Parklets in the Neustadt: Awards for the best mini terraces!

Parklets in the Neustadt: Awards for the best mini terraces!

In the Outer Neustadt of Dresden, the summer of 2025 brought a fresh breeze into the cityscape. Small mini terraces, also known as parklets, were installed here for the first time. These charming seating areas replace one or two parking spaces on the side of the road and thus invite citizens to linger, which apparently works very well. Loud Radio Dresden Each parklet can comfortably accommodate up to a dozen guests and ensures a better quality of life in the district.

Almost two dozen parklets were set up in the area around Louisenstrasse and Alaunstrasse. The Outer Neustadt Foundation not only ensured that these small oases were created, but also awarded prizes to the best facilities. Three parklets particularly stood out: the parklet at Martin-Luther-Platz 1 was awarded a prize of 500 euros, the one at Alaunstrasse 29a received 250 euros, and a mobile parklet that calls for a “transport transition” was also awarded 250 euros. These initiatives are a step in the right direction to increase the quality of life in the city.

Where are the parklets headed?

The foundation hopes that the parklets will be a lasting asset to the new town. Uwe Schneider, board member of the foundation, emphasizes the importance of designing public spaces and actively calls for creative ideas to improve the use of urban space. These awards are not only symbolic, but are also intended to create incentives so that the parklets continue to exist. In the future, a small plaque will be attached to each award-winning parklet that commemorates the award and at the same time recognizes the efforts to make the city more beautiful the Dresden-Neustadt Foundation.

But that's not all! The city administration is planning a further step in transport policy for 2026. A traffic trial on Louisenstrasse is intended to show how car parking spaces can be used differently at times in order to get closer to the scenario of a livable city center.

The big change in the inner cities

The introduction of parklets is just one of many responses to the challenges of recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has enormously accelerated the trend towards redesigning public spaces. A current study by the Fraunhofer Morgenstadt Initiative, which deals with the inner city situation as part of the “#ELASTICITY” research series, shows that a whopping 72 percent of citizens want comprehensive changes in the inner cities. The study states that city centers are not only places for leisure activities and commerce, but must also offer space for social exchange and political discourse.

The future of inner city development is presented as a mix of living, retail, mobility and leisure. There is a need to think different city segments together in order to create a vital, multifunctional city center that is both socially and ecologically sustainable. These approaches not only promote the attractiveness of the city, but also the general well-being of its residents.

The road to the ideal city center is still a long one, but projects like the parklets in the Outer Neustadt show that the city is on the right track - now it's time to stick with it and stay creative!