[I originally posted this over on Toytown Germany] I am constantly amused by how gentrification is considered some terrible plague by some along the same lines of a city blight or a flight.
It is always the artist’s fault. They move in to these neighborhoods because they’re poor and the ‘hoods are cheap. They open galleries and ultra-cheap-but cool little bars or get lots of square-footage lofts for cheap.
All is well until they invite a yuppie. It might very well be a patron of the arts or art collector or even a friend-of-a-friend who makes it to the bar.
Then, it is discovered and all that interest comes in: cheap new hip place that’s cheap and then the speculative real estate investors come in.
So, it is generally not the fault of the yuppies it is the fault of the cheap and poor hipsters who move into these new finds because they’re affordable and pristine and authentic — and then they create awesome little holes in the walls, boutiques, galleries, and show venues.
Hell, I am an entrepreneur and I guess yuppie and I would totally move to Neukölln now. Completely cheap and there are amazing green grocers and lots of U-Bahn access!
And I would probably feel OK to pay €500-€1500/month for a super-fly pad. And spend money in the neighborhood. Does that make me a villain?
Also, because I am there, it may well attract people who want to sell to me even though I am super-happy to shop at the Turkish groceries and bakeries.
The only way for places to remain authentic and cheap is to remain undiscovered and, at least in the USA, they need to remain red-lined and perceived at a little rough and dangerous– or at least alien and unforgiving.
It is a little too late for Neukölln but what of Wedding and Moabit?
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I never understood this Berlin Hype, and I’ve lived in 5 big german cities until now (DDorf, Köln, Frankfurt, Berlin and now Hamburg).. Basically, Berlin is rather ugly city with no center. More worrisome, the so called berliner Elite is mainly nouveau riche with no link to the traditional, essential german democratic culture. Anyway, everybody in Germany knows that Berlin is not the country’s capital in terms of economy or intelectual life. Even facebook and google chosed to locate in Hamburg. In a way, Berlin is a fake.
Berlin goes out of its way to be poor and sexy, if you didn’t notice. It thinks its brother, Hamburg, has too many airs, is too fancy, and is too obsessed with fish.
After spending 7 months in Berlin the city evokes many different feelings for me. At first I found the people to be scary and unfriendly, but that changed to become proper and polite. At first I found the city to be ugly, but that too changed. After months of spending time there even all the graffiti was beautiful to me. At first I found the cuisine to be boring, but while writing this my mouth is watering for a Bratwurst.
Berlin represents an ecosystem for all to survive and thrive, whether you are an artist, an entrepreneur, a politician, or even a drunk (open container laws). I guess I too am a yuppie (and especially by Berlin standards, as I lived on the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte) who is always traveling the world to challenge my life and my way of being. I am happy for Berlin as I look back on it as the time where I changed the most, and this change was for the better! I also met my boyfriend there, Thanks Berlin!
I will always love Berlin and the clash between the artists and the yuppies because without both parties, Berlin would not be Berlin.
On the other hand, Hamburg and its beauty is my favorite berlin getaway in Germany. There is nothing like the warehouse in the Fishmarkt at 5AM surrounded by late night partying and early morning shopping Germans dancing and grubbing on a delicious fish breakfast.
And p.s. Gentrification is a good thing! Let’s just hope the only Starbucks remains in Hackeshr Markt. Nothing beats a good Latte Macchiato from St. Oberholz or a cappuccino from my favorite Backrei on the corner of Bergstrasse near Nordbanhoff.
That is awesome, Stephanie. Thank you!
reading these comments i can only say ‘boring, pretentious, bourgeois yuppie scum’
Chris “boring, pretentious, bourgeois yuppie scum” Abraham, me!
Who the fuck is this Matthias Merkle and who appointed Gauleiter von Neukolln? This bitch is not even from Berlin but Baden-Württemberg. Who could ever be more boring, pretentious, and bourgeois than Heidegger and Hegel who both come from there? What’s more he is apparently the author of really bad video art and he runs that he calls an Ecke-Kneipe that I am sure has nothing to do with eine echte Ecke-kniepe and is full of stupid assholes who for some reason think they’re transgressive. Hey you punks rob a bank. I used to work as a bank guard I’ll teel you it’s not all that hard. And if you get caught you’ll be in a comfortable socialist paradise prison not some murder rape factory like in America.
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