Defining the “kiez” that is most relevant to Kotti e. V.
proved difficult, since the organization serves such a large area of Beriln.
Even the two specific sections of Kreuzberg that they said they work the most in
would take more than an hour and a half to walk across from east to west. For
that reason, I decided to narrow down the area I explored but made sure to include
all of Kotti’s locations (the community center, the two primary schools, and
the Familiengarten). For this assignment I explored the area with Landwehr
Canal to the south, Oranienplatz to the west, the river Spree and Bethaniendamm
to the north, and Skalitzer Str. to the east.
The attribute that surprised me most about the area was how quickly
the neighborhood could change as I was walking. I will give an example. I found
the school I will work at for the next three weeks in the south part of the
kiez. On one side of the school, several homeless people were sleeping, the
streets were wide, and the buildings were mostly colorless. Walking down a road
in between the two parts of the school, the scene rapidly changed as I saw parents
with their children walking. On the other side of the school there were flowers
and brightly colored housing alongside the canal.
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Flowers between the housing and the canal |
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Two residential buildings on the canal, but the left older and claimed with graffiti |
Going along with these abrupt changes were incongruities with what
the neighborhood was willing to pay for food. An instance of this was along
Mariannenstraße. At Reichenberger Str, one corner of the intersection is fenced off, covered with grafitti, and contains some rubble, and some average apartment buildings are across the street. Right next
to the rubble-filled corner is a Vietnamese place (with very good reviews on
Google) that has prices around 2 Euros for an order of sushi and tops out at
about 10 Euros. However, if you walk down the street towards the canal and the
Kottbusser Bridge, the apartment buildings are of a noticeably higher quality
and the restaurant “Feed Back” has many dishes around 15 Euros. Development
bounds the kiez on all sides, with the touristy restaurant/bar area where we are staying
to the northeast as well as nicer housing and public gathering places like
churches and parks across the canal. However, affordable housing still remains in many parts of this kiez. Even within a block, we
see differences in infrastructure and businesses which likely reflect the
conflict occurring between new, well-to-do residents and those who have lived there
for many years or decades. Now, there are living options for both groups of people.
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The corner by the Vietnamese restaurant |
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The modern sign for the restaurant "Feed Back" |
The smells became infiltrated with the smell of
sewage, the tastes became more diverse with fast food and cafes, and the sounds
became louder and faster to match the activity near Kottbusser Tor and
Schlesisches Tor. I can vouch for the quality of a café named Kremanski, though
it felt aimed towards tourists and the middle-class hipster. There are also
industrial businesses close to the river on the wide Kӧpenicker Str. that cuts
off the neighborhood to the north. While the businesses and crowds is
economically positive, it also restricts how much the parents can let their
children play in the neighborhood and how far they can walk safely to build community.
However, the well-connected, centrally-located public transportation in the
area helps with the safe movement of children and families. Parks, schools, and
some quiet streets can also be found within the neighborhood to provide social
and educational needs. Several were well taken care of (even if they had
adjacent construction), and one had quite impressive play equipment and sports
facilities (including a basketball court and ping pong tables) for those under
15 years old. These facilities are being used, as when I was walking through
children were riding bikes through or playing in almost all of them. These areas
smelled clean, and there were generally small, accessible cafes close by.
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A quiet park south of Oranienplatz |
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Construction next to the park above |
At the beginning of my walk near Mariannenstraße and Reichenberger Str. I saw many people of
seemingly Turkish descent, and near the U-Bahn stations I saw a globally
diverse crowd speaking many languages. As I moved north though, an increasing
number of white people were out and about. Near Puckerstr. and Wrangelstr., a group
of five black children stood out from the other nearby pedestrians. The
demographics I saw must be taken in context though, because not as many people
as I expected were walking around especially compared to the capacity of the
housing. It may be biased towards the higher class, white people who can afford
to relax and want to walk around on Saturday.
In many of the large and repetitious residential buildings, people
had put out items to personalize their home such as flowers or art. One person
had even hung a sign saying “Refugees Welcome.”
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The "Refugees Welcome" sign |
Most of the buildings were
claimed with graffiti, even the school, which further personalized the
neighborhood with individual character. I
noticed graffiti near Puckerstr. and Wrangelstr. includes many full-fledged images
in contrast to the many tags and writing near Schlesisches Tor. With this street art, people have taken their time to beautify the neighborhood which shows a caring attitude towards the area.
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Jens-Nydahl Primary School |
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A more image-based piece of graffiti in Kreuzberg |
Occasionally,
like in the industrial area to the north, the area felt empty and I started to
feel uncomfortable. For most of the time, especially south part of the kiez, I
felt warm-heartedly safe. I was even comfortable using an ATM though I was
planning to go a bank to be extra safe. This kiez approaches a small-town
feeling on many residential streets that I enjoyed exploring.
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