Another important building block for increasing the attractiveness of Hamburg's city center will be the redesign of the route between the Inner Alster and the Elbe via Hammarburgplatz and Brandstwiete. The redesigned and improved route for pedestrians is intended to emphasize the spatial relationship between the existing inner city and the HafenCity and improve the quality of stay.
Depending on the starting point, the route begins at Ballindamm at the Inner Alster or at St. Annenplatz or the Dar-Es-Salaam-Platz at the transition from Speicherstadt, the historic warehouse district, to HafenCity. The route then continues to the banks of the Elbe and the new southern Überseequartier (“overseas district”).
In a workshop process in 2023, a total of five planning teams from landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture developed the initial spatial concepts and demonstrated the potential of the public space along this route. The focus of the work was on activating the urban space.
After reviewing and evaluating the results, these were used as a conceptual direction for the next planning and implementation steps, which started in spring 2024. An interdisciplinary team from the city of Hamburg, inner-city stakeholders and experts in communication and landscape architecture are currently working together on the concept to create a dynamic street space. Along the familiar but redesigned path, visitors will find new greenery, places to stay and rest and extensive information on the course and history of the area.
The new, high-quality urban space will invite people to stroll and hang out. The planned measures will make use of the existing open spaces on the sidewalks, such as at Hammaburgplatz, and will not interfere with bicycle or car traffic. The clear color scheme of the signposts supports the recognition value and facilitates orientation. This means that the route from one waterway to another is no longer just a mere road connection, but a place of experience for everyone in Hamburg: a previously invisible connection becomes visible and more attractive.
With the opening of the southern Überseequartier in spring 2025, a new urban building block was also created that provides access to the Elbe.
