Retailers bring a neighbourhood to life - but their brick-and-mortar business model is susceptible to change. In three Hamburg neighbourhoods, the Cross Innovation Hub has brought together local communities of interest with creatives to find solutions to individual challenges - including in Osterstraße.
The popular shopping street in the heart of the Eimsbüttel district is being remodelled. Good for the neighbourhood in the long term, but a huge burden for local businesses in the meantime. On behalf of the Hamburg Ministry of Economics and Innovation (BWI), solutions were sought in so-called sprints together with the local retail interest group in order to increase the visibility of the retailers and win back footfall.
One of the results was a design manual that lists various solutions for temporary construction site displays. The aim is to create acceptance for the construction sites, to playfully engage with classic construction site elements such as construction fences and to temporarily make the surroundings more attractive in order to revitalise the retail sector. The manual can also be adapted for other construction sites.
The Ministry of Economics and Innovation ensures that Hamburg is in an excellent economic position and that companies find favourable conditions in the city. BWI also stands for innovative ideas, promotes promising industries and clusters and supports research and development.
Nicole Wittek is responsible for cooperation and partner management at the Cross Innovation Hub and is the point of contact for all companies and organisations that want to find out more about the potential of cross innovation with creative experts and are interested in working together.
She studied Cultural Studies, Media Studies and Business Administration at the University of Regensburg. There she played a key role in the development and management of the inner-city creative centre and helped to establish the area of cultural and creative industries promotion. Most recently, she worked in an interdisciplinary office for urban development, where she designed co-creative formats and implemented them in projects for city centre development and mobility.
Nicole has been voluntarily organising projects at the interface of culture, (creative) economy and urban development for over ten years and is a founding and board member of the association obenstadt e.V., which promotes multifunctional roof uses, and is co-initiator of the Hamburg Roof Days.
