Berlin’s shared residential communities.

Berlin has changed a lot since the launch of the capital city’s beBerlin campaign in 2008. It is still about creativity, individuality and freedom – but for an increasing number people, it is also a place to call home. The Berlin Senate Chancellery took advantage of the changed conditions in 2018/19 to research the "DNA" of the city. The result :a modern mission statement to keep the city thinking on its feet, to define its values and what makes it tick and to emphasise its strengths, while all the time aiming to reaffirm Berliners’ love for their own city. Through the Berlin shared residential communities, all Berliners had the opportunity to discuss the mission statement and the new characteristics of their city.

A total of six Berlin communities allowed Berliners from a wide variety of backgrounds to meet up with each other – blow-ins with native Berliners, influencers with entrepreneurs and a bassist with the founder of a refugee network. Together, they discussed the most important issues surrounding living together in Berlin:

• Why does Berlin leave its mark on everyone who comes here?
• Is there such a thing as a Berlin identity?
• Is resilience one of Berlin's strengths?
<liIs the Berlin promise of freedom still tenable today?</li>
• Can Berlin continue to be a city of openness and diversity?
• Will the city of individuality become a city of co-existence?

In the communities, the participants talked time and again about the values that make Berlin such a special place to live in: freedom, tolerance and individuality, and how they can be incorporated into a common identity.

Most of the residents agreed that these values should not stand in the way of a common identity, but should rather be part of it. As diverse as opinions on the various topics in the communities were, everyone agreed on one thing: only together and united can Berlin grow as a city, take on its pioneering role and be a valued home for all.

We would like to thank all the participants for the lively and constructive exchange that will feed into future projects.