Hamburg plans to build more tents for asylum seekers as temporary accommodations, according to media reports.
The new shelters will add 140 emergency spaces at three locations by early next year, joining existing tents at Schnackenburgallee and Schlachthofstraße.
The city is struggling with overcrowding in its refugee accommodation system, where tents have become long-term housing. Some refugees have stayed for months, with average stays of seven months at Schlachthofstraße and over a year at Schnackenburgallee.
Hamburg’s accommodation system was operating at nearly full capacity by October, with 351,915 asylum applications filed in Germany last year. The city, which saw a spike in refugee arrivals in 2015, has also seen an increase in Turkish asylum seekers in recent years.
