Munich's trade fair authority moved into its new location, in Messestadt Riem, in 1997. Since then, the land surrounding our new trade fair center has undergone a complete transformation. It has been changed from a lot stripped of the airport once standing on it to a community replete with residential and commercial complexes, schools and kindergardens, and much more. These buildings are places of residence, work and learning for thousands of people.
The next big step for this budding community will come in 2004. The Riem Arcades mall will open its doors.
As the many construction sites detail, the era of building this community is by no means over. I am, however, convinced that, ten years from now, that this era will be part and parcel of the past, and that people will still be flocking to live, work and visit a community characterized by such a wealth of shopping (something of interest to the many international visitors attending our trade fair) and greenery. The latter includes the large-sized park, which is located in the community's south.

When I contemplate the future of Messestadt Riem, I see a community continuing to be full of life and of attractions providing families living here with the amenities they want and need. Why are the streets of Messestadt Riem, in contradistinction to the bedroom communities lining the world's cities, places of interaction and interest? Because this community has a multiplicity of identities. It is a place where people work, reside, live, shop, play (in our parks and in the local lake).
Because it has all these features and identities, Messestadt Riem is, most of all, a place where people feel at home. It is, in the best sense of the word, a community. Part of this feeling of belonging stems from residents' having been encouraged to participate in the planning of their community. This hasn't made life easier for municipal planning authorities. But it has given residents a sense of stake-holding.

What will Messestadt Riem look like ten years from now?
It will be a favorite place of residence and work, one circumscribed by the subway station and the local park, the venue for swimming (in its lake) and sports. Messestadt Riem will also be a favorite with local shoppers, who will flock to its mall.
The community's attractiveness will be propagated via word-of-mouth-by the relating of first-hand accounts of the wonderful view to be had from the local park's restaurant, and of tales of the early days in Messestadt Riem, which were marked by construction sites, of projects turning local apartments into venues for art happenings, and by the forging of fast friendships. These arose through the sharing of complaints about the difficulties of the 'pioneer days'. These difficulties included the lack of in-community stores, and the waiting for the custodian to open the-far too heavy-doors of the local elementary school.

The buildings are thickly clustered in our community. It's easy to look into our apartments - and through our woods, which feature a uniformity of canopy and lack of places shielded from gazes.
These characteristics make living in Messestadt Riem a matter of being able to tolerate exhibitionism. Messestadt Riem's demographics require of the community's residents that they exhibit the capability to find common ground. The preconditions for the finding of these links among social classes have been set up.
Our community's grid of streets was supposed to include lanes reserved for buses, turnarounds for cars, and other good ideas. The implementation of these ideas was not subject to enforcement. The result: the grid produced by the planning process evinces a reliance on drivers' right-mindedness. That this quality is in greater evidence among our drivers than elsewhere has not been proven.
The predominance of the shops renting out space in the Riem Arcades mall are outlets of high-price retailers. It will take ten years and the conclusion of the initial phase of occupancy for these retailers to be replaced by shops serving the needs of the young, low-income, multi-cultural families so abundant in our community.The (healing) effects of time will not, unfortunately, change one of the prime characteristics of this community in progress: the fact that its works of architecture are often impractical in use. As these buildings show, we still haven't learned age-old lessons.

Located in the community's parks and along its streets and roads, Messestadt Riem's trees and bushes are growing fast. They are turning the community into a place where nature is very much at home. Once completed, this 'greening-up' will put the community's buildings in their proper framework. This 'greening-up' is making MS Riem one of the prettiest, most attractive places to live in Munich. This physical beauty, which is complemented by unobstructed views of the Alps, goes hand-in-hand with a large selection of things to do in the community: sledding, swimming, strolling and cycling on and in the community's hills, lake, paths and trails.This up-greening takes time. That, in turn, requires patience on the part of the community's residents. To them, I say "Patience makes pretty!"

Messestadt Riem in 2013
Ten years from now, this is what Messestadt Riem will look like.The construction of the main commercial and residential areas and complexes has been completed. Many of the companies in the community are proceeding with the expansion of their corporate facilities, which are bursting at the seams. Munich's fairgrounds have concluded the building of an annex. The community's park and hill are replete with strollers and-in winter-with sledders. The subway has been extended to link up with the S-Bahn (regional railway). The festival held each summer on the community's Willy-Brandt-Platz has become one of Munich's 'must-attend' events. Including a cinema and community center, Riem Arcades is flourishing. Like the community in which it is located, the mall is one of the sights shown to guests visiting Munich. And MS Riem is showing the rest of Europe what urban and regional planning is capable of achieving.

Messestadt Riem is a very special community, in that it is being developed according to a plan, and on a step-by-step basis. This fact provides us with the opportunity to incorporate the experiences gained during the carrying out of the previous steps into the further implementation of the plan.This incorporation is highly necessary, as it expedites and eases the accomplishment of the goal set for Messestadt Riem: for it to be a place in which well-laid plans have produced a community of interpersonal communication and caring.

Investors are flocking to Messestadt Riem. The arrival of the city's trade fairgrounds (one of the ten largest in the world), a major mall and a large number of companies have made this young community one of the most sought after areas in Munich, itself one of the world's most dynamic cities.
Attracting these companies to Messestadt Riem have been the community's key features: the mix of developable property offered (of key importance to Munich's broadly-based business community), the opportunity to live right next door to where you work (no time wasted commuting!), the large expanses of greenery and the growing selection of stores, cinemas and the like found in the community. Messestadt Riem is going to help Munich stay number one for a very long time.