DOES SANDY SPEAK GERMAN?

Last year, Amazon sought tax breaks to build a new complex in Brooklyn, and the district's new representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Naïf-N.Y.) first opposed it before she took office, then claimed victory when Amazon had enough of the hassles and cancelled the project.

Now, Amazon would like to expand its presence in Germany, but their plans involve an office tower that is not in the imperial parade grounds central business district.

Formerly a largely working class area, the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg has in recent years been subject to increasing levels of gentrification. Shiny corporate buildings now sit in place of former factories.

The latest development in this urbanization process is the construction of the EDGE East Side Berlin. Technology giant Amazon plans to move into the tower, bringing up to 1400 new jobs to the area, and relocating 2000 existing positions.

That is the nature of urban development, there comes a time when the central business district, particularly in a capital city, becomes so expensive to locate in that only the rent-seekers with the deepest pockets locate there.

That's not to say that the existing residents, whether business owners or householders, don't have their own rents to defend.

A representative from Berlin vs Amazon, John Malamatinas, explained to The Local that the main concern of activists is that Berlin will end up like Seattle or San Francisco, also tech hotspots which have faced rapid gentrification in recent years.

"We fear the rising rent," he said, explaining that the group has further apprehensions regarding Amazon such as the "treatment of their employees" and the general "company culture".

The incentives operating in that part of Berlin are consistent with central place theory: the new office tower is in a neighborhood where a new sports arena was built, a Google campus attempted to open, and the accompanying entertainment district is emerging.  Whether Amazon or some other company seeks office space there is irrelevant.  Should that part of Berlin become too expensive for most companies, a different central place will emerge.

That's scant consolation for the current residents of the area.

The borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg has been known for embodying a culture of creativity, home to many young artists and creatives who are able to pursue their passions without “breaking the bank”.

The introduction of such a building could contribute to changing the entire district in this sense, said activists ahead of Saturday’s protests.

Thus it always is in the political economy of urban development.  "Here's where the Tragic Vision comes in handy. Markets allocate resources, and urban structure is emergent."  The creatives, themselves, might have displaced other people of modest means when they set up their studios and trendy shops in Friedricshain-Kreuzberg.