Making urban diversity visible – Open Day 2025
On Saturday, 27 September 2025, dozens of initiatives, collectives and self-organised spaces opened their doors across Berlin. Under the motto ‘Making urban diversity visible’, they demonstrated how much creativity, solidarity and resilience the city has to offer – and how cities can be redesigned when people come together.
The open day was part of a two-day event: on Friday, 27 September, a symposium entitled Urban Practice – Opportunities for Collective Urban Design took place. It brought together stakeholders from the fields of practice, administration, science and politics to discuss approaches, structures and the future of self-organised spaces. On Saturday, the network became visible in the urban space, with a diverse programme taking place in all corners of Berlin.
From Kreuzberg to Lichtenberg, from Spandau to Hohenschönhausen: everywhere, spaces and initiatives invited people to experience, shape and discuss the city together. Visitors could take part in workshops, walks, exhibitions, performances, discussions and gardening activities, in the middle of neighbourhoods, in courtyards, on rooftops, construction sites and in temporary uses.
The goal: to highlight practices based on solidarity, resistance and creativity. Many of these spaces are under pressure – threatened by displacement, lack of funding or political invisibility. The day of action countered this with a joint statement that cities can also be different: open, accessible, collective and diverse.
Open Day 2025 in figures
22 locations – from self-organised neighbourhood projects to artistic free spaces and walks through the city.
5 districts – The events took place in Adlershof, Steglitz, Neukölln and Kreuzberg.
1 city – countless perspectives – Urban practice came to life on this day: loud, supportive, thoughtful and full of ideas for what a city can be.
5 Organisers – Urban Practice created an open day with 4 wonderful personalities. Thank you to Lisbeth, Sharmila, Merve, Rhamatullah and Dana.
Together loud, together visible
The Open Day 2025 was not only an insight into existing spaces, but also a collective expression of urban self-empowerment. It showed that urban design is no longer just something that happens from above – but rather in the many everyday, often invisible practices, encounters and struggles that people engage in in all neighbourhoods.
Thank you to all contributors, venues, visitors and supporters who made this day possible. The resulting demands on politicians and administrators, in a wide variety of forms, can be found here. Spread the word about the
demands
(link:
https://www.urbanepraxis.berlin/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Forderungen.pdf
) for more urban diversity in our city!
You can find the
programme
to browse through via the link (Link:
https://www.urbanepraxis.berlin/programm/tag-der-offenen-tuer-2025/)
