Overview
- The CDU has made building homes along the edges of Tempelhofer Feld a potential condition for coalition talks and publicly backed an architect proposal for about 21,000 flats on roughly one third of the site.
- Berlin’s mayor said the finance senator will test whether the state can pay for and directly develop the scheme, with officials due to report on financial feasibility.
- Environmental groups, the Greens and Die Linke oppose the idea and warn that edge construction would harm the field’s role for cooling, biodiversity and public recreation.
- A binding 2014 referendum banned construction on the former airport, so any project would need a parliamentary change or other legal route and is likely to become a central issue before the September election.
- Critics point to alternatives such as converting vacant offices and reducing holiday rentals, which the BUND estimates could yield up to 50,000 homes without touching the open space.