Right to the city as part of Žižkovská noc festival

As part of this year’s Žižkovská noc festival we are contributing to its accompanying program in form of presentation, discussions and a critical walk, all relating to right to the city. Below you can find summary of our four events we are organizing and which will take place on Saturday 23rd of March. The program will use Czech as a working language, but translation to English will be provided.

Critical walk through rebellious Žižkov

Žižkov, Prague’s most distinctive borough, is rapidly changing right in front of our eyes. Groceries and pubs are being replaced by trendy barber shops. Do you want to know what gentrification means to us? Come to our critical walk  through Žižkov. We will stop by places connected to negative as well as changes in Žižkov. As a bonus, we will add something from the rich history of this working class neighborhood.

We will meet at 10.30 in front of the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord on Jiřího z Poděbrad square.

Squat klinika and autonomous places in city (talk)

Klinika is evicted and its garden is roaming with security guards, but its story isn’t over yet. This time instead of violence the collective of Klinika is faced with enormous fines from a private debt-collector. The collective is determined to continue, because Prague needs autonomous social centers now more than ever. Two members of Klinika collective will speak about Klinika and the function of non-commercial autonomous places in city.

Prostor39 (Řehořova 39), 12.30 am

Housing crisis (talk with discussion)

Rent prices in Prague are increasing twice as fast as wages. Prague is not alone in this problem of unaffordable housing. What are the causes and possible solutions of this global crisis? On concrete examples we will demonstrate phenomena such as finantialization of housing or gentrification. Architect Jakub Nakládal will also present positive examples of affordable housing and alternative forms of development.

Prostor39 (Řehořova 39), 1.30 pm

Our home Bedřiška (talk with discussion)

Former mining neighborhood in Ostrava with unmistakable atmosphere, whose residents are under threat of eviction. Bedřiška is unique example of community, which flourished despite of hostile local establishment. For over a year local residents are fighting to keep this community and with help from architects and lawyers they are trying to find an alternative solution for the future of their community. Come to a discussion with residents of Bedřiška and find out what it means to live “right to the city”.

Prostor39 (Řehořova 39), 16.00 pm