Andrea Protschky M.Sc.

Contact

protschky@kritis.tu-...

work +49 6151 16-57578

Work S3|13 307
Dolivostraße 15
64293 Darmstadt

Housing research has long considered the nexus of infrastructures and modern housing. Water, energy, and communication media are often used in the home or rely on the home for smooth operation (e.g., to charge appliances); transport networks connect homes with other urban or rural functions. In infrastructure research, the interface between housing and infrastructure has received increased attention in recent years, especially with regard to the situation of unhoused persons, who face a “dwelling paradox” (Meehan et al. 2023) in societies with largely housing-based infrastructure provision as they do not have secure access to housing.

However, it has become increasingly clear in recent years under the impact of inflation, particularly in the energy sector, that housing alone does not guarantee access to functioning infrastructure. In 2021, the Federal Network Agency recorded 234,926 electricity and 26,905 gas shut-offs in Germany. In some cases, water was also shut off. Such disconnections are usually based on arrears. Energy poverty and cut-offs in Germany are repeatedly criticized by institutions such as the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The phenomenon will most likely intensify due to the massive rise in energy prices and costs of living, especially since 2022.

Moreover, people with low incomes and assets often do not have the means to finance housing-based and mobile communication infrastructures. In the case of mobility, using public transport without a ticket, which is treated as a criminal offense in Germany, is the reason for most cases of imprisonment in default of fine (Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe) imposed – around 7,000 a year. These problems are closely linked to the threat of losing housing: late payment of service charges to landlords can lead to the termination of rental contracts and evictions; prison sentences are a common reason for losing one's home due to the lack of rent payment during imprisonment by welfare institutions under SGB II.

The project will focus on various aspects of the intersection between precarious housing and precarious infrastructure access, examining the social situation of people affected by infrastructure poverty, their strategies for dealing with it, legal conditions of infrastructure cut-offs and criminalization, and the theoretical link between housing and infrastructure. A qualitative empirical study in a German city will form the basis of the project.

Reference: Meehan, Katie, Melissa Beresford, Fausto Amador Cid, Lourdes Johanna Avelar Portillo, Anna Marin, Marianne Odetola, and Raul Pacheco‐Vega. 2023. “Homelessness and water insecurity in the Global North: Trapped in the dwelling paradox”. WIREs Water. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1651

Invited Talks

Ein Auge zudrücken. Illegalisierung, Willkür und Aushandlung im Kontext der Infrastrukturpraktiken wohnungsloser Menschen in Berlin. Presentation on the 19th of April 2023 at the Kolloquium des Netzwerk Kriminologie at the Freie Universität Berlin. https://www.jura.fu-berlin.de/fachbereich/einrichtungen/strafrecht/lehrende/drenkhahnk/Besonderes/Netzwerk-Kriminologie/Bisherige-Themen/index.html

Staying under Bridges, Negotiating Barriers: Infrastructure Practices of Unhoused Berliners between Socio-Spatial Exclusion and Spaces of Care and Support. Presentation on the 23rd of September 2021 at the sixth annual conference of the SFB 1199, Universität Leipzig „Making Space Through Infrastructures: Visions, Technologies and Tensions.“ https://research.uni-leipzig.de/~sfb1199/annual-conference-2021/

Zeitlichkeit begrenzter Zugänge: Zeitaspekte der Infrastrukturpraktiken von Menschen ohne dauerhafte Unterkunft. Presentation on the 11th of May 2021 at the Online-Conference „Temporalität von (Transport-) Infrastrukturen“ of the Research Training Group KRITIS. https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/19259/1/Tagungsbericht%20_Tagung%20Temporalit%C3%A4ten%20von%20Infrastruktur.pdf (opens in new tab)

Talks

The Annihilation of Time by Precarious Access? Time Aspects of Unhoused Persons‘ Infrastructure Practices. Presentation on the 15th of June 2021 at the workshop “NOIR – Infrastructural Times: A Workshop Exploring the Temporalities of Urban-Regional Infrastructure” by the Network on Infrastructural Regionalism in the Regional Studies Association. https://events.rdmobile.com/Lists/Details/1132446.

Workshops and Conferences

Der Körper als Daueraufgabe: Infrastrukturpraktiken wohnungsloser Menschen in Berlin zwischen täglichem Ringen um Zugänge und körperlich-sozialen Folgen. Presentation on the 29th of September 2022 at the congress of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (DGS) in Bielefeld. https://kongress2022.soziologie.de/programm

Covid-19 as a crisis of access: Infrastructure practices of unhoused persons in Berlin during the pandemic. Presentation am 26. August 2022 bei der RC21 in Athen. https://pcoconvin.eventsair.com/rc21/program-overview

The Annihilation of Time by Precarious Access? Time Aspects of Unhoused Persons‘ Infrastructure Practices. Präsentation am 15. Juni 2021 beim Workshop “NOIR – Infrastructural Times: A Workshop Exploring the Temporalities of Urban-Regional Infrastructure” des Network on Infrastructural Regionalism in the Regional Studies Association. https://events.rdmobile.com/Lists/Details/1132446

Event Organization

„Urban Circulations“, Online-Conference of the Research Training Group KRITIS on the 23rd of June 2022. Co-Organisation. https://kritis.gitlab.io/ucconf2022/

Scientific Publications

Protschky, Andrea (im Erscheinen): Covid-19 als Zugangskrise: Nutzung und Ersatz grundlegender Infrastrukturen durch wohnungslose Menschen in Berlin während der Pandemie. In: Sowa, Frank; Heinzelmann, Frieda; Heinrich, Marco (Hg.): Obdach- und Wohnungslosigkeit in pandemischen Zeiten.

Protschky, Andrea (2023): Körperlichkeit als Daueraufgabe. Infrastrukturpraktiken wohnungsloser Menschen in Berlin zwischen täglichem Ringen um Zugänge und körperlich-sozialen Folgen. In: Villa Braslavsky, Paula-Irene (Hg.): Polarisierte Welten. Verhandlungen des 41. Kongresses der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie in Bielefeld 2022.

Protschky, Andrea (2023): Staying under Bridges, Negotiating Barriers: Unhoused Berliners’ Infrastructural Practices between Spatial Exclusion and Precarious Spatial Strategies. In: Burchardt, Marian; van Laak, Dirk (Hg.): Making Space through Infrastructures: Visions, Technologies andTensions, Munich: De Gruyter.

Protschky, Andrea; Longoni, Raphael (2021): Locating the RTG KRITIS within infrastructure discourses: an introduction. In: Research Training Group KRITIS (Hg.): Concepts of Infrastructure. Whitepaper of an internal workshop. https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/18514/1/20210420_Whitepaper_Concepts%20of%20infrastructure%20RL_AP.pdf (opens in new tab) 1-3.

Protschky, Andrea (2021): People as infrastructure: translating a metaphor for infrastructure research. In: Research Training Group KRITIS (Hg.): Concepts of Infrastructure. Whitepaper of an internal workshop. https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/18514/1/20210420_Whitepaper_Concepts%20of%20infrastructure%20RL_AP.pdf (opens in new tab). 12-14.

Longoni, Raphael; Protschky, Andrea; Beck, Tilman; Beuttenmüller Lopes Silva, Felipe; Dighe, Chaitali; Kuhn, Luisa; Platzer, Eva K.; Punt, Eline; Soelberg, Søren; Steinbach, Cedric (2021): Conclusion. In: Research Training Group KRITIS (Hg.): Concepts of Infrastructure. Whitepaper of an internal workshop. https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/18514/1/20210420_Whitepaper_Concepts%20of%20infrastructure%20RL_AP.pdf (opens in new tab).27-29.

Protschky, Andrea (2020): Netzwerke für Vernetzte? – Quartiersräte zwischen Zielsetzung und gelebter Realität. In: PlanerIn 3/20. 37-38.

Hempel, Leon; Wittich, Robert; Protschky, Andrea (2019). Integrierte Technikentwicklung durch Konfliktnetzwerke. In: Draude, C., Lange, M. & Sick, B. (Hrsg.), INFORMATIK 2019: 50 Jahre Gesellschaft für Informatik – Informatik für Gesellschaft (Workshop-Beiträge). Bonn: Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.. S. 445-446.

Kim, MinJi; Mundt, Hannes; Protschky, Andrea (2017): Serendipitous Archives III. In: Lee, Rachel; Barbé, Diane; Fenk, Anne-Katrin; Misselwitz, Philipp (Hg.): Things don’t really exist until you give them a name. Unpacking Urban Heritage. Dar es Salaam. S. 61.

Barbé, Diane; Besha, Richard; Fenk, Anne-Katrin; Lee, Rachel; Misselwitz, Philipp (Hg.) (2017): Talking Cities. Urban Narratives from Dar es Salaam and Berlin. (Co-Autorin). Berlin. Link zum PDF (opens in new tab)

Reports, Articles, Blogs

Kim, MinJi; Mundt, Hannes; Protschky, Andrea (o.J.): MoabEat. What does the foodscape tell us about the influence of migration on the local characteristics? In: Simulizi Mijini. Urban Narratives. Platforms. https://urbannarratives.org/en/research/platforms/moabeat/

Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt (Hg.) (2014): Workshop „Gender Mainstreaming in der Integrierten Stadtteilentwicklung“. Dokumentation. Bearbeitet von: Schlonski, Christiane; Kaiser, Andreas; Protschky, Andrea. Hamburg.

10/2015 – 04/2019	Urban Design (M.Sc.), Technische Universität Berlin
09/2016 – 04/2017	International Master in Urban Planning and Urban Studies (Erasmus Studies), Research track, École d’Urbanisme de Paris, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée
10/2011 – 09/2015	Metropolitan Culture (B.A.), one year specialization in urban planning (B.Sc.), HafenCity Universität Hamburg

07/2019 – 09/2019	Freelance scientist in the research project ‚PANDORA‘, Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft, Technische Universität Berlin
09/2017 – 06/2019	Student assistant in the research project ‚4D-Sicherheit‘, Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft, Technische Universität Berlin
06/2018, 10/2018	Observation of two disaster response exercises of the Berlin fire brigade in the research project SenSE4Metro, Akademie der Katastrophenforschungsstelle gGmbH AKFS
04/2016 – 07/2017	Student assistant in the research project ‚Alphakomm‘, Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft, Technische Universität Berlin
10/2015 – 09/2016	Assistant in a research project in Soldiner Quartier, Berlin targeting critical architecture communication in combination with a seminar at Technische Universität Berlin, Niche Berlin, Art & Architecture Tours
01/2015 – 09/2015	Student assistant to Prof. Dr. Dirk Schubert, HafenCity Universität Hamburg, Department of Housing and Neighborhood development
01/2014 – 09/2015	Student assistant to Prof. Dr. Gernot Grabher, HafenCity Universität Hamburg, Department of Urban and Regional Economics
04/2014 – 05/2014	Documentation of the workshop „Partizipation in der Integrierten Stadtteilentwicklung” for the Ministry of Urban Development and Environment Hamburg, Department Integrated Urban Development

Start-up financing