Repair and Do-It-Yourself Urbanism: Good Practice in London and Berlin

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which the activation and further development of the broad range of commercial and non-commercial practices of repair & do-it-yourself urbanism can make a significant contribution to the development of resilient urban districts with low resource and energy consumption and a high quality of life. To this end, good practice examples in London and Berlin were researched and visited on site. Seventeen examples were selected for interviews and/or participant observation in London and 12 in Berlin. The practices of the selected initiatives range from repairing to self-production to reusing used materials to swap** and lending. There is also a high degree of diversity in terms of target groups and forms of organisation. The initiatives are linked to different degrees to civil society, state and private sector structures. Different sustainability effects can be identified and, despite the individuality of the initiatives studied, some statements about general promoting and inhibiting factors can also be identified. In summary, it is clear that the projects visited can be understood as experimental fields for the development of social and economic practices, which can make a significant contribution to the development of resilient urban districts if they are appropriately promoted and disseminated.