Berlin Plattenbau

The massive housing estate Marzahn-Hellersdorf on the outskirts of Berlin is characterized by towering Plattenbauten. These very simple blocks of apartments, constructed from pre-cast concrete slabs, look like rows of hospitals. Some of them are 22 stories high.

Just 15 minutes from the city center, about 250,000 people live here. They are mostly young families, because it's cheap and has the infrastructure for children.

"It's more a kind of place where you only stay to sleep and to live," said 24-year-old Paul Hippmann, who grew up in this cement jungle. "The basic action happens in the city center."

Berlin is creating a new image for Marzahn

As far as work goes, unemployment here is at almost 20 percent -- just as high as anywhere else in Berlin. Yet Hippmann said living in a concrete giant wasn't all that bad, as you've always got plenty of neighbors to look out for you. Also, the buildings were being redesigned.

"It had been really shabby and dirty," Hippmann said. "But Berlin itself is trying to create a new image of Marzahn."

The necessity was there, as increasing numbers of people have moved away. In the past, the government was going to tear down part of Marzahn. This would have been a real heartbreaker for people like Heinrich Niemann, the local councilor responsible for urban development.

The 61-year-old has been a resident of Berlin for more than 40 years and lives in a Plattenwohnung. Niemann lobbied to save the community, striking a compromise with the Berlin government.

Only the upper floors were removed from some of the larger buildings that had been left empty. It was done floor by floor, without destroying the rest of the structure, by simply sliding out the cement slabs. This is easy to do thanks to the Plattenbau style.

Walls were knocked down to create bigger townhouse-style apartments and the exteriors were given a good coating in all sorts of vibrant colors. The idea was to draw wealthier residents to the region, like doctors and professors. This mix meant the financially disadvantaged wouldn't be isolated -- which can often lead to them being cut off from the labor market.

The EU has helped make Marzahn greener

Marzahn has also become well-known for its expansive gardens, making it even more livable, Niemann said.

He said the city together with Brussels had invested about 15 to 20 million Euros ($19.6 to $26.2 million) in the last five years in public green areas.

Similar funds are being used to develop industrial areas and attract more businesses. This would secure the region's future, according to Niemann. He said the EU now needed to finance the exchange of their know-how with other European cities with similar large-house estates, like Moscow, Budapest, Prague or even Paris.

"We are ready to export our experience in how to organize the stabilization and renovation of such areas," Niemann said.

This could ensure that big chunks of urban Europe don't turn into ghettos and that Europeans who aren't as well off aren't secluded from the rest of society.