The Berlin reader : a compendium on urban change and activism

Abstract

The Berlin Reader draws together already published and unpublished work that best illuminates urban transformations in Berlin since the fall of the wall. It aims to provide an international audience with an overview of the most central debates and developments the city has experienced in the last two decades. We have included both strictly scholarly and non-scholarly writings, thus enabling a varied range of perspectives. The texts are arranged in four chapters, each focusing upon a specific period in the development of Berlin. All chapters include an introductory section by the editors which sets the texts in context and discusses how the individual papers fit into broader academic and political debates. By collecting widely dispersed yet central writings, the Berlin Reader is an essential resource for students of urban development and transformation in one of the most interesting and important metropolises in Europe. The volume will have a widespread appeal for urban sociologists, planners, and political scientists alike. This book owes its greatest debt to the authors whose work we have reprinted and to the translaters. In addition to these, a number of people and institutions have crucially contributed to making this volume possible. We would like to thank the Humboldt University Berlin, the Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning in Erkner (IRS) and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation who supported the project both financially and with personal resources. We are also grateful to Kerstin Wegel and Carmen Elisabeth Liebich for their practical support. Thanks are also due to Adrienne Gerhäuser (fotoagentur version) who provided the photograph for the book cover.