The Kottbusser neighborhood—lovingly referred to as “Kotti” by the locals—is centrally located within the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. For the past week, I’ve been making the 15-minute walk to-and-fro my hostel and Community Partner and have come to notice a fairly distinct boundary between the trendy hot-spot and more family oriented community spaces. The crowd of 20-something tourists thins out and gives way to elderly people pushing walkers; middle-aged men sipping on a cold beer as they head home from work in dusty, paint covered clothes; mother’s wearing hijab stopping to say hello to one another while dropping their children off at school.
The streets are lined with flats that boast ground-level businesses ranging from restaurants and bars to stores selling anti-fascist streetwear and clothing made of hemp. Countless shops hawk a hodge-podge collection of discounted goods (think Nike Air Force Ones sitting on a shelf next to vintage Polaroid cameras and plastic water guns), and merchandise spills onto the sidewalk where the owners can often be found smoking a cigarette and offering deals to passerby in broken English. Several markets showcase beautiful displays of fresh produce and flowers outside of the storefronts, contributing to a sweet aroma that pleasantly distracts from the fish markets and omnipresent doner and kebap stands (I know, my opinion is biased against the street meat on this one). There are clear signs of resistance to the forces of gentrification all over this neighborhood, as can be evidenced by signs hanging in the windows of residences and small businesses in addition to the street art.
“Capitalist pig system”
“We all stay”
There seems to be a school and/or playground on nearly every block. One morning I arrived early to my placement at an elementary school and was able to observe parents dropping their kids off for the day—a process that was quite different than what I’ve experienced in the US. In 30-minutes I only saw one student arrive in a car; the rest either walked together in small groups, or were escorted on foot or bicycle by a parent. Across the street there is a big, beautiful church that sits at the edge of a park that stretches over 2 street blocks. A few homeless people have taken up residence in the side stoops of the church, and I’ve been told this is tolerated for the most part as long as they prove to serve no disturbance to church-goers or the children.
Although most of my time in Kottbusser has been spent with colleagues, I did spend one Saturday afternoon walking around solo in an attempt at soaking up the nuances of this space. Admittedly, I felt pretty self-conscious about being identified as an “outsider” due to the tell-tale sign of a camera strapped around my neck. However, I garnered only a few curious glances from people who were sitting around leisurely enjoying their day. At no point did I feel unsafe or uncomfortable with my surroundings, and actually appreciated that I was left alone to carry about my business without interruption or judgement.
*All photos from my personal collection
HONORS BERLIN 