On May 18, 1999, the Berlin Senate adopted the inner city plan as an urban development model. The aim of re-establishing the formerly divided city as an urban unit resulted in the so-called "critical reconstruction", for example at Spittelmarkt and Molkenmarkt, but also in concentration areas for high-rise buildings, for example at Alexanderplatz and Breitscheidplatz.

A quarter of a century later, the plan has been implemented in part and modified in part. For some committed residents, the vision is too vague, for others it is too prescriptive - opinions on the vision differ widely.

The question of what is being built for whom, on the other hand, remains underexposed in the plan. Did the authors indulge in the illusion of creating a new middle class with buildings such as the townhouses at the Foreign Office? Did the wave of investment in the 2000s prevent well-intentioned urban spaces through projects that were poorly anchored in urban society? The discussion of these and other questions is intended to highlight the pros and cons of updating the Planwerk Innenstadt.

With Inken Baller (architect), Harald Bodenschatz (social scientist, urban planner) and Thomas Flierl (architectural historian, publicist), moderated by Michael Kasiske (architect, board member of Werkbundarchiv e. V.)

Supported by the Haupstadtkulturfonds.