Re-urbanization of water

Knowledge production on the Testfilter of Flussbad Berlin

Abstract

This article focuses on the urbanization of water. Urbanized water has different meanings. I will explain this on the basis of my ethnographic research on the Testfilter of Flussbad Berlin. First, it is about how to understand the urbanized Spree with its mixed sewage system. Following the idea of historical river baths, the Flussbad Berlin association has set itself the goal of transforming the Spree Canal into a swimming area. For this purpose, the water of the Spree needs to be purified by engineering infrastructures. With the help of a Testfilter, this purification is tested and simulated. Results of my research illustrate that excessive urban ecologies transform the Testfilter. It is no longer to be understood as an engineering laboratory, but as a multiple habitat, as a feral laboratory. Water is therefore re-urbanized by multiple actors. In this article, I ask what re-urbanized water means for knowledge production. What knowledge and practices are effective on the Testfilter?