Heated atmospheres and hot topics

Karuna heat relief as experimental problematization?

Abstract

Increasing temperatures during summer put the health of unhoused people at risk in Berlin. This article examines an NGO heat relief project as a specific problematization of the phenomenon of urban heat. The paper combines qualitative interviews with unhoused activists, potential clients, and project staff with participant observation as a volunteer at the heat relief project. It finds that the heat relief project employs an experimental approach that attempts to enroll a variety of actors to join its problematization. However, this problematization is contested by activists and unhoused people, as they have their own strategies for dealing with urban heat. Another finding is that due to its seasonal nature and unpredictability, urban heat holds the potential to engage and disengage actors and shape political action.   This paper contributes to research on climate change's effects on so-called 'vulnerable' communities and the different ways urban heat holds political potential.