‘Munich Child’ Art Installation Highlights City’s Housing Crisis
Munich, January 30 – On Friday morning, an art installation on Odeonsplatz drew attention to Munich’s severe housing crisis. The ‘Munich Child’ figure, depicted as homeless with a suitcase, was surrounded by ‘rental sharks’ representing speculative investors. This creative protest, organized by volunteers associated with the Munich Tenants’ Demonstration, aimed to raise awareness about the precarious situation in the city’s housing market.
Widespread Impact of Housing Misery
Felicia Rief from the #ausspekuliert initiative explained that the ‘Munich Child’ symbolizes various groups affected by the housing crisis. “This includes young people in training whose future in Munich depends on their parents’ finances, pensioners whose rent exceeds their pension, systemically important professional groups increasingly leaving Munich, and migrants who face significant difficulties securing a rental contract due to ‘non-typical German’ names,” Rief stated.
Rief emphasized that the activists’ focus is not on small landlords but on large, often foreign-owned companies and corporations that profit from housing, with these profits often flowing out of the country.
Discrimination and Student Struggles
The protest also featured personal testimonies. Heather and Trish shared their experience of an entire residential community fighting displacement due to planned core renovations. Valentina Fazio from the Munich Migration Advisory Board highlighted the discrimination faced by migrants in Munich’s housing search. According to a survey by the board, nearly 90 percent of migrants in Munich have experienced discrimination in the housing market, despite working or studying in the city.
Marwan Abdelaal from the Technical University of Munich’s student representation spoke about the challenges faced by students. “Studying in Munich is increasingly becoming a question of parental background and social status. It is becoming harder for students without wealthy parents to find shared accommodation in Munich, which negatively impacts the diversity of Munich’s universities,” Abdelaal noted.
Call for a Major Tenants’ Demonstration
The art action served as a reminder of a large tenants’ demonstration scheduled for February 7 at 2:00 PM on Odeonsplatz. A broad alliance of 110 organizations is calling for participation in this protest.
“Just like the ‘Munich Child’ in our action, many people in our city are struggling. Something must finally be done to bring the out-of-control housing market back into order,” the activists urged.
Public Reaction and Future Outlook
The protest sparked discussions among the public, with some commentators highlighting the high cost of living in Munich. One commenter, ‘Alexxx’, questioned whether students without wealthy parents should consider other, more affordable university cities, acknowledging Munich’s reputation as the most expensive city in Germany across all sectors. Another commenter, ‘Kollie’, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of such protests, arguing that exploitation primarily occurs through rent and that landlords quickly maximize their income through rent increases, even with slightly increased minimum wages.
The ongoing debate underscores the deep-seated issues within Munich’s housing market, with calls for greater transparency and accountability from those profiting from the crisis. The upcoming demonstration is expected to further amplify these concerns and pressure authorities to implement meaningful reforms.
Source: https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/hai-alarm-fuer-das-muenchner-kindl-kreativer-protest-gegen-miet-wahnsinn-in-muenchen-art-1109280
