Erdem, E.
Reading Foucault with Gibson-Graham: The Political Economy of “Other Spaces” in Berlin
(2014) Rethinking Marxism, 26 (1), pp. 61-75.
Abstract
In recent years, Berlin has been widely acclaimed for the creative enactment of alternative urban imaginaries. This article explores how such spaces of urban alterity can be theorized from a political economy perspective. The beginning section explores the extent to which the “be berlin” campaign succeeds in representing the economic diversity embodied by these alternative sites. The middle section draws on the work of Gibson-Graham and Foucault to develop a heterotopic reading of economic diversity, focusing on three distinct aspects: the ubiquity and multiplicity of “other spaces,” the (il)legibility of the spatial order, and the politics of difference articulated through heterotopias. The final section applies this heterotopic perspective by deploying the urban garden project Prinzessinnengarten as an example.
Author Keywords
Community Economy; Economic Diversity; Heterotopia; Right to the City; Urban Economics
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