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Photo Credit: Jochen Juergensen\u2060<\/p>\nPhoto Credit: Jochen Juergensen\u2060<\/p>\n
Did you know that Berlin is experiencing a housing crisis? You might have heard. According to figures from the Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing, there\u2019s a demand for 100,000 more apartments than are currently on the market. 3.9 million people are officially registered in the city, a number expected to grow to over 4 million by 2040. To overcome the crisis, the city should be making 20,000 new apartments available each year. Of course, it is not.<\/p>\n
A number of development plans do plan to tackle this issue, but one in particular is making headlines. This project, envisioned by architects Hans Kollhoff and Tobias N\u00f6fer, along with entrepreneur Hamid Djadda, would entail 21,400 new apartments, providing space for up to 50,000 people. Sounds promising, right? The downside (to put it mildly) is that the housing would be built around the edge of Berlin\u2019s beloved former airstrip turned public park, Tempelhofer Feld. The proposal, Zuhause am Tempelhofer Feld (Home at Tempelhofer Feld), would shrink the Feld\u2019s size by a third, bringing it from roughly 300 hectares down to 200. Everything outside the ovular taxiway would be bulldozed, including Grillpl\u00e4tze, community gardens and important social spaces. The message is clear: building for Berlin\u2019s future comes at a cost.<\/p>\n
Bulldozing the Feld For a Kiez Of the Future<\/p>\n
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The proposed plan for \u2018Home at Tempelhofer Feld\u2019, image credit: Kollhoff \/ N\u00f6fer \/ Astigmatic<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the first time someone has proposed turning Tempelhofer Feld into apartments. Ever since its establishment as a public park in 2010, developers have wanted to revoke its status, since it stops them from building on it. Their proposed projects have ranged from small intrusions into its fringe\u2019s greenery to large-scale construction in its centre. These proposals often appear before elections, presenting a solution to a huge voter concern: the housing crisis. So is the Home at Tempelhofer Feld plan just more election baiting? Is it any different to, for example, last year\u2019s idea to build a dozen skyscrapers next to the former terminal building?<\/p>\n
Well, for one, the Home at Tempelhofer Feld plan does actually envision the type of neighbourhood Berliners like: mixed-use, plenty of greenery, built in a style reminiscent of the Gr\u00fcnderzeit era and modelled after neighbouring Schillerkiez and Bergmannkiez. 30% of the new apartments would be reserved for social housing, which is desperately needed in Berlin (only a fraction of households eligible for a housing entitlement certificate, WBS, currently live in subsidised apartments). The new neighbourhood would be well connected to public transport, as a new S-Bahn station could be built on the existing Ringbahn tracks between Hermannstra\u00dfe and Tempelhof stations.<\/p>\n
As architects Kollhoff and N\u00f6fer write on the project\u2019s website, Home at Tempelhofer Feld is \u201ca grand plan that evokes the qualities of familiar Berlin neighbourhoods and develops them naturally\u201d. It\u2019s practically a model greenfield Kiez of the kind Berliners drool over. There\u2019s only one problem with it: location, location, location.<\/p>\n
Barbecues Before Housing<\/p>\n
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Visualisation of housing next to the Feld included in \u2018Home at Tempelhofer Feld\u2019 proposal, image credit: Kollhoff \/ N\u00f6fer \/ Astigmatic<\/p>\n
Zone-A apartments in one of the hippest parts of town, a stone\u2019s throw from the site of the historic Berlin Airlift, would sell like hot cakes. The irony is that the development would undermine the very essence of what makes the area so beloved. Tempelhofer Feld is so much more than an empty swath of land. Tempelhof Airport ceased flight operations on October 30, 2008 and since 2010, the former airfield has acted as a massive public park. In the summer, Berliners flock there to windsurf, kitesurf or longboard along its runways, watch sheep grazing or dogs in the dog park, birdwatch, visit a beer garden, play mini-golf, garden, get a coffee, take a tour, watch flamenco, see a Rosinenbomber or Nord 262 passenger plane, fly a kite, play tennis, badminton, football, baseball, basketball or beach volleyball, BBQ, picnic, watch a sunset and walk, run or bike around its 6.5km perimeter \u2013 to name a few activities.<\/p>\n
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Photo Credit: Jochen Juergensen\u2060<\/p>\n
The Berlin ePrix and TFELD music festival take place there, made possible precisely because there are no Nachbarn nearby to file noise complaints. Plenty of impromptu cultural events happen too: performances, meet-ups, protests. As the site of the Berlin Airlift, it has great historical significance. You can freely walk along the runways where Allied planes used to land, stopping by multiple memorials and information boards to read up on the historic events that took place exactly where you\u2019re standing. Acting as a \u2018green lung\u2019, the Feld\u2019s trees and greenery positively impact the local climate by cooling the air and replenishing groundwater. It also helps the area\u2019s biodiversity by providing a haven for endangered bird species like the skylark, as well as for wild bees, kestrels and reptiles, not to mention numerous types of flora.<\/p>\n
Some might say that plants, birds and barbecues are no more important than people having a place to live. True, but that\u2019s beside the point. Tempelhofer Feld is more than the sum of its parts. It\u2019s a site that\u2019s unique on a global scale, a symbol of Berlin\u2019s past and present that encapsulates the city\u2019s spirit like few other places. It\u2019s an open-air museum that\u2019s also a sports field that\u2019s also an ecological reserve. You can stand on runways where C-47s used to land every 90 seconds, breathing in history with a beer in your hand. Of course Berliners love it. And that\u2019s not to mention its symbolism as a place of public democracy.<\/p>\n
Democracy at Stake<\/p>\n
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Current aerial view of Tempelhofer Feld, image credit: Kollhoff \/ N\u00f6fer \/ Astigmatic<\/p>\n
In 2014, Berliners were given the official opportunity to keep Tempelhofer Feld as a public park. The referendum aimed to have it \u201cpermanently preserved as a publicly used, accessible open space and remain the property of Berlin\u201d, preventing any future construction on the site. 64.3% of voters decided to keep it a public park in what was a legally binding ballot, as well as the only law in Berlin that was ever passed by popular vote. You\u2019d think that would settle the matter. So who are those second-guessing the voice of democracy?<\/p>\n
In this year\u2019s opinion poll commissioned by the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and conducted by the Institute for New Social Answers (INSA), 59% of respondents spoke out in favour of the planned development of the Feld. That\u2019s quite the change of public attitude over the span of a decade. But whether it\u2019s a response to the housing crisis or something else, the answer is not yet clear.<\/p>\n
An official referendum and an opinion poll are not equal.<\/p>\n
What we do know is that INSA, the organisation that conducted the poll, has documented ties to the AfD and CDU. Its chairman, former CDU member Hermann Binkert, has historically financially supported the AfD and spoken out in its favour. According to Der Spiegel editor Severin Weiland, Binkert wrote \u201cseveral positive-sounding articles about the AfD\u201d for The Huffington Post.<\/p>\n
Naturally, this raises questions about the biased nature of the recent poll. Red flags are flying about its potential political motives, considering that the AfD and CDU are the most pro-developer parties of those expected to secure seats in the Berlin Senate following the elections on September 20. Even if it wasn\u2019t biased, its phrasing wasn\u2019t exactly impartial.<\/p>\n
Questionable Questions<\/p>\n
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The proposed plan for \u2018Home at Tempelhofer Feld\u2019, image credit: Kollhoff \/ N\u00f6fer \/ Astigmatic<\/p>\n
\u201cAn official referendum and an opinion poll are not equal,\u201d stresses Anita M\u00f6ller from 100% Tempelhofer Feld (THF100), the main organisation fighting to preserve the Feld in its entirety. The 2014 referendum came about from the hard work of THF100. They directly engaged with thousands of Berliners to educate them about what developing the former airport could mean. The 2026 poll conducted by INSA was more simplistic and, it could be argued, guided respondents towards the \u2018correct\u2019 answer. Specifically, these were the questions asked:<\/p>\n
1. How do you assess the current situation of Berlin\u2019s housing market? (81% of respondents chose \u2018strained\u2019 or \u2018very strained\u2019, more so for renters).<\/p>\n
2. Would you support or oppose Berlin using additional inner-city land for housing construction? (More housing construction garnered the support of 60% of respondents).<\/p>\n
3. What is your view on limited development along the edge of Tempelhofer Feld to create additional housing while preserving the central open space? (59% of respondents said they support it).<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-06-03-at-11.48.02-1.png\")
Image of what full development of Tempelhofer Feld would look like, image credit: Kollhoff \/ N\u00f6fer \/ Astigmatic<\/p>\n
The questions frame a clear logical train of thought from \u2018the housing market is a mess\u2019 to \u2018we need more housing\u2019 to \u2018here\u2019s a solution\u2019. By the final question, backing out of supporting a \u201climited development\u201d plan would seem like backtracking. Building on Tempelhofer Feld simply appears as a rational solution to the dire state of Berlin\u2019s housing crisis.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s misleading, not least because the \u201climited development along the edge of Tempelhofer Feld [\u2026] while preserving the central open space\u201d makes the impact sound minimal. In reality, almost all of the Feld\u2019s recreational facilities \u2013 a community garden, dog park, basketball court and two of the three designated barbecue areas \u2013 are located outside the ovular taxiway, on the planned development site. The centre of the Feld is mostly cordoned off for the protection of biodiversity. Should Tempelhofer Feld\u2019s edges be bulldozed, the space would either lose the majority of its social facilities or they would be moved closer to its centre, thus compromising the park\u2019s ecological role. Either way, the impact would be far from \u201climited\u201d.<\/p>\n
Alternative Solutions<\/p>\n
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Photo Credit: Jochen Juergensen\u2060<\/p>\n
Yes, denying people a place to live in the name of preserving a nice rollerskating spot or some random plant species would be a sign of hopelessly detached privilege, but it\u2019s not an either\/or choice that has to be made. Despite what populist politicians would like you to believe, rare birds, rollerskaters and barbecuers aren\u2019t the reason you can\u2019t get a flat. That falls under the responsibility of developers. Imagine the answers an opinion poll might have yielded from the questions, \u2018Are you aware that Berlin has two million square meters of empty office space?\u2019 and \u2018Would you support or oppose converting this empty office space into roughly 30,000 apartments?\u2019 Converting empty office space into housing is entirely feasible, but if an opinion poll asked that, it would suddenly sound as if bulldozing Tempelhofer Feld in the name of solving the housing shortage wasn\u2019t a necessity, but a choice.<\/p>\n
A leaked government report acquired by Berliner Zeitung in 2024 reveals that Berlin has space for 249,000 new apartments. These could be built on top of countless single-storey supermarkets or on areas of unused land like the disused rail yard in Pankow or the former Tegel Airport. In fact, a plan already exists to do just that. The Urban Development Plan for Housing 2040, passed by the Berlin Senate in September 2024, outlines where 220,000 apartments could be built within the next decade and a half.<\/p>\n
What we\u2019re actually dealing with in Berlin is not a housing crisis but a rent crisis.<\/p>\n
The problem is that construction takes time, and Berliners were in dire need of apartments yesterday. The developers behind Home at Tempelhofer Feld believe that construction could start as early as two years from now and be finished in six. In Berlin, where it took a decade and a half to get the S-Bahn running one stop between Wedding and Hauptbahnhof and the construction of BER airport took almost three times longer than envisioned, six years to build an entire greenfield city district sounds like a daydream. And if it really is possible, then it should also be possible in places other than a much-loved public park.<\/p>\n
There are faster and easier solutions. Take the problem of furnished apartments \u2013 a legal loophole exploited by landlords that allows them to charge exorbitant prices for short-term rentals. Converting thousands of these apartments into regular rental properties could be done almost immediately, if only such political will existed. Similarly, many people live in apartments that are simply too big for them, but they can\u2019t move because a new contract on a smaller flat would be more expensive than what they pay now. Regulating rental prices could eliminate this illogical fiasco and better distribute living space in the city.<\/p>\n
As Josh Peterson of the group Architects4THF aptly points out, \u201cWhat we\u2019re actually dealing with in Berlin is not a housing crisis but a rent crisis.\u201d With solutions aplenty, it\u2019s the political will to implement them that\u2019s missing. While these solutions would help everyday Berliners, they would be detrimental to the interests of landlords and developers. For this reason, the development of Tempelhofer Feld is essentially the CDU\u2019s only proposal, as it actively serves the interests of those who will vote for them. It\u2019s the only solution they have to tackle the rent crisis, and the only one they want to have.<\/p>\n
A Field of Dreams<\/p>\n
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Photo Credit: Jochen Juergensen<\/p>\n
To propose building on Tempelhofer Feld this close to an election is inconsiderate at best and calculating, profit-driven cronyism at worst. We\u2019re in the midst of a political game. The winners are politicians and developers, while the losers aren\u2019t just birds and barbecuers but Berlin\u2019s unique cultural heritage. As the city continues to grow, the value of unique spaces amidst urban sprawl will also grow. That\u2019s why Berliners voted to preserve it back in 2014. \u201cYes, there was a referendum. But the world has changed since then,\u201d commented Sebastian Stietzel, president of the IHK. Indeed, the world has changed and is changing. But that doesn\u2019t mean Berliners have to idly sit back and watch as the places we love are destroyed.<\/p>\n