Thomas Breidert

As part of the initiative, I examined three fundamental societal issues:

I. Residential land consumption and its increase in Karlsruhe’s Oststadt since 2015, measured by the average number of residents per dwelling
(2015: 3 single-person households per dwelling → 2024: 1.4 single-person households per dwelling).

II. The spatial demand of private vehicles and its development in the Oststadt between 2015 and 2025
(2015: 325.4 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants → 2024: 632.7 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants | 2015: 9,576 vehicles → 2024: 12,386 vehicles).

III. The price per square meter for residential and parking space in the Oststadt and its development over the past five years in relation to the demographic structure
(+23.6% in five years to €14.84/m² per month for housing; parking prices remained unchanged at €1/m² per month; demographic profile: 39% of residents aged between 18 and 30).

These data reveal a trend to which the city recently responded by amending its parking space regulations, thereby enabling parking areas to be repurposed for alternative uses in the context of building redevelopments.

This raises the question of whether, by converting parking spaces into semi-public areas, we can adapt existing housing stock to meet evolving needs while reducing per-capita space consumption.

The investigation focuses on three typical street situations that combine high-quality public space potential with high parking density, as well as three exemplary buildings from different construction periods.

In addition, through the “Stadtwohnzimmer” initiative, a temporary installation was implemented to draw attention to the issue and to engage directly with affected residents.

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