High-Deck Estate

The High-Deck Estate is a large housing estate with approximately 6,000 residents in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Constructed in the 1970s and 1980s as part of a social housing programme, the estate's urban planning concept diverged from the high-density, high-rise construction of estates like the Märkisches Viertel or Gropiusstadt. It prioritized the separation of pedestrian and motor traffic through elevated, landscaped walkways (the "high decks") connecting predominantly five- to six-storey buildings with around 2,400 flats. Roads and garages with over 1,000 parking spaces are located below these decks. Within 25 years of its construction, the innovative concept was widely regarded as unsuccessful. In the 1970s, the flats were highly sought after for their layout and location on the green outskirts of West Berlin, near the Berlin Wall bordering the East Berlin district of Treptow. After German reunification, the estate lost its quiet border location, becoming less attractive and evolving into a social hotspot in the 1990s due to segregation. The estate is primarily home to residents with a migration background from the Arab world. By 2007, over half of the residents relied on transfer payments. Berlin has implemented neighbourhood management programmes and social and art projects to revitalize the estate. Since November 2020, the High-Deck Estate has been a listed building.