In Berlin, a grass-roots fight against gentrification

Berlin

WHEN visitors want to experience this city's much celebrated "alternative" culture, they often make their way to Heinrichplatz, a graffiti-covered square in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood that for decades has been a hub for independent arts, underground night life and radical politics.

But on a recent Saturday afternoon, the usual clusters of selfie-snapping tourists and cafe-goers were met by hundreds of demonstrators carrying signs that read, "We're all staying" or "Say no to crowding out", and protesting rising rents, forced evictions and rampant real estate speculation.

"Massive crowding is happening to the extent that a lot of people can't pay their rent, or they are having their leases cancelled for the slightest triviality," said Sar…