Not in our name! Jamming the gentrification machine: a manifesto

The Alternatives section of City focuses on alternative responses of resistance, autonomy, hope and creativity within the contemporary city. We explore, discuss and engage with groups and individuals who are developing alternative urban visions, practices and policies. We encourage material of a variety of types and from a variety of sources, especially from those which fall outside formal institutions and ways of doing things. In this issue of Alternatives we continue the recent debate in this journal on the ‘Right to the City’. In November 2009, a group based in Hamburg, Germany, produced a manifesto entitled ‘Not in Our Name!’. It was highly critical of the current strategy of the city authorities who were seen to be turning the whole city into a brand for the benefit of wealthy residents, business elites and tourists. The manifesto was widely circulated on the web through their website at http://nionhh.wordpress.com/ which has received a huge amount of commentary. We republish the manifesto in English in the spirit of continuing the debate.