Subcultural Resilience
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the reunified capital struggled to fit into the norm of contemporary European life. The immediate aftermath of reunification saw a period of misjudged economic growth, where city officials and planners began redesigning the city with international economic importance in mind. However, by 1993, Berlin found itself in a position where they had greatly overestimated the volume of new investors and businesses moving to and setting up in the city.
Berlin’s squatter subcultures grew in popularity among Berliners during the 1980s and 1990s, however, as a result of this failed economic growth, Berliners found themselves becoming more heavily reliant on its underground guerrilla subcultures as an expression of collective cultural identity.
Berlin remained full of urban voids, occupied by subcultural squatter groups, and the popularity of such groups, through their artistic expression and simplified view of life gained international recognition. City officials and planners identified this popularity and began advertising and aiding these subcultural groups in such a way as to promote Berlin’s new ‘Creative City’ identity. Relaxed planning regulations were introduced, and matchmaking schemes allowed owners of urban voids and leaders of subcultural groups to work together in pragmatically occupying and utilising Berlin’s urban voids through the temporary use of public spaces and built interventions.
In his essay ‘eXperimentcity: cultivating sustainable development in Berlin’s Freiräume’, Michael A. Lafond outlines Berlin’s need to develop its idle lands coupled with the lack of traditional investment and development opportunities. He describes Berlin’s new culture of self-use sustainable development; “In poor but sexy Berlin idle land and buildings are still to be found” allowing for “temporary uses such as underground clubs, guerrilla gardening” and “also beach volleyball to emerge” (Lafond (2010).
This culture of temporary-use occupation thrived during the mid-1990s and early 2000s, however, as the urban voids developed cultural value, their temporary nature was realised as aggressive commercial development derived from the ‘creative city’ identity took hold of the German capital.
Claire Columb identifies the resistance shown by the subcultural groups in her essay ‘Pushing the Urban Frontier: Temporary uses of space, city marketing, and the creative city discourse in 2000s Berlin’. She outlines how Mediaspree plans came about as the river bank next to the east side gallery gained more and more popularity as a temporary use cultural hotspot. Media giants like MTV and Universal Music became interested in the area as it was an expression of the cultural ‘hipness’ they wanted to be identified with. A large-scale media complex was planned for the site to accommodate these large companies, resulting in the privatisation of much of the river bank. What grew from a shared public space on the bank was to become a separation of culture from a large chunk of the river. Many of the subcultural activists who had worked alongside government bodies to occupy the space were now being alienated from the planning process due to the new commercial interest. As far as officials could see, these activists or occupiers had played their part in attracting investors and were now no longer needed. Protests against the planned development, organised by these activists were strong enough to postpone and limit the scale of the construction, clearly showing the meaning and importance such temporary uses have in Berlin’s contemporary culture.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the reunified capital struggled to fit into the norm of contemporary European life. The immediate aftermath of reunification saw a period of misjudged economic growth, where city officials and planners began redesigning the city with international economic importance in mind. However, by 1993, Berlin found itself in a position where they had greatly overestimated the volume of new investors and businesses moving to and setting up in the city.
Berlin’s squatter subcultures grew in popularity among Berliners during the 1980s and 1990s, however, as a result of this failed economic growth, Berliners found themselves becoming more heavily reliant on its underground guerrilla subcultures as an expression of collective cultural identity.
Berlin remained full of urban voids, occupied by subcultural squatter groups, and the popularity of such groups, through their artistic expression and simplified view of life gained international recognition. City officials and planners identified this popularity and began advertising and aiding these subcultural groups in such a way as to promote Berlin’s new ‘Creative City’ identity. Relaxed planning regulations were introduced, and matchmaking schemes allowed owners of urban voids and leaders of subcultural groups to work together in pragmatically occupying and utilising Berlin’s urban voids through the temporary use of public spaces and built interventions.
In his essay ‘eXperimentcity: cultivating sustainable development in Berlin’s Freiräume’, Michael A. Lafond outlines Berlin’s need to develop its idle lands coupled with the lack of traditional investment and development opportunities. He describes Berlin’s new culture of self-use sustainable development; “In poor but sexy Berlin idle land and buildings are still to be found” allowing for “temporary uses such as underground clubs, guerrilla gardening” and “also beach volleyball to emerge” (Lafond (2010).
This culture of temporary-use occupation thrived during the mid-1990s and early 2000s, however, as the urban voids developed cultural value, their temporary nature was realised as aggressive commercial development derived from the ‘creative city’ identity took hold of the German capital.
Claire Columb identifies the resistance shown by the subcultural groups in her essay ‘Pushing the Urban Frontier: Temporary uses of space, city marketing, and the creative city discourse in 2000s Berlin’. She outlines how Mediaspree plans came about as the river bank next to the east side gallery gained more and more popularity as a temporary use cultural hotspot. Media giants like MTV and Universal Music became interested in the area as it was an expression of the cultural ‘hipness’ they wanted to be identified with. A large-scale media complex was planned for the site to accommodate these large companies, resulting in the privatisation of much of the river bank. What grew from a shared public space on the bank was to become a separation of culture from a large chunk of the river. Many of the subcultural activists who had worked alongside government bodies to occupy the space were now being alienated from the planning process due to the new commercial interest. As far as officials could see, these activists or occupiers had played their part in attracting investors and were now no longer needed. Protests against the planned development, organised by these activists were strong enough to postpone and limit the scale of the construction, clearly showing the meaning and importance such temporary uses have in Berlin’s contemporary culture.
Through subcultural occupation of urban voids, Berlin developed a culture of self-appropriation of space in the urban realm. Two examples of these self-appropriate spaces are Mauerpark and the old railyard beside the Warschauerstraβe S-Bahn station.
Mauerpark, a public park in Prenzlauer Berg in the north of the city, lies within the former death zone of the Berlin Wall. Since the wall fell the urban void has become a popular hotspot of cultural manifestation and self-appropriation uses. The park is widely known for its Sunday market and becomes home to many buskers and street artists during the weekend. A number of years ago a few people setup a weekly public karaoke known as Bearpit Karaoke, and its popularity has skyrocketed to the point that it has now become a must visit spectacle for anyone visiting the city. Each week hundreds of people sit along the hill to watch those with enough courage to stand-up and sing. It does not matter how good you are or what you sing, you will always get a round of applause. The self-appropriation of Mauerpark has developed a sense of community in which everyone is welcome to express and enjoy themselves.
Similarly, the old railyard next to the Warschauerstraβe S-Bahn station has become known for affording self-appropriation uses. This formerly disused urban void has become home to a number of bars and clubs, art collectives and exhibition spaces, guerrilla markets and activities such as a climbing wall and skatepark. None of these functions were the intention of an urban masterplan, but rather a result of a collage of self-appropriation uses occupying the space.
Mauerpark, a public park in Prenzlauer Berg in the north of the city, lies within the former death zone of the Berlin Wall. Since the wall fell the urban void has become a popular hotspot of cultural manifestation and self-appropriation uses. The park is widely known for its Sunday market and becomes home to many buskers and street artists during the weekend. A number of years ago a few people setup a weekly public karaoke known as Bearpit Karaoke, and its popularity has skyrocketed to the point that it has now become a must visit spectacle for anyone visiting the city. Each week hundreds of people sit along the hill to watch those with enough courage to stand-up and sing. It does not matter how good you are or what you sing, you will always get a round of applause. The self-appropriation of Mauerpark has developed a sense of community in which everyone is welcome to express and enjoy themselves.
Similarly, the old railyard next to the Warschauerstraβe S-Bahn station has become known for affording self-appropriation uses. This formerly disused urban void has become home to a number of bars and clubs, art collectives and exhibition spaces, guerrilla markets and activities such as a climbing wall and skatepark. None of these functions were the intention of an urban masterplan, but rather a result of a collage of self-appropriation uses occupying the space.