Abstract

The urgently needed reorientation of our production methods and lifestyles in a sustainable, i.e. future-proof direction faces a variety of adversities. One of the deficits is that enormous funds are spent daily for ultimately destructive purposes, while only "peanuts" are left over for specific Local Agenda 21 projects, for example. In 1999, the Project Agency for a Sustainable Berlin, which is based at the IZT, made a successful attempt to contribute to satisfying this need, as can be seen in this interim report. With a volume of almost one million DM available for three years, the project agency provides direct financial support for practical projects and activities. In the meantime, more than twenty projects have received start-up funding of between DM 5,000 and DM 60,000. With these relatively small grants, however, many meaningful and concrete things have been realised and a greater awareness of steps towards sustainability has been created. The subsidised projects are assigned to five fields of action: Ecological management, urban development/building/housing/environmentally friendly mobility, living environments/education/culture/youth, One World/development cooperation and cross-field projects. In addition to an overview of the project agency's activities, the report focuses on brief descriptions of the 21 projects. In addition, initial assessments of the project agency are formulated and, for example, typical deficits in the application process are highlighted. After the report on the publicity activities, the prospects for LA 21 are discussed. The appendix contains documents from the project agency (e.g. award criteria) as well as Internet addresses and examples of best practice on the topic.

Authors

Göll, Edgar; Fay, Cordula; Kreibich, Rolf; Nolte, Roland; Schwanz, Georg

Fields of research

Education and Digital Media, Technology Assessment and Participation