Berlin

I was on a Dutch podcast about working in Germany: FSG podcast over de Duitse digitale achterstand with Derk Marseille and Ruurd van der Weide.

The days are long but the years are short.

The construction site next to our house is still spewing forth noise and fumes at all hours. The city is unable to do anything here it seems and calling the people at the construction site we are met with nothing but deflection and lies.

The construction site that surrounds our house has started a bunch of space heaters this week. The devices had been there for a while but only started being annoying now that they’re turned on. These things run day and night, they make a ridiculous amount of noise (some 60 dB at our window) and because they burns diesel oil they also pollute and stink up the entire courtyard.

Looking at this map of expansions we may have a tram line in front of our house in the near future.

“dass deutsche Behörden und bürokratische Prozesse mitverantwortlich sind am Scheitern des Start-ups.”

Another big volley towards more tenants’ rights in Berlin that if won will provoke a vast shift in thinking around housing politics both locally and globally.

Als ik het verhaal over witwassen in de Amsterdamse binnenstad hier lees, denk ik dat het hier in Berlijn zonder overdrijven tien keer zo erg is (decennia armoede, corruptie en geen enkele prioriteit bij de lokale overheid).

The government has made it clear that its main purpose is not to save lives or protect the vulnerable. It exists to ensure that assets never depreciate and that wealth is never redistributed downward. Capital has never seemed so fictitious.

Some friends of ours have started a coworking space in Berlin hat includes childcare. The space looks great and I think that flexible solutions like this could alleviate a lot of the burden on parents right now.

I was saddened by reading that Iepe, a Dutch fixture here in Berlin, had passed away suddenly and far too young.

German publications fail cyclists in all of the ways described here.

A bunch of incredibly grim stories of people whose lives were destroyed in the DDR.

English language critique of Turkish rap produced in my backyard here in Berlin. That’s the way I like it.

I’ve been a part of the Berlin Dad’s Slack for a while now which is proving to be an essential resource for dads who want to live a balanced life.

A Turkish guy in a van turns the corner tight enough to almost run us over. He then stops and pulls down the window: “Möchtest du mir etwas sagen?”

Always nice to read a positive career history from somebody, like this one by Alicia Hickey, but especially nice if you’re in it named as the team lead who made a crucial suggestion.

I remember some very early conversations about the Basslet (now Lofelt) and its creative possibilities. Building their own design tools for this medium is a key move and I look forward to trying it out.

Wir üben keinen Druck auf unsere Mieter aus. Kein Mieter wird bei uns verdrängt. Das würde gegen unsere Werte verstoßen.

Berlin is finally thinking of fixing its totally and utterly broken website. That’s good news but a shame that we have had to use this monstrosity for the past ten years.

This lament on SF does not sound that far off from where Berlin is. The city is a lot bigger and less boring, but without measures, it could go the same way when it comes to property prices and hollowing out of public services.

We were represented at PM Camp last week and here’s a blog post (in German) by Alicia, one of my team members about the way we work.

Berlin is instituting a rent cap which honestly is the only way the city will remain liveable for the majority of its inhabitants.

Dear Mr. Alper Cugun,

“I offer this: literature can save a life. Just one life at a time.”

First I hear about Mauerkrankheit—and I’m not the only one—but a politically triggered rise in mental health problems would explain many things both past and present.

Berlin right now is the frontline for transportation applications with 4 scooter services alone. I’m glad that Jon has made a comprehensive overview of multi-modal transportation apps because I sure as hell wasn’t going to have the time for it.

Cath writes some very salient points about growing into leadership that on the one hand should be more widespread, but on the other hand, everybody will likely have to find out for themselves.

My foray into local politics showed me that more than anything the Grüne are a party of yuppies without much or any social face behind it.

Just like almost every public service in Berlin the pediatrician situation is absolute squalor. It’s impossible to find one who picks up the phone or takes on new patients 1.

Reading about Amsterdam canceling 10'000 parking spaces, does make me feel as if I’m living in an idiot’s city.

“It’s no coincidence that co-living start-ups have gravitated to cities like Berlin, San Francisco, London and New York. Ostensibly ‘winning’ the battle for capital and talent, they are urban testing-grounds, where rootless and cashed-up tech workers, heated real estate markets, and rising housing pressures add up to a recipe for experimentation.”

From a thread about whether it is possible or not to live in Berlin without a car (gasp!). This is what a normal odd day of mine looks like.

I had no idea but it seems Berlin has a booming Chinese art scene.

Berlin will also regularly call on McKinsey to ‘fix’ its problems. As this description of them giving Puerto Rico the Greece-treatment shows, where they come nothing good will follow.

A paean for canteens something of which Berlin has ample for a variety of historic reasons.

Looking forward to the Micromobility Summit coming to Berlin this year. I hope we manage to have some serious progress on infrastructure and street legal scooters by then.

Barcelona is implementing a traffic transition we here in Berlin can only dream of.

Berlin opens its first mobility hub and makes it look about as shabby as the average parking lot in Kreuzberg (which is what it is).

If Berlin votes to expropriate Deutsche Wohnen, it will be a welcome step towards decommodification of housing. Not to mention the long overdue correction that it will give the local housing market.

I’ll be proud to live in Berlin when the home owner expropriations are passed and the real estate madness is curtailed.

I was supposed to see this play six years ago. Let’s say better late than never. Seen Wednesday, March 20th at the Maxim Gorki Theater.

Scooters are not legal in Germany yet but in select locations like here in Berlin you can try them out on private land.

A well written defense by Markthalle IX in Berlin that sounds good but still paints a much more rosy picture of reality than is justified. Let’s be totally clear: removing the ALDI will advance the area’s socio-economic cleansing.

A very necessary housing revolution is underway in Berlin that has the potential to halt market forces that are running amok. After Barcelona, now Berlin. Who’s next?

I got around to visiting the Parklets in the Bergmannstraße. That is a plural because there are two of them during this pilot and that’s it.

I dropped by the UIKonf unconference yesterday and gave a quick code/architecture talk. Normally I do mostly design/strategy type talks which are a lot more handwavy, so this felt a bit out of my water.

Ik ben een trouwe luisteraar van GBI en het was leuk dat Vasilis toen hij in Berlijn was de tijd nam om ook eens met mij te praten. Volgens mij is het een leuk gesprek geworden.

One for the archives, this a talk I gave last summer that I thought went pretty well.

The USA example of resistance against Trump in the form of Tech Solidarity quickly gained a following in the Netherlands with TechSolidarity.nl and here in Berlin with some Tech-Solidarity-Berlin. I’ve had a small role in both of those groups’ creation but I’m currently not an active participant.