"Building Cities Today" is the title of an exhibition on view at the German Architecture Museum (DAM) through November 2. The exhibition explores how German cities are tackling one of contemporary urbanism's greatest challenges: developing innovative districts that address climate protection, mobility, social integration, and demographic change. A century ago, the housing estates of "New Frankfurt" set the standard for innovative, socially conscious urban development. Yet these satellite communities, positioned on the city's periphery, were built with a single purpose in mind—residential only. The separation of living and working spaces into distinct zones necessitated ever-expanding transportation infrastructure. This land-intensive model of suburban expansion dominated urban planning for decades, culminating in the large-scale housing developments of the 1960s and 1970s.

The tide began to turn toward inner-city renewal in the mid-1980s, with the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in West Berlin pioneering innovative urban regeneration projects. These efforts introduced brownfield conversion strategies and community-centered design practices. Today, mixed-use neighborhoods are being reimagined—spaces where living, working, and commerce coexist. The real challenge lies in building sustainable, socially integrated communities that maintain quality of life while managing limited urban space. Building Cities Today? juxtaposes Frankfurt's historic Römerstadt from 1928 with eight German neighborhoods planned since 1990—ranging from Munich's Messestadt Riem to Rostock's WarnowQuartier. Together, they trace the evolution of sustainable urban planning, with two projects also candidly revealing its limits and failures. A city is never truly finished. Designing neighborhoods with the flexibility and adaptability to evolve with changing needs—that remains one of the defining challenges of contemporary urban planning.

www.dam-online.de