Identifikationsräume

Until now, mass housing settlements are being discussed as a potentially burdened legacy of modernist urbanism. Their reputation is problematic, the stigma of social ghettos is firmly embedded on in our collective memory; they are seen as a priori spatially, socially and infrastructurally deficient. Only some spectacular cases are re-appreciated today for their cultural and historic value, as witnesses of a bygone era of urbanism. This publication assembles contributions from the conference “Identifikationsräume” (Spaces of identification) which was held in November 2013 at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (FRA-UAS). The contributions shed some light on the specific spatial qualities of mass housing settlements and their ability to establish environments of identity. At the same time, the collection is a plea for the continued maintenance of both the material substance of and the communities that have developed within the large housing estates.