MS Riem: a greenbelt community with a close-to-downtown location

Synopsis of talk given on January 30, 2001 by Christian Ude, mayor of Munich

A fact is becoming clear: MS Riem is growing fast. Emerging equally quickly are the features making it an especially attractive community. These features were built into the community-to-be by its planners, who successfully launched one of the largest redevelopment projects ever undertaken in Europe.

One of these features: MS Riem will form an integral part of the green belt forming the city's periphery. Some 50% of MS Riem's area has been consigned to parks. This location notwithstanding, the community is located only 7 kilometers away from the heart of downtown Munich, with which it is connected by subway. This combination of features has made MS Riem particularly attractive to young families, which predominate in the community. This is a particularly gratifying development, as such families tend to settle down in our suburbs, which offer them the affordable space often lacking in our downtown areas. The influx of young families has boosted the number of residents living in MS Riem to more than 1,600. They live in the 600 apartments and townhouses completed during the last three years in the community. By 2013, the number of residents will have risen to more than 16,000. Many of them will work in the community itself-for the companies based in MS Riem. There are already more than 70 of them-and their number is rising rapidly. As these figures show, demand is running strong for MS Riem's commercial property. By 2013, these companies will have created more than 13,000 locally-based jobs.

We wanted to build a community full of life, a place in which to work, reside, interact and enjoy. We didn't want to build yet another community comprised exclusively of apartment houses or office buildings. As recent developments have shown, our efforts are proving successful. MS Riem has what we call an 'urban mix' of uses, residents and landscapes.

A mix of residents: some 40% of MS Riem's residents live in housing units built and/or subsidized by the public sector. Two hundred of these units are found in the Galeriahaus apartment building, which features an innovative design. Its centerpiece is an interior atrium.

A further 30% dwell in units whose purchase was made possible by programs of state-supported mortgages. The rest of the persons living here reside in apartments or townhouses which they have purchased without any public sector support. As these figures show, MS Riem has been planned to be a place in which everybody can afford to live.

A place of interaction: to make sure that residents get to know each other and get a say in the planning of their community, we launched "Messestadt Riem Dialog". The events staged by the group have addressed such subjects as the community's parking spaces, park and concrete walls. These have served as high useful venues of expression. Located in the Galeriahaus, the Bewohnertreff (residents' meeting place) is a prime venue for such interactions.

A place of culture: We set up Kunstprojekte_riem (art projects in Riem) and gave it a broad brief: stage the events of the arts getting the community's cultural life off to a flying start. This year's performances and exhibitions are centered around our living spaces and how we shaped them. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the artists invited by the project delve into this subject.

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