Hamburg
Hamburg has increased its international importance after it regained its Eastern European hinterland at the beginning of the 1990s. As in Dublin, major port functions have been moved out of the city and vast areas of the former port are targeted for dockland development schemes.
In consequence, gentrification processes have been affecting former working class areas like St. Pauli. Specific forms of social exclusion are related to the demands on urban space: the loss of affordable housing in the face of urban renewal schemes as well as homelessness characterising the city´s image to a high degree.
Hamburg has been named Germany´s “capital of the homeless”, their numbers being significantly increased by migrants from Eastern Europe. Relevant NGOs are either self help and neighbourhood associations in gentrified areas, or advocacy organisations focusing at empowering the specific potential of the urban homeless.