At Home in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg: Racialized Long-Time Residents’ Perspectives on Urban Development and Social Mix Planning
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At home in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg: Racialized Long-time Residents’ Perspectives on Urban Development and Social Mix Planning Julie Chamberlain A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Environmental Studies, York University Toronto, Ontario July 2020 © Julie Chamberlain 2020 Abstract After decades of stigmatization, the historically working class and immigrant neighbourhood of Wilhelmsburg, in Hamburg, Germany, is experiencing a flurry of planning and development attention from the city-state. The city evaluates neighbourhood change mainly by tracking demographics, and in particular the attraction of the white, German middle class to the island. Little is known about the qualitative experiences of long-time residents, however, and even less about the experiences of racialized people. This is consistent with the pattern of inattention to racialization in German urban research, which has led Black scholars and scholars of colour to call for more scholarship that takes seriously the role of structural and systemic racism in the production of urban space. A public ethnography informed by an intersectional, anti-racist methodology, this study responds to this call by exploring the perspectives of racialized long- time residents of Wilhelmsburg on recent developments on the island and investigating how racialized people figure in local planning. Through ethnographic interviews with nineteen residents and eight planners and politicians, as well as archival research, photography and participant sensing, the study illuminates a complex picture of development in Wilhelmsburg past and present. This dissertation draws on and extends theories of racial capitalism, the legacies of colonialism in Hamburg, racism and migration in Germany, and social mix planning and gentrification. It finds that Wilhelmsburg has a long history of devaluation as a space associated with waste and migrant labour. In contrast, the interviewed racialized residents value the island differently, as a Heimat: a place of warmth and belonging in a context that otherwise excludes them. It further finds that the city’s recent social mix policies and projects in Wilhelmsburg rely upon treatment of racialized people as more displaceable under the law, and that the city’s planning strategies represent a threat to racialized belonging in the neighbourhood as a result. ii The interviewed residents challenge the dominant planning narrative with their assessments of the effects of advancing gentrification on the neighbourhood’s most vulnerable, and contest the meaning of “mix” with interpretations that value the island’s longstanding diversity and support their hopes for a more convivial future. Keywords: urban development, social mix planning, racialization, Heimat, Hamburg- Wilhelmsburg, Germany iii Acknowledgements This dissertation was made possible by the support, attention, interest, and care of many people. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all of them. Firstly, to the Wilhelmsburgers who participated in this study. Your curiosity, generosity, and analysis are the foundation of this dissertation. I dedicate it to you. To my supervisor, Jin Haritaworn, for their excellent guidance and close reading at every step of the way. You have taught me so much about what it means to be an activist scholar, and I am deeply grateful. To my doctoral committee members Ilan Kapoor, Stefan Kipfer, and Julie Tomiak, who asked critical questions and gave crucial feedback at every stage. To the external examiners Sybille Münch and Teresa Abbruzzese for their careful reading and thoughtful questions, and to Abidin Kusno for chairing my defense. Thank you so much for making the final stages of this work so interesting and rewarding. To my parents, Kathy and Art Chamberlain, and to my siblings, Carly and Tyler, and my sister-in-law Carmen. You support my goals, cheer me on, and make me laugh. What more does a person really need? My dad, Art Chamberlain, edited the dissertation, which was a massive undertaking that I appreciate so much. Any mistakes have since been (re)introduced by me! To my friends and chosen family in Toronto: Elizabeth Wickwire, Andrew Jehan, Jeff Myers, Felipe Vancim, Gary Pereira, Amy Packwood, Geraldo Gonzalez, Sarah Switzer, and iv Rishi Krishnamoorthy, and to Nuria Enciso and Bryan Johnston in Montreal. You have seen me through the various phases of this work, the ups and downs, the fun parts, and the less fun parts. Your love and companionship have meant everything. To all of my buddies from York University: Sonja Killoran-McKibbin, Amanda di Battista, Kasim Tirmizey, Ijeoma Ekoh, Ronak Ghorbani Nejad, Dena Farsad, Alexandra Gelis, Silvia Vazquez Olguin, Laura McKinley, Sheila Htoo, Stuart Schussler, Aaron Saad, Japji Anna Bas, Oded Haas, and Murat Üçoğlu. I am grateful for the friendships forged in the struggles of PhD life and on the CUPE 3903 picket line(s). Thank you for the shared reading, thinking, writing, and drinks. To my dear friends and co-conspirators in Hamburg and Nordborchen: Tino Kaiser, Chris Patterson, Philipp Ahlemeyer, Eva Kuschinski, Mahmoud Daoud, Rakhat Zholdoshalieva, Birgit Hasse, Yvonne Gorniak, Björn Gorniak, Enya and Janne Gorniak, and Werner and Elisabeth Bleischwitz. You welcomed me, held me up, and brought joy to everyday life while I was in Germany doing this research. Thank you so very much. To all those in Wilhelmsburg who supported or cheered me on: Claudia Roszak, Manuel Humburg, Anja Blös, Marianne Gross, Karin Heuer, Barbara Kopf, Uli Gomolzig, and Moritz Rinn. The networks, ideas, time, and energy you shared with me have enabled and enriched this research immensely. Most especially to Michael Rothschuh, who opened his home to me and introduced me to everyone and everything he knew in and about Wilhelmsburg. Which is substantial! You opened doors for me, you got the essence of the project from the very beginning, and I learned so much from our conversations. Thank you – may there be many more to come. v To Margret Markert at Geschichtswerkstatt Wilhelmsburg & Hafen, who answered a lot of queries over several years, some of which surely made no sense as I was figuring the research out. The work you do is so important, and has enabled the historical analysis in this dissertation. To neighbourhood choir Kanal und Lieder, for enriching my life and soothing my soul in difficult moments, welcoming me with open arms and full voices. To Anke Strüver, for her feedback and support since 2011. To Kathrin Wildner for an early conversation that encouraged and helped me make sense of my project. To all of the wonderful students of Hands on Qualitative Research Methods at HAW Hamburg in 2018 and 2019, who were interested in my research and asked great questions. It was a pleasure sharing my enthusiasm for methods with you while working through my own project. You reminded me never to underestimate the power of good process and well-placed questions. To Café Royal Salonorchester for the soundtrack to my writing (www.caferoyal.de) This research and the writing of it were supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Scholarship and travel grant, a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) German Studies Research Grant, and the research cost fund of York University Faculty of Graduate Studies. We should all have access to the resources that we need to produce knowledge in all of its forms. Lastly, while I was editing this dissertation, nine people were killed in Hanau, Germany. They were targeted as racialized people and migrants, while they sat with friends in a shisha bar. I want to remember them, and all those who are killed by racism. Their names are: Mercedes vi Kierpacz, Ferhat Unvar, Gökhan Gültekin, Hamza Kurtović, Said Nesar Hashemi, Sedat Gürbüz, Kalojan Velkov, Vili Viorel Păun, and Fatih Saraçoğlu. Unless otherwise noted, all photos and translations from German are by the author. vii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Locating Wilhelmsburg ............................................................................................................... 1 Goals of the dissertation .............................................................................................................. 8 Overview of dissertation ........................................................................................................... 11 Chapter One: Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 19 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 19 Racialization and racism in Germany ......................................................................................