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Desire or Displacement? Working-Class Notions of Urban Belonging in Late-Nineteenth-Century Germany

The displacement of working-class residents from center to periphery constitutes a crucial element of late-nineteenth-century urbanization. Yet urban historiography has paid little attention to how this process was perceived by those most directly affected. Analyzing primary source material from late-nineteenth-century Germany, this article argues that working-class urbanites opposed suburbanization not only because of their jobs or to remain close to places of entertainment and leisure. Rather, the nascent working-class movement also criticized suburbanization because they feared it jeopardized opportunities for political participation and collective action. Against this backdrop, I argue that contemporary discussions around the “Right to the City” differ considerably from earlier rhetoric. In particular, I show that working-class communities suffering from displacement in present-day cities are deprived of some of the most influential framings of the past. The paper, thus, illustrates how interdisciplinary perspectives open new avenues for critical research on notions of urban belonging.