Monday, June 23, 2003
1.30 pm - 5.00 pm
Gentrification, Urban Renewal and Neighbourhood Struggles in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg (Matthias)
Prenzlauer Berg, likely East Berlinīs most famous neighborhood, has faced dramatic changes during the last decade. From a run-down, dilapidated area it has transformed into a center of urban renewal activities. Decay has been replaced by a new chic and the buzz of vanguard cultural activities. Gentrification is visibly on the agenda.
On the other hand - and unlike gentrification processes elsewhere -the transformation of Prenzlauer Berg is influenced by specific conditions, such as the transformation of real estate and housing markets after reunification and various 'welfarist' state regulations. Although housing regulations have been deregulated Berlin's local government still has a long tradition of "Careful Urban Renewal" which aims to empower inhabitants to participate in the benefits of urban renewal and to prevent displacements.
It is exactly in this contradiction between gentrification and "Careful Urban Renewal" that Prenzlauer Berg has in the 1990's become an arena for community struggles about rent regulations, public places and affordable infrastructures. The field trip will therefore demonstrate both the changes in the neighborhood and the political struggles connected with its gentrification on examples. It includes a discussion with the intended participation of Community Activists.