We, the City

In the face of uninhibited neoliberal restructuring, Berlin and Istanbul have for the past decade been subject to various forms of political polarization and social injustice. As a result, the struggles for affordable housing, access to public space, fair labor, ecological justice, and the right to live differently have intensified. Various forms of grassroots resistance have put the relationship between local governments and social movements to the test, provoking questions about where and how the city’s political subjects emerge. Blending dialogues, essays, and critical reflections, the book investigates the ways in which the residents of Berlin and Istanbul experience, express, and resist the physical, political, and normative reordering of their cities, and asks: Who are We, the City?

With contributions by Hilal Alkan, Kristen Sarah Biehl, Ayşe Çavdar, Matthias Coers, Özge Ertem, Tuba İnal-Çekiç, Aslı Odman, İlayda Ece Ova, Sister Sylvester, Sema Semih, Anna Steigemann, Banu Çiçek Tülü, and Urszula Ewa Woźniak