Is it, or is not? The conceptualisation of gentrification and displacement and its political implications in the case of Berlin‐Prenzlauer Berg

Bernt, Matthias; Holm, Andrej

doi:10.1080/13604810902982268

Cited by 65 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Nachdem "Klassiker" wie Marcuse (1985), Smith (1996) von Anfang an auf die Bedeutung der Verdrängung und den damit einhergehenden Polarisierungseffekt hingewiesen haben, lässt sich in jüngerer Zeit ein Wiederaufleben der Debatte beobachten (vgl. Slater, 2006;Lees et al, 2008;Bernt und Holm, 2009;Brenner et al, 2009;Davidson und Lees, 2010;Dörf-ler, 2011, für den lateinamerikanischen Kontext exemplarisch Jones und Varley, 1999;Bromely und Mackie, 2009 Dear, 2005;Bourne, 2008, Nijman, 2007Davis und Tajbakhsh, 2005;McFarlane und Robinson, 2012), sie wird jedoch aufgrund methodischer Fallstricke und konzeptionelltheoretischer Unschärfen nur selten wirklich ernsthaft unternommen (vgl. Kantor und Savitch, 2005;Ward, 2010).…”

Section: Gleichheit Als Politischer Grundsatzunclassified

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Rothfuß¹,

Gerhard²

2014

Geogr. Helv.

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Kurzfassung. Research on urban inequality has a long tradition in human geography as well as sociology. This special issue seeks to amplify the discussion by introducing some new theoretical approaches to the analysis. The first is to open up a research setting for comparative urbanism. By looking at urban life-worlds of marginalized neighbourhoods in the two Americas, the contributors do not want to search for similarities or disparities between different countries, but try to shed light on societal contexts and their spatial settings. The idea is to develop a reconstructive perspective to understand the uneven place-making within cities. With this, a second task is circumscribed: by describing and interpreting every-day life practices in Brazilian favelas and US ghettos, we want to contribute to a better understanding of patterns and spaces of urban inequality. Despite the wide array of (mostly quantitative) studies on urban inequality and segregation we declare a lack of understanding how these marginalized localities are experienced and reproduced. How do unprivileged inhabitants cope with everyday negligence and discrimination? Further concepts of urban citizenship, governmentality and the role of the penal state are introduced to enhance the conceptual as well as empirical analysis of inequality in cities.

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Section: Gleichheit Als Politischer Grundsatzunclassified

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Rothfuß¹,

Gerhard²

2014

Geogr. Helv.

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“…Prenzlauer Berg ‘has been a battleground of gentrification and displacement for the last 15–18 years’ (Bernt and Holm 2009: 312). Gentrification means ‘the process of upgrading urban neighbourhoods’ (Bernt and Holm 2009: 312); previously neglected and declining areas are modernised and revitalised so that former working‐class areas are turned into middle‐class neighbourhoods. Gentrification is inherently linked to ‘class transformation’ (Wyly and Hammel 1999: 716) and a change in an area's social make up.…”

Section: Gentrification Urban Change and Linguistic Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no doubt that in the past 20 years Prenzlauer Berg has changed significantly. Significant numbers of low‐income households have been displaced from the area (Dörfler 2005; Holm 2006; Bernt and Holm 2009). Holm's (2006) detailed investigations of Prenzlauer Berg show significant increases in average rents in the period from 1991 to 2001.…”

Section: Gentrification Urban Change and Linguistic Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Commercial discourses, gentrification and citizens’ protest: The linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin¹

Papen

2012

Journal of Sociolinguistics

108

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Since reunification in 1990, Prenzlauer Berg, located in the former East Berlin, has turned from a cheap and neglected area into a popular middle‐class neighbourhood. The area's new character is reflected in its linguistic landscape. These days the signs of posh shops and trendy bars adorn its streets. But alternative views are noticeable too. Graffiti is present even on the most expensively refurbished buildings and residents put up slogans to protest against their flats being refurbished and sold to new owners. This case study of the changing graphic environment of Prenzlauer Berg shows that, despite the strong influence of commercial discourses, the public space remains an area of contestation between civil society, private businesses and the state. The particular approach to linguistic landscape I developed combines textual and visual analysis with interviews with sign producers. This has enabled me to show how the linguistic landscape both reflects as well as shapes social change and urban development in Berlin since reunification. Seit der Wende ist der Prenzlauer Berg, zu DDR Zeiten vernachlässigt und heruntergekommen, zu einem der beliebtesten Stadtteile des neuen Berlins geworden. Der neue Charakter des Kiez, sichtbar an seinen renovierten Häusern und steigenden Mietpreisen, lässt sich auch anhand seiner sprachlichen Landschaft (linguistic landscape) erkennen. Heutzutage bestimmen die aufwendig gestalteten Schilder teurer Geschäfter und schicker Bars Prenzlauer Bergs Strassenbild. Es gibt aber auch andere Stimmen. Bewohner von Häusern, die an Investoren verkauft wurden und denen nun gesteigerte Mieten drohen, protestieren mit Plakaten gegen die Politik der Ankäufer. Fast keine der neu gestrichenen Fassaden ist frei von Graffiti und überall findet man Poster, die zu Demonstrationen und Unterschriftenaktionen aufforden. Ausgehend von Fotografien und Interviews mit den Autoren von Schildern, Plakaten und Transparenten zeigt der vorliegende Artikel, dass der öffentliche Raum – die Strasse – trotz der Dominanz kommerziellen Diskurse, ein Bereich bleibt, in dem Staat, private Inverstoren und bürgerliche Gesellschaft aufeinander treffen und ihre – oftmals im Konflikt zueinander stehenden – Meinungen zum Ausdruck bringen. [German]

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“…WestEnd 1, 2009; Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 9, 2008; Merkur Sonderheft 2007; vorgänge 170, 2005). It is remarkable how often this discourse takes as its object Berlin's urban society, both in the guise of approving nods to the new middle‐class milieus found in gentrified neighbourhoods like Prenzlauer Berg or Mitte (Bernt and Holm, ) and as criticism of a perceived lack of ‘ Bürgerlichkeit ’ in this erstwhile industrial metropolis with its proletarian character. The latter sentiment coincides with the rediscovery — coloured by cultural pessimism — of an ‘underclass’ defined by its deviant behavioural patterns.…”

Section: The Dispositive Of ‘Governing Through Citizenship’mentioning

confidence: 99%

Be Berlin! Governing the City through Freedom

Lanz

2012

Int J Urban Regional Res

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In this article, I examine how contemporary Berlin is governed, with a particular focus on the production of urban space. My points of reference are the term 'government' (as employed by Foucault) and the field of governmentality studies (where it is applied empirically). Based on a critical discourse and dispositive analysis of the city's current urban development policy, I propose that urban governance in Berlin may be analysed through the lens of three central dispositives: the dispositive of governing through citizenship; the dispositive of the creative city; and the dispositive of the social city. I discuss the characteristics of these dispositives of urban governance, drawing on a number of examples taken from the discipline of urban space production in order to look specifically at the aims and objectives of governance, its subjects and the ways it manifests itself. In conclusion, I suggest that the new forms of governance based on empowerment and cooperation have by no means replaced disciplinary technologies of governance, but are rather embedded within them.

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Is it, or is not? The conceptualisation of gentrification and displacement and its political implications in the case of Berlin‐Prenzlauer Berg

Cited by 65 publications

References 7 publications

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Commercial discourses, gentrification and citizens’ protest: The linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin¹

Be Berlin! Governing the City through Freedom

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Is it, or is not? The conceptualisation of gentrification and displacement and its political implications in the case of Berlin‐Prenzlauer Berg

Cited by 65 publications

References 7 publications

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Editorial Urbane Ungleichheit in vergleichender Perspektive – Konzeptionelle Überlegungen und empirische Befunde aus den Americas

Commercial discourses, gentrification and citizens’ protest: The linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin1

Be Berlin! Governing the City through Freedom

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Commercial discourses, gentrification and citizens’ protest: The linguistic landscape of Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin¹