The first episode of the series “Cities engaging in the Right to Housing” explores the politics of housing in Berlin. In the podcast, Florian Schmidt, councillor of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, explains ways in which the municipality can support collaborative housing initiatives. This support ranges from using regulatory tools like rental caps, the right of first refusal or expropriation, through helping housing initiatives to self-organise, to bringing together different non-commercial actors like foundations, housing associations and cooperatives.
“Real estate issues are not only of investors and not only of the city but also of the people who can self-organise.”
“It is not only about laws and regulations; it is also about creating initiatives that help people to self-organise and collaborate.”
“It is important to have a real estate politics that imagines that people want to build the city.”
