Warsaw: Devastation, Modernization, (Re-)privatization, dérive - Zeitschrift für Stadtforschung, Heft 72 (3/2018)
Warsaw is a city that has experienced radical breaks in its development over the last century, which are still relevant and visible in many different ways today. There is the Nazi occupation, the crushing of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the subsequent systematic and almost complete destruction of the city; and more recently, the shift from a state-socialist to capitalist system. The new issue of dérive, entitled »Warsaw: Devastation, Modernization, (Re-)privatization«, sheds light both on these historical components and their impact on contemporary urban society – e.g. on the housing market. In addition, we talk to people who are self-organizing and working on alternative solutions that resist current socio-political conditions. The focal point is entirely in English. You can order it here: https://shop.derive.at/collections/einzelpublikationen/products/heft-72 Warsaw is a city that has experienced radical breaks in its development over the last century, which are still relevant and visible in many different ways today. There is the Nazi occupation, the crushing of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the subsequent systematic and almost complete destruction of the city; and more recently, the shift from a state-socialist to capitalist system. The new issue of dérive, entitled »Warsaw: Devastation, Modernization, (Re-)privatization«, sheds light both on these historical components and their impact on contemporary urban society – e.g. on the housing market. In addition, we talk to people who are self-organizing and working on alternative solutions that resist current socio-political conditions. The focal point is entirely in English. You can order it here: https://shop.derive.at/collections/einzelpublikationen/products/heft-72
ACTIVISTS FROM SYRENA AND CAFÉ KRYZYS INTERVIEWED BY LISA PUCHNER It ALL Started with RAGE and ANGER Housing, tenancy law, protest, recommunalization, eviction, privatization, tenants association, squat, self-organization Protest in front of the house of a tenant, who got kicked out of his flat and beaten: »struck by the invisible hand of the market.« 1 The interview was conducted in 2017, some current information has been added in square brackets by the interviewees. Syrena is an autonomous collective that is a headquarters for the Warsaw Tenants Association which focuses on housing struggles and tenants’ rights. Syrena is based in a reclaimed tenement building in Warsaw. The space functions as a place for non-commercial activities and support for local initiatives and inhabitants. The building is a typical case in the history of reprivatization – the procedure of transferring community-owned houses to so-called investors. It was a squat in March 2011, now it is inhabited by about 35 people and hosts several other organizations like the Warsaw Revolutionary Theatre, immigrant support and antifascist groups, a bike workshop, an anarchist library as well as the coffeehouse Café Kryzys. Lisa Puchner of dérive talked 1 with activists from Syrena and Café Kryzys about their stories and the situation of tenants in Warsaw. Interview — It All Started with RAGE and ANGER 11
KACPER POBŁOCKI SALON — Domestication of Warsaw’s Public Space St. Alexander Church, Plac Trzech Krzyży Square. Source: Warszawa stolica Polski, Społeczny Fundusz Odbudowy Stolicy, wyd. II, Warsaw 1949, p.36 Capital, elite, gentrification, bourgeoisie, working class, Old Town, Warsaw, street life, salon, reconstruction, urbanization, socialization St. Alexander Church, Plac Trzech Krzyży Square, 2015; Photo — Bartosz Górka, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art 14 dérive N o 72 — WARSAW. Devastation, Modernization, (Re-)privatization
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ACTIVISTS FROM SYRENA AND CAFÉ KRYZYS INTERVIEWED BY LISA PUCHNER<br />
It ALL Started<br />
with RAGE and<br />
ANGER<br />
Housing, tenancy law, protest,<br />
recommunalization,<br />
eviction, <strong>privatization</strong>, tenants association, squat,<br />
self-organization<br />
Protest in front of the house of a tenant, who got kicked out of his flat<br />
and beaten: »struck by the invisible hand of the market.«<br />
1<br />
The interview was conducted<br />
in 2017, some current<br />
information has been added<br />
in square brackets by the<br />
interviewees.<br />
Syrena is an autonomous collective that is a headquarters for the <strong>Warsaw</strong><br />
Tenants Association which focuses on housing struggles and tenants’ rights.<br />
Syrena is based in a reclaimed tenement building in <strong>Warsaw</strong>. The space functions<br />
as a place for non-commercial activities and support for local initiatives<br />
and inhabitants. The building is a typical case in the history of re<strong>privatization</strong><br />
– the procedure of transferring community-owned houses to so-called investors.<br />
It was a squat in March 2011, now it is inhabited by about 35 people<br />
and hosts several other organizations like the <strong>Warsaw</strong> <strong>Re</strong>volutionary Theatre,<br />
immigrant support and antifascist groups, a bike workshop, an anarchist<br />
library as well as the coffeehouse Café Kryzys. Lisa Puchner of <strong>dérive</strong> talked 1<br />
with activists from Syrena and Café Kryzys about their stories and the situation<br />
of tenants in <strong>Warsaw</strong>.<br />
Interview — It All Started with RAGE and ANGER<br />
11
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