Berlin's oldest, longest, least known car-free street, Swinemünder Strasse, is suffering.

Thanks party to the Berlin Wall, Swinemünder Strasse was made car-free in the mid-80s. But after reunification, it found itself back in the middle of central Berlin and has been fighting to keep cars out for decades. The history of the neighborhood, once probably the largest rebuilding project in Europe, is fascinating, and the present-day struggle sheds light on the ways that Berlin's city officials tolerate cars breaking the rules.
The video includes some fantastic footage from a 1974 documentary called "Putte" made by Gerd Conradt www.gerdconradt.... Used with kind permission.

[@marsdaake]

I cycled through there once but did not realize how special that street is. Back than I already noticed the cars there which clearly don't belong there.

[@chicagobybike]

That seems like such a great place to live. If there was even a single street like that near me I’d move there in a heartbeat!

[@somekek6734]

Honestly I live in relative proximity and these places are pretty good at hiding in plain sight. It's crazy what Berlin has to offer if you look closer...
On the other side this is likely true for other cities as well. If you look around you'll probably find something cool!

[@gabibel.585]

❤ Tolles Video ❣
Liebe Grüße aus der Swinemünder Straße 👍😍
Habe auch noch nie ein Auto gehabt 👍 Fahre seid Jahren alles mit dem Fahrrad 🚴‍♀️👍🙋🏻‍♀️🍀

[@SomePotato]

In a traffic calmed zone, the maximum speed is also Schrittgeschwindigkeit, which in turn was defined as 10 km/h.

[@manukorb6131]

Such a great video!
Thank you so much. This kind of specific and less popular knowledge about the different Kieze in Berlin is so valuable! I'd love to see more of it!
I just started living here in Swinemünder Straße and I'm so greatful it exists. It's a showcase of how Berlin could look like, if we reduced car traffic in the center!

[@jandzoe9249]

Thank you for this great video about our neighbourhood! 🥰

[@Zoza15]

I wish The Netherlands would have done something this similar, That looks quite amazing!.

[@Aeyekay0]

That’s cool. Definitely have to check it out if I ever make it to Berlin someday

[@aninamotte]

Thank you for this video about Swinemünder Straße!

[@gabibel.585]

❣👍👍👍🎉Wohne jetzt genau 30Jahre in der Swinemünder Str ❣🎉
Dabei wollte ich nie im Leben nach Wedding/Mitte! Aber schon 1991 hat der Wedding/Mitte Charme mich überwältigt und es blieb auch bis heute 2021❣Der Bericht erfüllt mich mit Freude und Stolz ❣Danke für das schöne Video 👍🎉🙋🏻‍♀️

[@wernerrietveld]

Even with the nuisance of a car every now and then, it is still a wonderfull street, compared to what it 'normally' would be like. A ruined building every now and then is part of being in Berlin I suppose :-)

[@tunnfisch7548]

I would put some stuff in the middle of the street so cars can't go past. And I would walk extra slow in the middle when there is a car approaching.

[@geschichtswerkstattannoerz5786]

Gute Frage, wer die autofreie Straße eigentlich beschlossen hat.

[@cities4people]

Wenn du das rauskriegst, unbedingt Bescheid geben!

[@isabelgirau2678]

Bezahlbarer Wohnraum, are you sure? 🤔 Ich rief vor einigen Monaten bei der DEGEWO an, um zu erfahren, wie Wohnungsvermietung abläuft? :
Es wird also z. B. im Internet eine freie Wohnung angeboten, für sich beworben werden kann.
Ich weiß jetzt nicht, ob das per Los dann vergeben wird.
Die Sachbearbeiterin teilte mir dann mit, daß es vor kurzem für eine eingestellte Wohnung 2000 Bewerber /innen gab... 😉

[@cities4people]

Und wenn der Preis pro m2 bezahlbar ist, dann ist das bezahlbarer Wohnraum.

[@isabelgirau2678]

@@cities4people Ah ja, verstehe! 👍🏼 😄