Analysis of poverty and mobility in Berlin Using an index to assess mobility in suburban and city centre locations (Nehring 2024)

Josephine Nehring

This master’s thesis examines the link between social disadvantage, the accessibility of public services, and local public transport stations in Berlin. Given the lack of quantifiable targets by the berlin decision-makers, an index is created that measures mobility poverty in the 448 planning areas, the so-called „Planungsräume“. Core indicators are employment and social situation, education, health, and food supply as well as the accessibility of public transport service. The thesis consists of the German and English state of research, the methodology and results section as well as the discussion of recommendations for action. The results show that Berlin’s urban structure is very diverse and that a low socio-economic status does not necessarily correlate with poor availability of mobility services or inadequate accessibility of destinations. Planning areas with a low index value are considered to be affected or at least at risk of mobility poverty. They are predominantly located outside the S-Bahn ring in the districts of Spandau, Süd-Neukölln, Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Reinickendorf. Surprisingly, planning areas within the ring were also identified in Moabit, the northern part of Charlottenburg, Wedding and Friedrichshain. The index and measures derived from it are aimed at stakeholders in politics, planning, and administration.

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Only in German.