At home with the unhoused : conversations with men and women living on the streets of Berlin

Abstract

Homeless individuals in Berlin can be included into the group of people who do something more interesting than architects would ever dream of. With their knowledge of the city and the ability to claim spaces, they create their home within the city context. They use the city and what the city offers, to their advantage and create their homes with what is available in the city. They are not homeless. For the "city users" the city becomes home- the city home.To tell the stories of individuals who make the city their home, this thesis describes the daily routine of several individuals (with insights gained from a two-month internship) and appreciates these people for how they manage to survive somewhat independently on the streets of Berlin.It is argued that these individuals are not future clients for architects. Instead, it is suggested that we --architects, designers, planners, policy-makers, and others – have much to learn from those we consider to be homeless.