Vision & Pragmatism

Vision & Pragmatism

Personal profile

The basis for my knowledge and my approach to analyse problems and find solutions is my experience of more than 25 years of work as a transport planner in city administrations, mostly in leading position close to the political level. Therefore, I know the internal processes and views of municipalities as well as the perspectives of politics, stakeholders and the wider public, both on national level and on the level of the German federal states, their ministries and administrations. Thus, I am aware of and familiar with the challenges of turning ambitious goals and strategies into reality.

However, I also know that it is possible to achieve these goals and strategies, applying a pragmatic step-by-step approach which accounts for the actual needs of people and cities and establishes the appropriate procedures. I am not connected to a political party, but I am used to thinking politically. I have worked successfully on the strategic level, thereby contributing to setting new agendas for sustainable transport policies in the cities I worked for. What is more, I also supported the realisation of these strategies by outlining and implementing concrete measures.

dublin-2020

Through my work in several commissions, advisory boards and city networks I am very well connected with experts and stakeholders in Berlin and other German cities, on both the federal and the national Level in Germany, and also in other European cities. I know that achieving change in a sustainable way takes time and needs concepts and processes that are not always easy to implement. My goal is to use my competences and experiences in order to meet these challenges and I like to support those who also strive to achieve them.

Professional background

  • Born 1961, living in Berlin
  • During school and university strong commitment for action groups of civil society (e. g. environment, transport, cycling)
  • University studies of urban planning at Kassel with main focus on transport planning, university degree in 1990
  • 1991-95 working as urban transport planner for the city of Kassel (focus on reorganization and reshaping of arterial roads, cycling strategy and infrastructure, expansion of tram network, urban logistics)
  • 1996 working as freelancing consultant for a transport planning consultancy in Hannover, focusing on developing and implementing a cycling strategy for the Federal Ministry of Transport
  • 1996-2008 head of transport planning at the city of Göttingen, responsible for and working on a broad range of topics e. g. developing and implementing a general transport strategy for Göttingen, reorganization of the bus network, cycling strategy and infrastructure, reorganization and reshaping of arterial roads, redesign of the pedestrian zone of Göttingen, integration of mobility and transport issues in urban development strategies and measures2008-14 Head of the Transport Policies and Transport Development PlanningUnit at the Senate of Berlin, responsible e. g. for
  • o  urban transport development plano  new transport infrastructure (road and rail)o  strategies for cycling, traffic safety, parking policies, urban logistics and speed limit policieso  political positioning of the Senate of Berlin on national and international level concerning transport policyo  implementing pilot projects, such as bike sharing system, charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, campaigns for traffic safety
    • 2014-17 Head of the Transport Division at the Senate Department for Transport and Urban Development, Berlin:

    o  transport policies and transport development planning

    o  planning and design of public spaces and streets

    o  public transport

    o  road traffic authority (and other authorities of a federal state concerning transport), transport technology research

    o  road and rail planning authority, air traffic authority

    • Since October 2017 freelancing consultant on urban transport policy and planning

Additional information can be found here.