Papers by Francesca Weber-Newth
Jahrbuch StadtRegion, 2019
Housing is one of the most regulated policy areas in Germany and a highly controversial political... more Housing is one of the most regulated policy areas in Germany and a highly controversial political field in Berlin. Against a backdrop of significant growth-whether population figures, tourism, or rising rents-we scrutinize recent efforts of municipal authorities in Berlin to tackle the 'new housing question'. On a theoretical level we argue that the housing market is made, and the interesting questions centre on this process of making as the object of study. Performativity theory (Butler 1997) provides a way of seeing the housing market, a language to describe the interaction between planning rules and their lived expression as practised and produced via the roles of different actors. Our case study is the development and implementation of a regulatory planning instrument 'Koop-erative Baulandentwicklung' introduced in Berlin in 2014. Commonly known as 'developer contributions' the instrument requires developers to pay for the physical and social infrastructure needed for a new development, in addition prescribing 30 % social housing. Drawing on expert interviews with actors involved in implementing the planning tool in Berlin, we use performativity theory to discuss the "role-playing" of politicians, lawyers, planners and administration employees, who produce the instrument through everyday performances. While developer contributions only work within a cycle of economic growth and cannot provide a cardinal solution to the Housing Question, dynamic and subtle role-playing has meant that the Berlin housing market is a more regulated space since 2014. Our paper is not only a local story, but also one of wider political relevance-indicating what it takes to tighten the regulatory screws.
CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, 2018
The goal of this paper is to recover the politics of planning with a focus on the state-plan- nin... more The goal of this paper is to recover the politics of planning with a focus on the state-plan- ning tool ‘developer contributions’. We draw on David Harvey’s theory of accumulation by dispossession [(2003). The New Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press] and Spaces of Hope [(2000). University of California Press] to identify not only (new) spaces of inequality, but also cracks in contemporary capitalism—material and discursive spaces for alternatives. These theoretical foundations are invaluable in developing and building-on Engels’ discussions in ‘The Housing Question’ [(1872). Accessed March 3, 2016. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/] and add complexity to the post-political perspective as championed by Erik Swyngedouw [(2007). “The Post-Political City.” In Urban Politics Now. Re-Imagining Democracy in the Neoliberal City, edited by Guy Baeten. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers]. In scrutinis- ing the potentials of developer contributions within the contemporary housing question, Harvey is not only helping lay the foundation for more pragmatism within leftist camps, thus fulfilling an ethical imperative within planning. Harvey’s theories are also invalu- able in terms of analysing empirical contradictions ‘on the ground’ that are more ambig- uous than both Engels and Swyngedouw suggest. In order to make our case, we review existing literature on developer contributions, exploring the ways in which developer con- tributions can be analysed as both a sign of hope and as a disaster. We offer a dialectical reading, and make a proposal as to ‘what next’?
ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2017
This paper is a critical analysis of the urban geographies of London 2012, the so-called Regenera... more This paper is a critical analysis of the urban geographies of London 2012, the so-called Regeneration Games. London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics on the basis that existing communities and cultures of East London would profit from urban regeneration; the promise of 'local legacy'. Using the analogy of the Trojan horse, we demonstrate that the benevolent empty signifier 'legacy' disguises the politically dubious aspects of mega-event and strategic planning, especially its controversial aspects such as escalating costs, privatisation and displacement. We zoom in on 3 empirical cases – a rowing club, cultural hub, and festival – in the neighbourhood Hackney Wick Fish Island in East London to demonstrate that there was (and remains) a disconnect between the rhetoric of politicians and Olympic planners, who promised both citywide and local ‘legacy’, and the actual legacies (after-effects) of the Olympics. With a focus on the process, construction, or making of legacy within the local context, our analysis reveals that Olympic planning creates irresolvable contradictions in scale, which cannot be resolved in favour of existing communities. The alignment of Olympic planning with neoliberal spatial practices means that neighbourhood needs can never truly be met.
Contemporary Social Science: Journal of the Academy of Social Sciences, 2013
This paper examines so-called ‘adiZones’ – small colourful outdoor gyms, built as a UK-wide initi... more This paper examines so-called ‘adiZones’ – small colourful outdoor gyms, built as a UK-wide initiative. adiZones represent the pairing of sport giant adidas with the London 2012 Olympics. Their location within some of the poorest neighbourhoods in London means that adiZones not only fit within the Government’s promise of an inclusive, community-orientated Olympic ‘legacy’, but also the targets concerning the reduction of childhood obesity and youth crime. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews with users in three London adiZones, this paper explores the political, social and spatial implications of adiZones. Dovetailing empirical analysis with Henri Lefebvre and Emile Durkheim’s theoretical accounts of space, the paper suggests that adiZones provide a case study for illustrating the aggressive corporatisation of public space. It argues that adiZones are a branding exercise, the corporate flavour of which is neutralised by the Olympic narrative. ‘adiZones’ were a way to build physical and social ‘legacy’ before legacy had even begun.
sub\urban, 2017
Wohnungspolitik ist in Deutschland erneut brisant und sozial aktuell. In Zeiten des neuen Städtew... more Wohnungspolitik ist in Deutschland erneut brisant und sozial aktuell. In Zeiten des neuen Städtewachstums sind innovative planerische wie auch politische Antworten auf den Mangel an bezahlbarem Wohnraum in Agglomerationsräumen gefragt. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, das raumplanerische Instrument einer Abschöpfung des Planungsmehrwerts in seinen planerischen Voraussetzungen und politischen Implikationen zu untersuchen. Wir zeigen, dass die Abschöpfung des Planungsmehrwerts für eine sozial orientierte, demokratische Stadtpolitik Potenziale wie auch Gefahren birgt und verfolgen dabei eine ebenso politische wie theoresch-konzeptionelle Zielsetzung.
Hackney Wick Newspaper
Hackney Wick is typically East End, yet somehow extraordinary. “The Wick”, as locals fondly know ... more Hackney Wick is typically East End, yet somehow extraordinary. “The Wick”, as locals fondly know it, has been a place of constant experimentation and firsts including London County Council’s “communities
in the sky”, the high-rise existence that was lived out in the 21-storey Trowbridge Estate tower blocks. Further back in time, Bronco, the first perforated toilet paper was developed in the Wick, as was the first man-made plastic, originally called Parkesine. Hackney Wick even contained Britain’s first drycleaner, Achille Serre, whose name still stands proud, if slightly battered, above the former shop.
Now the Olympics, held just across the canal, have ignited a new series of experimentation in the Wick: vacant lots allocated to temporary uses and community-driven
urban development. The emphasis is on preserving the heritage of the area. But whose heritage? If heritage means
tradition and culture, then the Wick has plenty. While artists have contributed to a new evolution of culture in Hackney Wick in recent years, they are not the only ones around. The spaces and buildings they occupy have a colourful history. While less visible, the people who lived, worked and played here in the past (and present) still have something to say. The stories included here are theirs.
Hackney Wick Newspaper
Hackney Wick is set to appear on the global map next year – sitting alongside the Olympic park wh... more Hackney Wick is set to appear on the global map next year – sitting alongside the Olympic park when it opens in 2012. Tourism, spectacle and their eventual successor - regeneration – are expected to make The Wick sparkle. Rewind to the 1890s and Hackney Wick was on an altogether different map. It was Charles Booth’s poverty map, in which each road in London was coloured to represent the social class of its inhabitants. The businessman-cum- sociologist showed that Victorian cities were overcrowded and bleak, with a third of Londoners living in poverty. This article traces the story of the Eton Manor Boys Club, an institution at the heart of Hackney Wick at the turn of the 20th Century.
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Papers by Francesca Weber-Newth
in the sky”, the high-rise existence that was lived out in the 21-storey Trowbridge Estate tower blocks. Further back in time, Bronco, the first perforated toilet paper was developed in the Wick, as was the first man-made plastic, originally called Parkesine. Hackney Wick even contained Britain’s first drycleaner, Achille Serre, whose name still stands proud, if slightly battered, above the former shop.
Now the Olympics, held just across the canal, have ignited a new series of experimentation in the Wick: vacant lots allocated to temporary uses and community-driven
urban development. The emphasis is on preserving the heritage of the area. But whose heritage? If heritage means
tradition and culture, then the Wick has plenty. While artists have contributed to a new evolution of culture in Hackney Wick in recent years, they are not the only ones around. The spaces and buildings they occupy have a colourful history. While less visible, the people who lived, worked and played here in the past (and present) still have something to say. The stories included here are theirs.
in the sky”, the high-rise existence that was lived out in the 21-storey Trowbridge Estate tower blocks. Further back in time, Bronco, the first perforated toilet paper was developed in the Wick, as was the first man-made plastic, originally called Parkesine. Hackney Wick even contained Britain’s first drycleaner, Achille Serre, whose name still stands proud, if slightly battered, above the former shop.
Now the Olympics, held just across the canal, have ignited a new series of experimentation in the Wick: vacant lots allocated to temporary uses and community-driven
urban development. The emphasis is on preserving the heritage of the area. But whose heritage? If heritage means
tradition and culture, then the Wick has plenty. While artists have contributed to a new evolution of culture in Hackney Wick in recent years, they are not the only ones around. The spaces and buildings they occupy have a colourful history. While less visible, the people who lived, worked and played here in the past (and present) still have something to say. The stories included here are theirs.