'Upgrading the Red Tree youth centre' ERDF urban development project

The Roter Baum Jugendhaus is a youth center. It is organized by an non-profit youth organization and it is a cultural, social and political home for young people. The youth center is open from Monday to Saturday, mainly in the afternoons. The use of the Roten Baum youth center is open to all persons regardless of gender and all social groups without access restrictions.
It is located in Dresden-Pieschen in a socially challenged district with a high unemployment rate and low average income. Due to limited space, the activity of the facility was severely restricted - group activities could not take place in parallel and there was a lack of rooms for counseling and project work. In order to remedy these deficits, a comprehensive structural expansion and modernization of the youth center was planned and implemented.
The expansion of socio-pedagogical usable space was intended to increase the variety of services on offer without increasing ongoing personnel and operating costs. This included the barrier-free conversion of a warehouse building into a multifunctional counseling and project room, the redesign of the outdoor area to improve the quality of stay and the expansion of the upper floor of the youth center with an additional room (18 m²). In the outdoor area, the courtyard was redesigned and a covered seating area was created, the outdoor area can now be used more effectively. This enabled more intensive use of the facility and a significant increase in visitor numbers.
The measures also led to a stronger identification of the residents with their district and promoted a progressive social mix without gentrification. The combination of social, urban development and economic objectives is particularly noteworthy: Improving the framework conditions for children and youth activities promoted social integration, while the structural upgrading contributed to the positive image building of the district.
The project was made possible by funding from the ERDF program in the “Combating Poverty” field of action, with EU and municipal funds amounting to a total of 160,000 euros (total costs 293,000 euros). Despite this support, bureaucratic hurdles and the need for precise planning to meet time and budget targets posed challenges.
Thanks to the successful implementation of the measures, the Roter Baum Jugendhaus was able to significantly expand its capacities and make a lasting contribution to the social stabilization of the district. Follow-up funding also ensures the long-term impact of the investments.

The expansion and modernization of the Roter Baum Jugendhaus has brought social and infrastructural improvements to the Pieschen district. The usability of the building has improved considerably: additional rooms have made it possible to increase the number of simultaneous activities, which had had not been possible before.
Additionally, the redesign of the outdoor area with a seating staircase and new leisure areas have turned it into an attractive meeting place for young people from Pieschen.

Many urban areas in the EU are faced with the task of upgrading socially disadvantaged districts, improving social infrastructure and at the same time promoting the integration of different population groups. The measures in the Roter Baum youth center show how the quality of life in disadvantaged districts can be improved through targeted construction measures and the strategic use of funding.
It is important to link construction measures with social programs so that infrastructural improvements are also effective in the long term. A key success factor is the combination of infrastructural upgrades and a socio-educational concept that is tailored to the needs of the local population. The provision of barrier-free spaces and improved outdoor facilities creates new opportunities for social interaction, while the low-threshold accessibility of the facility promotes social participation.
By consistently implementing these approaches, the strategy can be successfully transferred to improve social infrastructure in the long term.

https://roter-baum.de/jugendhaus