The social circumstances of the people in the metropolitan city of Berlin are largely similar to other major population centres. The economic strata in society are interwoven with cultural and national identities. People are subject to a large number of influences and this gives the city a dynamic character. And even though most people in Berlin still have their roots in the local residential area, the social structure shows two contrary tendencies: economically successful families are moving to better residential areas, and some residential areas have a high concentration of social problems.

The regional distribution of persons receiving welfare benefits is very uneven. Kreuzberg, Wedding, Tiergarten and Neukölln have the highest proportion of people who have to manage at subsistence level. These areas almost form a ring around the historic centre of the city. In detail, these districts have to cope with very different problems in some areas. But they have one thing in common: conflicts arising from an overlap of mainly economic, social and urban development problems. Therefore local job programmes, establishment of small and medium-sized companies, apprenticeship alliances with local businesses, improvements in the local infrastructure and the residential environment are used to help counter unemployment. Including the residents in the improvement of their residential environment strengthens their identification with the urban district and promotes social integration.