Neighbors
2000The neighborhood of the Kreis 4 in Zurich better known for being the Longstreet hood equals in its diversity to an un reasearched jungle. Nowhere in Europe you find so many cultures and milieus that rub shoulder against each other in such a small space. This Biotope is constantly changing. On the one hand the Kreis 4 has had since the middle ages the function of reservoir for the marginalized and unwanted on the other some sections are periodically revalued and improved. Recently its the urban trendsetters that are getting into the area with new bars shops and ateliers. Only half of the population is Swiss and a third of the total changes the apartment and district within one year of getting here. Public space is constantly being redefined, old inhabitants claim it as their home new once fight for a slice of it.
People here fight not only for public space in the geographic sense but also for lifestyles, for example the biggest park of the Kreis 4 the Bäckeranlage used to be the domain of alcoholics drinking and sleeping there until the city persuaded them to move with a mix of incentives that included the destruction of their most popular bar. Social normality has to be constantly recalibrated between the various milieus. Dealing with the foreign the different requires an array of survival strategies that can go from the actively looking away to negotiating codes of conduct till confrontation. In this sense the Longstreet hood can be a model for the global city of the future and deserves attention.