scholarly journals Liminal Publics, Marginal Resistance

IDEA JOURNAL ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 88-101
Author(s):  
Menna Agha ◽  
Els DeVos
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Liminal Spaces ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Definition Of

In 1964, indigenous Nubians were displaced from their original land – the land between what is now Egypt and that of Sudan – to modernised settlements built by the Egyptian state. The Nubians dissatisfaction with the novel built environment translated into transgressive public spaces. One of the most common transgressions was the addition of an external bench called Mastaba. Since power relations between men and women have changed, the built environment now acts as a catalyst in the exclusion of women from formal public spaces such as conventional coffee shops and squares. Mastabas function as liminal spaces, spaces which blur the boundaries between public and private spheres. As these spaces do not suit the formal understanding of public spaces, we investigate these liminal spaces in order to reveal the spatial tactics of the marginal. We argue that the existence of these spaces raises issues of spatial justice and spatial resistance.    The behaviour of liminal public spaces varies; they have the ability to transform adjacent spaces. This research investigates the role of the Mastaba in opening up the public space for women, thereby giving them the ability to contribute to the writing of their social contract. We base our analysis on extensive fieldwork, consisting of auto-ethnographic observations and participation, informed by a feminist epistemology. We use tools of spatial analysis to explore an alternative public space offered by liminality. To question the binary notions of private and public space, we ask ourselves: where does that space start? As spatial professionals, we also wonder: can we contest the hegemonic definition of public space and contribute to spatial resistance? Drawing lessons from the case of the Mastaba, we propose contingencies for designing the liminal that serve the marginal.

Yelling ‘Fire’ in a Crowded Occupation: Cynical Fire Hazard Claims and the Technocratic Containment of Dissent

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-573
Author(s):  
Honor Brabazon
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Uk

While the privatisation of public space has been the subject of considerable research, literature exploring the shifting boundaries between public and private law, and the role of those shifts in the expansion of neo-liberal social relations, has been slower to develop. This article explores the use of fire safety regulations to evict political occupations in the context of these shifts. Two examples from the UK student occupation movement and two from the US Occupy movement demonstrate how discourses and logics of both private and public law are mobilised through fire hazard claims to create the potent image of a neutral containment of dissent on technical grounds in the public interest – an image that proves difficult to contest. However, the recourse to the public interest and to expert opinion that underpins fire hazard claims is inconsistent with principles governing the limited neo-liberal political sphere, which underscores the pragmatic and continually negotiated implementation of neo-liberal ideas. The article sheds light on the complexity of the extending reach of private law, on the resilience of the public sphere and on the significance of occupations as a battleground on which struggles over neo-liberal social relations and subjectivities play out.

The Portable Home: The Domestication of Public Space

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishan Kumar ◽  
Ekaterina Makarova
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Privileged Site

Much commentary indicates that, starting from the 19th century, the home has become the privileged site of private life. In doing so it has established an increasingly rigid separation between the private and public spheres. This article does not disagree with this basic conviction. But we argue that, in more recent times, there has been a further development, in that the private life of the home has been carried into the public sphere—what we call “the domestication of public space.” This has led to a further attenuation of public life, especially as regards sociability. It has also increased the perception that what is required is a better “balance” between public and private. We argue that this misconstrues the nature of the relation of public to private in those periods that attained the greatest degree of sociability, and that not “balance” but “reciprocity” is the desired condition.

The Literary Depiction of the “Public Space”: Chen Zhongshi’s White Deer Plain Revisited

Rural China ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-171
Author(s):  
Zhi Gao
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Economic

Chen Zhongshi’s novel, White Deer Plain, is a complex text revealing the social, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of a community in transformation in which multiple public spaces coexist and struggle to survive. As a reinterpretation of the novel, this article examines three types of public spaces: the popular, the political, and the cultural-educational, respectively. Focusing on the forms of depiction, the inner workings of the public spaces, the overlapping between different spaces and their expansion, this article aims to delineate the trajectories of the rise and fall of such public spaces and explore their entangling and association with modernity.

scholarly journals Urban Public Space Axis Rector of Green Infrastructure in the Current City of Ecuador

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Marina Perez
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

The current city calls for the reconsideration of a close relationship between gray infrastructure and public spaces, understanding the infrastructure as a set of items, equipment, or services required for the functioning of a country, a City. Ambato, Ecuador, is a current intermediate city, has less than 1% of the urban surface with use of public green spaces, which represents a figure below the 9m2/ hab., recommended by OMS. The aim of this paper was to identify urban public spaces that switches of green infrastructure in the city today, applying a methodology of qualitative studies. With an exploratory descriptive level analysis, in three stages, stage of theoretical foundation product of a review of the existing literature, which is the theoretical support of the relationship gray infrastructure public spaces equal to green infrastructure. Subsequent to this case study, discussed with criteria aimed at green infrastructure and in the public spaces of the study area. Finally, after processing and analysis of the results, we provide conclusions for urban public space as a definition of the green infrastructure of the current city of Latin America; in the latter, the focus is to support this article.

scholarly journals As Flanâncias Urbanas de Sophie Calle: Reflexões entre público e privado

ILUMINURAS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (56) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Gallo Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Rationality ◽  
Address Book ◽  
Art Practices ◽  
Performance Distribution ◽  
Textual Records

Neste artigo, apresento a obra da artista francesa Sophie Calle (1953 - presente) como um vetor para investigação acerca do espaço público, indagando o papel que as práticas artísticas críticas (Mouffe, 2013) podem desempenhar no questionamento da pressuposição democrática de tais espaços a partir dos conceitos de dissenso, aqui compreendido enquanto racionalidade política não consensual, e da partilha do sensível, que nos permite vislumbrar potencialidades da arte enquanto ferramenta política (Rancière, 1996; 2009). A partir das obras Suíte Veneziana (1980), The Detective (1981), The Address Book (1983), The Bronx (1980), Phone Booth (1994) os conceitos de dissenso e partilha do sensível serão articulados para análise das imagens e à luz dos registros textuais da artista sobre estes trabalhos.Palavras-chave: Sophie Calle; Flânerie; Performance Urbana; Partilha do Sensível; Dissenso.  SOPHIE CALLE’S FLÂNERIE: REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACESAbstract: In this article, I present the artwork of the French artist Sophie Calle (born 1953) as a medium to investigate the public space, inquiring which role that critical art practices (Mouffe, 2013) can play in questioning the assumption of democracy given to public spaces from the concepts of dissent as a non-consensual political rationality, and the distribution of the sensible, which allows us to glimpse the potential of art as a political tool (Rancière, 1996; 2009). From the artworks Suite Venetienne (1980), The Detective (1981), The Address Book (1983), The Bronx (1980) and Phone Booth (1994), the concepts of dissent and distribution of the sensible will be articulated for the analysis of images and the artist's textual records of these artworks.Keywords: Sophie Calle; Flânerie; Urban Performance; Distribution of the Sensible; Dissent.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Nature of Public Spaces in the Private Realm over the Examples of Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Ertan ◽  
Hamit Gokay Meric
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
General Notion ◽  
General View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Realm ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Privately Owned

The designing and implementation of public spaces have a crucial role in the development of cities. A city’s success is generally based on the quality of its public spaces and it is a fact that public space is an elementary aspect of urban life. Moreover, one mandatory standard for big cities to function well is there to be a welcoming public space, where a number of urban activities can take place. According to the general notion, parks, streets, city squares, sidewalks, etc. can be included in public spaces. In addition to these, some indoor spaces such as below ground stories, plaza entrances and places like waterfronts or elevated structures with new functions have been considered as public space nowadays. In order to create, design and finance public spaces, sometimes private organizations and public governmental bodies cooperate. However, a game changer in the public and private realm was the 1961 zoning program of New York City Department of City Planning. This program gave permission to private developers build more floor space than they were allowed in exchange for supplying public spaces. As a result of this act, privately owned public spaces (POPS) were created blurring the definition of public space. Today there are more than five hundred POPS in NYC including indoor and outdoor spaces. This study will try to provide an analysis and general view of POPS as public spaces questioning the issues about their use, control and ownership. The criteria of successful urban design for public spaces and the role of governmental authorities in regulating and planning the public spaces will be discussed along with the boundaries and scope of public activities that can take place in public spaces. Finally, the question of whether the ownership of public space by private harms the concept of public space and the rights of citizens will be approached via different perspectives. After looking at the conceptual definitions of public space in literature and analyzing specific examples of POPS, this paper will attempt to come up with a functioning definition of public space in the private realm.

scholarly journals Public space without the public: State and individuals in courtyard space in Dashilar, Beijing

2021 ◽  
pp. 2057150X2110273
Author(s):  
Alin Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Individual

This article discusses the meaning of public space and the problem of public reconstruction by means of sociological intervention through an experimental study of community formation and courtyard space rearrangement in the old neighborhood of Dashilar in Beijing. In the West, scholars regard public space as part of public life with political or social significance. In the courtyards of Dashilar, however, residents understand public space as important as a shared property of neighboring families that is separate from public life, as they are often acquainted with but alienated from one another. To grasp this different understanding of public space, this article first looks into the historical transformation of property rights in Dashilar. The courtyards in Dashilar have clearly been defined as state-owned urban space since the 1980s but have remained neglected in administration. Therefore, residents gradually encroached upon these courtyards that were owned by the state and divided them for private use. As this act of encroaching was rooted in the relationship between the state and the individual, the courtyards were not merely changed into privatized properties with specific functions, but became places for interactions between various actors. To reveal the complexity of these courtyards as public spaces, we discuss the expansion of private space by individuals in their daily life and the “public disturbances” initiated by temporary coalitions in space construction. This complexity of courtyards as public spaces can be well illustrated by two experiments of space rearrangement conducted in Dashilar. Both experiments introduced strong social interventions into space rearrangement: one attempted to rebuild social life in a courtyard, and the other worked on the public and private boundaries in a courtyard. The former experiment ended in failure while the latter was a success. The results of these two experiments tell us that public reconstruction is not just about rebuilding social interactions between people, but also about adjusting the state–individual relationship and establishing the rules of living together in public space.

Social Topography in a Wireless Era: The Negotiation of Public and Private Space

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Private Space ◽  
Public Activity ◽  
Private Activity ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Depth Interviews

Talking on the phone is usually a private activity, but it becomes a public activity when using a cellphone in certain spaces. Unlike a traditional payphone in public, cellphones do not have privacy booths. Therefore, the ways in which people respond to cellphone calls in public spaces provide markers for social topographical space. In this study I explore how cellphone users negotiate privacy when using cellphones in public space and how those within the proximity of the caller negotiate space in response to these callers. Based on a year-long study involving observation fieldwork and in-depth interviews, I discuss the flexibility with which people constantly negotiate their private and public sense of self when using and responding to cellphones in public spaces.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Nature of Public Spaces in the Private Realm over the Examples of Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Ertan ◽  
Hamit Gokay Meric
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
General Notion ◽  
General View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Realm ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Privately Owned

The designing and implementation of public spaces have a crucial role in the development of cities. A city’s success is generally based on the quality of its public spaces and it is a fact that public space is an elementary aspect of urban life. Moreover, one mandatory standard for big cities to function well is there to be a welcoming public space, where a number of urban activities can take place. According to the general notion, parks, streets, city squares, sidewalks, etc. can be included in public spaces. In addition to these, some indoor spaces such as below ground stories, plaza entrances and places like waterfronts or elevated structures with new functions have been considered as public space nowadays. In order to create, design and finance public spaces, sometimes private organizations and public governmental bodies cooperate. However, a game changer in the public and private realm was the 1961 zoning program of New York City Department of City Planning. This program gave permission to private developers build more floor space than they were allowed in exchange for supplying public spaces. As a result of this act, privately owned public spaces (POPS) were created blurring the definition of public space. Today there are more than five hundred POPS in NYC including indoor and outdoor spaces. This study will try to provide an analysis and general view of POPS as public spaces questioning the issues about their use, control and ownership. The criteria of successful urban design for public spaces and the role of governmental authorities in regulating and planning the public spaces will be discussed along with the boundaries and scope of public activities that can take place in public spaces. Finally, the question of whether the ownership of public space by private harms the concept of public space and the rights of citizens will be approached via different perspectives. After looking at the conceptual definitions of public space in literature and analyzing specific examples of POPS, this paper will attempt to come up with a functioning definition of public space in the private realm.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Nature of Public Spaces in the Private Realm over the Examples of Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Ertan ◽  
Hamit Gokay Meric
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
General Notion ◽  
General View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Realm ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Privately Owned

The designing and implementation of public spaces have a crucial role in the development of cities. A city’s success is generally based on the quality of its public spaces and it is a fact that public space is an elementary aspect of urban life. Moreover, one mandatory standard for big cities to function well is there to be a welcoming public space, where a number of urban activities can take place. According to the general notion, parks, streets, city squares, sidewalks, etc. can be included in public spaces. In addition to these, some indoor spaces such as below ground stories, plaza entrances and places like waterfronts or elevated structures with new functions have been considered as public space nowadays. In order to create, design and finance public spaces, sometimes private organizations and public governmental bodies cooperate. However, a game changer in the public and private realm was the 1961 zoning program of New York City Department of City Planning. This program gave permission to private developers build more floor space than they were allowed in exchange for supplying public spaces. As a result of this act, privately owned public spaces (POPS) were created blurring the definition of public space. Today there are more than five hundred POPS in NYC including indoor and outdoor spaces. This study will try to provide an analysis and general view of POPS as public spaces questioning the issues about their use, control and ownership. The criteria of successful urban design for public spaces and the role of governmental authorities in regulating and planning the public spaces will be discussed along with the boundaries and scope of public activities that can take place in public spaces. Finally, the question of whether the ownership of public space by private harms the concept of public space and the rights of citizens will be approached via different perspectives. After looking at the conceptual definitions of public space in literature and analyzing specific examples of POPS, this paper will attempt to come up with a functioning definition of public space in the private realm.

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