchange of experiences was possible once a year, where people swapped ideas and documented the outcomes.
What proved to be an important basis for trusting collaboration between the Federal, municipal, local initiatives and civil action levels was to use the meetings as integral parts of the experimental project work and the Real Labs.
During all the trips, relevant change spaces were explored and new insights gained using various different methods.
June 14, 2023: third trip as part of the “Summer on the Main River 2023” Urban Space Festival
Oct. 19, 2022: second trip by the pilot project to exchange information and insights
Dec. 14, 2021: virtual, first visit to Frankfurt/Main, incl. live video streaming of a walk round town with different project partners.