Google abandons Berlin base after two years of resistance

Kreuzberg residents were concerned about tech giant's unethical practices and gentrification driving up rents

Campaigners in a bohemian district of Berlin are celebrating after the internet giant Google abandoned strongly opposed plans to open a large campus there. The US firm had planned to set up an incubator for startup companies in Kreuzberg, one of the older districts in the west of the capital.

But the company's German spokesman Ralf Bremer announced on Wednesday that the 3,000 m² (3,590 square-yard) space - planned to host offices, cafes and communal work areas - would instead go to two local humanitarian associations.