Creating NEBourhoods Together. Munich-Neuperlach as test-bed for urban innovation landscapes

Project Information

NEBourhoods

Grant agreement ID: 101080052

DOI

10.3030/101080052

Project closed

EC signature date 22 September 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 31 March 2025

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 5 483 644,75

EU contribution

€ 4 983 648,00

Coordinated by

LANDESHAUPTSTADT MUNCHEN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NEBourhoods (Creating NEBourhoods Together. Munich-Neuperlach as test-bed for urban innovation landscapes)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Creating NEBourhoods Together Neuperlach is one of the first six Mission oriented Lighthouse Demonstrators for the New European Bauhaus (NEB).
It applied the vision and principles of the NEB in Munich Neuperlach (NPL), a place typical for many European cities. NPL is the biggest post-war urban expansion area of former West-Germany. A municipal integrated urban development plan combined with urban regeneration measures leads the development. NEBourhoods adds to this with a unique approach. The projects facilitated joint action and co-creation between its inhabitants, local organisations and stakeholders with Munich’s innovation-ecosystem. Together, the project partners nurtured and accelerated NPL’s transformation into a beautiful, inclusive, and sustainable future.

NEBourhoods set out with ten actions tackling various challenges of urban development towards the European Green Deal: inclusive spaces, biodiversity, new energy patterns, circularity, healthy nutrition, cultural places and more. These NEB actions have been embedded in living labs for prototyping and co-creation. A mobile MakerSpace, scholarships, a testbed for matching start-ups with companies, hackathons and public innovation competitions aiming at solutions for urban challenges added entrepreneurial spirit and business-ideas to the transition.

Objectives
- Cultivate an inclusive, empowering and thus resilient urban innovation landscape at human scale through Quadruple-helix Co-Creation with creativity at its core
- Set-up and test a unique way to involve entrepreneurship facilitation in urban development as a game-changer that speeds-up the green transition and unlocks upscaling potential
- Co-create diverse cutting-edge pilots in NPL that bring life and action the NEB principles and the Green Deal Missions
- Deliver NEBourhoods – inspiring and replicable nuclei of practices on the ground - for the future of sustainable urban development in Europe and beyond
- Contribute to and nurture the NEB vision and movement

For this, communication at all levels is central: at EU and national level, with professional communities and across silos, through inspiring people on the ground and in dialogue with political representatives.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

NEB Actions as Urban Living Labs: functioned as intentional experiments – collaborative testbeds exploring transformation in real-life settings. Grounded in co-creation, bringing together citizens, academia, businesses, and public sector with users at the centre. Key element: involvement of artists & creative professionals for deeply inspiring solutions.
Entrepreneurial Scopes of Action: explored through education, awareness-raising, targeted promotion for entrepreneurial skill, know-how and mindsets. Provided entry points for individuals and organisations to take the initiative, fostering a culture of innovation and self-driven NEB guided transformation.

Animal Aided Design (AAD): approach including a co-creative, transferable process for biodiversity integration / 14 local target species identified with stakeholders / Toolbox and open-source web database / built demonstrators: Nesting Stool combining seating and habitat.
Ecolopes: mock-up demonstrators. Plant Building Blocks and Multi-species Façade.
Public Power: Shading pavilion with PV integration for a school and neighbourhood, PV potential confirmed / adaptable shading design for integration with existing infrastructure.
Circular Neuperlach: methodology for early planning phase involving all stakeholders / Circular Transformation Roadmap / agile support institution Urban Transformation Office.
Redesigning Housing Structures: timber-glass winter garden concept for façade renovation and space expansion / social&energy benefits while maintaining rent levels / large-scale demonstrator with 9 models 1:20, film, exhibition, book / transferable prototype for similar post-war housing estates.
Reprogramming Private Public Spaces: NEB Urban Space Check as scalable certification tool for transforming privately owned public spaces. Manual. Grounded in ESG principles to align with real estate logic.
Prototyping Mobility Solutions: two co-developed NEBourhood Hubs installed and tested, platform using Munich’s Digital Twin for 9 digital participation tools (prototypes).
Energy Communities: legally and economically sound energy community established with inclusive model (low entry barriers, donated shares), citizen-based financing secured / replicable roadmap and material for others.
Tasty NEWperlach: tested pop-up formats / new local food chains and urban gardening in local partnership / manual for modular, hexagonal raised beds and mobile outdoor kitchen.
Cultural Places for Young People: Walks with audio stories / mobile Ciné Vélo Cité / CHILLspORT permanent schoolyard redesign through cultural process with pupils, students, artists.
Mobile MakerSpace: open workshops and access to modern equipment / 30 scholarships for main MakerSpace / park orientation tables.
Innovation space: foldable pavilion developed by a start-up rented for project and local community.
Hacking Neuperlach: workshops with 352 students in 76 teams / short videos about NEB values: Bridging Urban Development and Entrepreneurship
Business Creation Lab: pre-incubator XPLORE with 27 teams, 22 reached incubation phase / Ideation Fair
Testbed / Innovation Competition: 20 start-ups matched with local companies / structured collaboration, Innovation Forum / Competition: The cool side of Munich – Routing for walkways in the shade –using Digital Twin with AI, accessible with smart voice assistant.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Expanded innovation triad, residents co-creating prototypes, communities initiated and strengthened, their effect continues but it needs open processes. New framework for NEB-guided co-creation. NEB projects need access to innovative and creative ecosystems. Co-creation is a highly iterative and open process, depending on time and trust. This needs to be considered when setting up funding schemes and development policies.

Novel formats and experiences in bridging entrepreneurship and urban development continue to impact within all organisations involved. Structured cooperation between cities, universities and local communities is needed to ensure the continuation of proven formats. Matching businesses in disadvantaged neighbourhoods with start-ups opens opportunities for NEB based development. Combining established formats with a focus on NEB fosters the movement.

The City of Munich is embedding results and experiences in its strategies and plans (council decisions to come). For wide uptake and replication, the handbook: NEBourhoods for Tomorrow provides inspiring access to all results, using the NEB compass.

NEBourhoods prototypes. (c) Architekturgalerie München / Valentina Lang

Aerial view of Munich-Neuperlach. (c) Patrik Thomas

NEBourhoods Ciné Velo Cité, the mobile bicycle cinema (c) Patrik Thomas

NEBourhoods for Tomorrow: NEBourhoods Replication Handbook

Aerial view of Munich-Neuperlach with the so called "residential ring" in the centre. c_Gustav Götze