gemeine stadt (“common|mean city”) – workshop series

In cities like Berlin, questions are being asked about the possibilities and limits of jointly shaping public spaces, collective consumption (housing, mobility …) and social and ecological resources: how can the city in its plurality, diversity and dynamics be understood and shaped as a common space? How can equal rights to participation be established for all residents?

“Has everything that is common been lost with real communism? We have to come back to this ‘common’: ‘common’ in the sense of what we all have in common, what we all share, what is banal. But also in the sense of what we have together. And what does being common actually mean today?” (Jean-Luc Nancy in a conversation with Sabrina Dittus, 2007, orig. French)

Together with actors from Berlin who are testing fundamental transformations in urban society with a view to new forms of togetherness and general welfare, we want to publicly explore such questions in the event series gemeine stadt. berlin gemeinsam gestalten (“common city: creating berlin together”).

Since October 2021, we’ve been exploring different aspects of the (common) city in 4-hour events/workshops at different locations.

Part 1: Street, 30.10.2021
Part 2: Assembly, 20.11.2021
Part 3: Property, 11.12.2021
Part 4: Environmental Justice, 26.02.2022
Part 5: Collectives, 02.04.2022
Part 6: Welfare of Existence, 14.05.2022
Part 7: Home, 01.07.2023
Part 8: Unrest(s), 14.10.2023

Part 9: Tension/Suspense, 16.5.2025

The series is curated and implemented on behalf of the Berlin State Center for Political Education.

To accompany the events, we also maintain a multimedia online publication: gemeine stadt.