Creating an “in-between”: The post-migrant perspective and participatory urban development in Germany, a comparison between Berlin and Wiesbaden

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, we show how the post-migrant perspective fosters inclusive participatory urban development without reproducing the “either/or” logic of ethno-cultural origin that distinguishes between migrants and natives. Based on empirical research with local administrators and community organizers in the German cities of Berlin and Wiesbaden, we identify two key findings. First, we found that a multicultural understanding of migration—based on a gap between migrants and natives—still dominates in participatory urban development. Second, we show how participation practices overcame the migrant-native divide by mobilizing liminal in-between identities, negotiated at the boundaries of class, milieu, age, and neighborhood. We argue that participation based on the post-migrant perspective is inclusive by virtue of its ambiguity. It allows participants to decide what perspective they wish to adopt or how they position themselves in participation—without being reduced to a status as migrants.