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The Power of Radical Place-Making Practices: Lessons Learned from ufaFabrik in Berlin

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  • Sara Le Xuan

    (Architecture Department, Roma Tre University, Via Aldo Manuzio, 68L, 00153 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

This article investigates ufaFabrik’s practice within Berlin’s urban context, which emerged from an occupation of an abandoned site and evolved into a long-term experiment in radical place-making. Through this case study analysis, it explores the role of radical place-making in shaping urban policy, focusing on the dimensions of decision, place and policy. Drawing on an expanded conceptualisation of place-making that embraces a radical perspective, the study is based on a Ph.D. programme and on extensive field research. ufaFabrik has given place-making a political meaning, challenging conventional urban planning in relation to ‘undecided’ spaces. This paradigm of place-making represents grassroots activism and insurgent action and it can catalyse both local and urban transformations. Through a critical analysis of the limits and possibilities of radical place-making practice, the article argues that the ufaFabrik offers valuable insights into the potential of participatory and community-led approaches to reshape urban spaces and promote more inclusive and sustainable forms of urban governance. The study highlights how the re-politicisation of urban issues emerges from conflict and challenges established power dynamics. It highlights the interconnection between ‘place’ and ‘making’, weaving experiential and generative elements into the urban discourse, highlighting its transformative potential and reconfiguration of decision-making dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Le Xuan, 2023. "The Power of Radical Place-Making Practices: Lessons Learned from ufaFabrik in Berlin," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:9:p:1697-:d:1228623
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Sarah Elwood & Victoria Lawson & Samuel Nowak, 2015. "Middle-Class Poverty Politics: Making Place, Making People," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 105(1), pages 123-143, January.
    5. Andrej Holm & Armin Kuhn, 2011. "Squatting and Urban Renewal: The Interaction of Squatter Movements and Strategies of Urban Restructuring in Berlin," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 644-658, May.
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