Prenzlauer Berg

Looking at Berlin one realizes the power behind neo-liberal ideas and city planning. The city has reinvented itself many times and is quickly becoming the new fashion spot of the world. Marked by vast territorial “white-space”, urabn-art, old industrial compounds, green parks, architectural styles combining nazi-era “you-are-nothing-but-an-ant” block housing with new, contemporary developments such as the Bundestag building, Berlin is surely popular with the young folks.

Berlin sets itself apart by its remarkable affordability. The city manages to stay cheaper than other metropolitan areas in western Europe, thus creating an influx of youthful individuals. Germany’s capital is home to a huge and diverse population of personae; metrosocialists, cake eaters, yunts, faux bisexuals, sceenie teenies and hipsters just to name a few. The last entity is a case in itself. Defining a hipster is a tedious task, many have tried, many have failed.

Taken from urbandictionary.com:

| Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as “complicated.” (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a hipster. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money - and spends a great deal of it to look like they don’t have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure. Sleeps with everyone and talks about it at great volume in crowded coffee shops. Addicted to coffee, cigarettes (Parliaments, Kamel Reds, Lucky Strikes, etc.), and possibly cocaine. Claims to be in a band. Rehearsals consist of choosing outfits for next show and drinking PBR. Always on the list. Majors or majored in art, writing, or queer studies. Name-drops. May go by “Penny Lane,” “Eleanor Rigby,” etc. when drunk. On PBR. Which is usually. |

Generalizing is a bad habit but the description given comes very close to illustrating the image of a hipster. Another very pronounced characteristic of a hipster is his ability to invade urban-space and flip it towards his needs. Hipsters tend to migrate into formerly abandoned areas, areas oozing with crime and torture and low-cost regions; or so it seems. Usually a bunch of artists move into the area described above. Haunted by high living costs an artists does not have another option but to move into an area that, mildly speaking, is not the safest one in town.

The government, city planners, urban-scientists and other governmental and non-governmental officials realize the potential of the place after the creative stream has established itself. Shops begin to open, streets are cleaned up, some more officers get introduced, etc… All in an effort to maintain and enrich the creative force inside the zone. That’s when the area becomes ‘hip’ and yea, you guessed it, hipsters move in. A perfect example of the above is an area called “Prenzlauer Berg” in Berlin. To read more about the “Berg” follow this link.

More to come in Part 2

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A Gutter punk is a homeless or transient individual, often a juvenile, who is in some way associated with the punk subculture.

~wikipedia entry

Fancy mixing up your life style a little bit? Fed up with your boring hipster friends? No need to invest in new clothes, spend money to trim your 3-day beard every now and then or waste time looking for that special gig nobody knows about. Stylish looks and a turbulent life style mustn’t be a blow to the budget, be inspired by the gutter punk movement. Here, in tune with true “punk spirit”, everything is DIY. Get yourself a mohawk, quit your job, choose to become homeless take a dump on financial stability and you are set to a life style of gutter punk. Don’t forget that employment, even partial employment is considered your last resort; charms and wits that’s where it’s at.

~credit to the original photographer and who-sucks.com

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