The final battle for Tempelhof Airport

Skybird · 04-25-08, 06:50 AM

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...549685,00.html

In Berlin, this Sunday there will be a a people's referendum on wether to accept the Berlin senate's decision to shut it down, or not. Legally, the referendum is not binding. Emotions pro and contra go high.

So far, a concept for whzat to do with the area if Tempelhof gets closed, still is missing, and any calculations on how much profit it would give to turn it into this or use it for that purpose, are abstract at best. Two investors with concepts that would have used the buildings, have been turned away. In this context it must be mentioned that the city, after a massive baniking and fraud scandal some years ago, is drowning in debts. The prestigious plan to turn the Potsdamer Platz (with the well-known sony-Cantre and the ex-DB-tower) into a tourist magnet and city hotspot, have failed, and failed so enormously that the Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) recently has sold the newly constructed towers, with financial write-offs. Other high profile companies are said and rumoured to wish to flee the place, too.

Tempelhof is wished to be kept alive for two reasons: small business air traffic, and sentimental and symbolic reasons.

Wether or not the business air traffic is sufficient an argument to keep Tempelhof in financial supply for operating costs, is hotly debated. Alterntaive models to finance it have popped up as often as they disappeared again.

The symbolic argument is self-explanatory from history that is not about the "Luftbrücke" alone, and is briefly mentioned in the essay.

I personally would miss the airport in the heart of the city. Berlin has changed so dramatically in the past 15 years that some areas where I used to live and go in the 80s I almost cannot recognize anymore. For the most, the changes, all in all, are for the worse. That many natives and the upper medium social class is moving out of the city, while socially weak people and immigrants move in, is a telling symptom for it, and is the major explanation for the tax mess the city is in: business goes slowly, tax income is not sufficient, since people from the surrounding areas of Beröin may move into the city to work there and get a loan for that, but they do not spend the money in the city, but move home and spend it there, or elsewhere.

Let Tempelhof live, I say. And send the stupidly grinning mayor (who was shameless enough to try to make political profit from almost showing off with his homosexuality) to hell. One can be gay without turning it into a public dance-party motto and inviting SM events into town, Mr. Wowereit.

04-25-08, 06:50 AM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	The final battle for Tempelhof Airport http://www.spiegel.de/international/...549685,00.html In Berlin, this Sunday there will be a a people's referendum on wether to accept the Berlin senate's decision to shut it down, or not. Legally, the referendum is not binding. Emotions pro and contra go high. So far, a concept for whzat to do with the area if Tempelhof gets closed, still is missing, and any calculations on how much profit it would give to turn it into this or use it for that purpose, are abstract at best. Two investors with concepts that would have used the buildings, have been turned away. In this context it must be mentioned that the city, after a massive baniking and fraud scandal some years ago, is drowning in debts. The prestigious plan to turn the Potsdamer Platz (with the well-known sony-Cantre and the ex-DB-tower) into a tourist magnet and city hotspot, have failed, and failed so enormously that the Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) recently has sold the newly constructed towers, with financial write-offs. Other high profile companies are said and rumoured to wish to flee the place, too. Tempelhof is wished to be kept alive for two reasons: small business air traffic, and sentimental and symbolic reasons. Wether or not the business air traffic is sufficient an argument to keep Tempelhof in financial supply for operating costs, is hotly debated. Alterntaive models to finance it have popped up as often as they disappeared again. The symbolic argument is self-explanatory from history that is not about the "Luftbrücke" alone, and is briefly mentioned in the essay. I personally would miss the airport in the heart of the city. Berlin has changed so dramatically in the past 15 years that some areas where I used to live and go in the 80s I almost cannot recognize anymore. For the most, the changes, all in all, are for the worse. That many natives and the upper medium social class is moving out of the city, while socially weak people and immigrants move in, is a telling symptom for it, and is the major explanation for the tax mess the city is in: business goes slowly, tax income is not sufficient, since people from the surrounding areas of Beröin may move into the city to work there and get a loan for that, but they do not spend the money in the city, but move home and spend it there, or elsewhere. Let Tempelhof live, I say. And send the stupidly grinning mayor (who was shameless enough to try to make political profit from almost showing off with his homosexuality) to hell. One can be gay without turning it into a public dance-party motto and inviting SM events into town, Mr. Wowereit. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert. Last edited by Skybird; 04-25-08 at 12:31 PM.