Can Ikea save a run-down neighborhood?

The article I chose this week was about Altona, a district in Hamburg. The district was once a prosperous district with many shops. In the 1990's, shops began to close as other stores opened in other areas drawing business out of Altona. Now, Ikea has selected the area's Frappant building as the location of their newest Ikea store. This has created a divided community. Germany provides Ikea with 20 percent of its revenues. Building a new store in Germany would be very beneficial for Ikea.

The pro-Ikea group want the mega-store to move in to help bring commerce. One individual commented that he doesn't care if Ikea is the store to move in; he just wants a big, stable company to help save the region. Ikea is promising jobs and revenue to the area.

Th anti-Ikea group are opposed to the area becoming a traffic nightmare. They want to turn the building into a community center. This group is concerned about gentrification occurring.

The pro-Ikeans mention that there is little movement for this community center to happen. They have waited for a long time for something to move in to the district and nothing pans out.

I agree with the pro-Ikea group on this issue. It appears that the area is struggling and more local businesses are probably going to fail. The district needs a stable, prosperous company to help boost the local economy. To me, it doesn't matter if it is Ikea; they just need help. A community center would be great but seems unrealistic. They have considered the idea for over ten years and it still is just an idea.

This article was written by Sven Böll and Ole Reissenmann.

The article can be found at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,673016,00.html