Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers the complex process of the criminalisation of squatting alongside and beyond its juridical apparatuses. It provides insights into the ways in which the substance of social citizenship has been rapidly and significantly weakened, so that life has become much more precarious for low-income urbanites as well as large parts of the middle-class. The book reconstructs the history of Berlin’s tenant referendum, which induced the passing of a new local Housing Provision Act—one of the most progressive pieces of housing legislation in Germany. It investigates the modes of doing citizenship and social rights in practice, which characterised the creation of Berlin’s Medibüro, a network of medical offices, where medical activists provide free medical services to residents lacking access to the medical insurance system, especially to illegal migrants. The book concludes by providing a brief outlook on future research on urban citizenship.