ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an introduction into the debates that provide the framework for my analysis. It presents a short overview of recent struggles over public space in Berlin and the shift towards new forms of activism at the intersection between protest and participation. The chapter explains in more detail the two examples of recent participatory processes in order to identify some of the dynamics through which movement building and the advancement of claims can be either furthered or blocked. It summarizes the arguments and outlines some of the implications for further research as well as for urban activism. The case of Berlin reveals that struggles over public space and public goods are shifting under the conditions of neoliberal urban governance. It is important to note that urban activism, participatory planning, and deliberative democracy should not be simply equated with each other.
