Seminar SoSe 2022
Dr. Christian Haid, Dr. Anna Steigemann, Prof. Dr. Elke Beyer, Prof. Anke Hagemann

Safe(r) City? Safe(r) Housing?

Solidary Practices and Infrastructures for Queer-Feminist Housing in Berlin

In times of crisis, many actors call for solidarity. However, ‘solidarity’ often only works as  an empty signifier. At the same time, the pandemic and the war reveal the societal relevance of solidarity, particularly in the face of the social/housing question, social and political challenges, such as the precarization of work, racist and/or queer-/transphobic discrimination, social exclusion processes, and environmental pollution. In this context, this studio asks which solidary practices can be understood as possible catalysts of a larger societal, spatial and urban transformation with a focus on housing for marginalized queer-feminist social groups?

The aim of the studio is to a) map places and spaces, social practices and infrastructures for alternative and more solidary community housing in Berlin with a focus on queer and (queer-)feminist housing projects and to b) imagine urban futures where solidarity, queer and feminist housing practices represent an integral part in the (co-)production of urban environments. Therefore, we will analyze the spatial and social conditions for enabling more solidarity within and across (vulnerable) communities, the practices and infrastructures in which (old and new) solidarities are negotiated, and the multiple interdependencies between them. We will then speculate on how a queer-inclusive city could look like.

The research and design of queer and feminist urban spaces in the field of housing will be accompanied by theoretical readings, thematic inputs, lectures by guests, and film screenings for the Berlin context and beyond. Students are required to bring interest in the topic and particularly in trans-disciplinary and analysis–based design approaches.

The studio is part of the research projects “Transforming Solidarities. Practices and Infrastructures in the Migration Society” (BUA/ DFG) and the artistic research project “Nothing that ever was changes” (POLIGONAL Office for Urban Communication).

© Monika Keiler