The Improbability of a Temple: Hindu Mobilization and Urban Space in the Delhi Shiv Mandir Agitation of 1938

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-250
Author(s):  
Deepasri Baul
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Good Measure ◽  
The Political ◽  
British India ◽  
Sacred Geography ◽  
Legal Arguments ◽  
The City ◽  
Religious Polarization

The 1920s and 1930s were decades of intense religious polarization and violence in many parts of British India. These decades were also especially empowering ones for Hindu nationalist organizations in Delhi. So, it rankled Hindu leaders that Delhi’s built environment had a dearth of Hindu sacred structures to attest to their power, on account of the city’s past status as a Mughal capital. Instead, transitory spatial markers of local veneration made up its somewhat ephemeral Hindu sacred geography. The Shiv Mandir agitation of 1938 was a collective attempt by Hindu volunteers to forcibly occupy government land in a prominent arena of the city as a symbolic restitution of this historical inequality. The agitation itself had two parts—first, the occupation of a plot of land as a temple and, second, the aggregation of legal arguments supporting ownership of the plot for the Hindu public. By combining these two strategies, the Shiv Mandir agitation laid out the political and legal preconditions necessary for the production of a more conspicuous and enduring material landscape of organized Hindu religiosity in the city. Through this process, Hindu nationalist organizations consolidated themselves as the ultimate public custodians of temples and temple land. This was a powerful role that drew its prestige in good measure from control over prime urban property.

scholarly journals Live Art as Urban Praxis: The Political Aesthetics of the City

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cath Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Political Aesthetics ◽  
Art Works ◽  
Live Art ◽  
The City

This article examines the political possibilities for an aesthetic disruption of urban space and time. Locating the discussion within debates about the neoliberal city, selected art-works from Fierce live art festival in Birmingham, England are used in order to examine how, in a specific and localised context, normative spatial patterns and temporal rhythms can be challenged and subverted. The analysis draws on, and contributes to, a sociological account of the centrality of aesthetics to political and social organisation.

scholarly journals Wpływ kapitału społecznego mieszkańców na kształtowanie przestrzeni wspólnych w środowisku mieszkaniowym

2020 ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Anna Cudny
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
National Development ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Aesthetic Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

Influence of social capital of inhabitants on shaping common spaces in a housing environment The last two decades of the century have brought unusually many changes in the built environment. These include not only changes directly related to the emergence of a new urban fabric, but also changes in social attitudes towards common spaces located in residential areas. The built environment has never been evaluated so strongly. This assessment translates not only into the everyday outdoor activities of residents (necessary, optional and social activities), but also to economic projects (purchase, sale and rental of real estate). At the same time, the city ceases to be, as it has been so far, mainly subjected to criticism, and the residents are gradually changing their demanding attitude concerning the development of space to participate in the process of its creation. Society wants to have a real impact on urban space, especially on the space closest to them. Thus, the right to the city is no longer a privilege or a duty, but it becomes a need. Trying to meet this need results in a phenomenon which we can increasingly observe in Poland, and which we have been witnessing abroad for many years: activities in public space are changing into activities for public space. They include the transformation of common spaces related to the place of residence—improving their aesthetic quality, functional changes, modernization of development elements. Observing numerous examples of public participation in shaping public spaces, it was noticed that the initiation, course and effects of activities largely depend on the social capital of the group undertaking said activity. Accordingly, there is a need for research on the mutual relation between the level of social capital and the issue of shaping and managing public space with the participation of local communities, which will be the main topic of the paper. To investigate the above-mentioned issue, qualitative research methods were used in relation to the relationship: site visit, non-participant observation and focus interviews. This contributed to a comparative study of three selected Warsaw case studies. They were analysed in terms of meeting the qualitative criteria selected for the study. These criteria have been indicated on the basis of the Social Capital Development Strategy 2020, which is one of the parts of the Medium-Term National Development Strategy. The result of the analyses is an indication of derived factors from within the group of space users and external factors that have a positive and negative impact on initiating, carrying out and maintaining the effects of changes in common spaces developed with the participation of local communities in Polish conditions. The conclusions can be used to improve future participation processes related to urban space - both by non-professionals participating in them, as well as experts - architects and town planners.

scholarly journals Planejamento, estratégia local e complexidade: uma reinterpretação do legado do Projeto Eixo Tamanduatehy (Santo André)

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Jeroen Klink
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
The Political ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
The Real ◽  
Adequate Understanding ◽  
The City ◽  
Critical Literature

R e s u m o O artigo problematiza a literatura crítica sobre o Projeto Eixo Tamanduatehy (Santo André) no sentido de enraizá-la na trajetória específica da cidade de Santo André e de contribuir com a reflexão sobre o significado das “experiências reais” de planejamento estratégico urbano no cenário atual da globalização neoliberal. Argumentamos que a ausência de uma leitura de três dimensões entrelaçadas dificultou uma compreensão adequadado legado deste projeto, isto é: (I) a construção política e contestada da escala local, além de seu significado para a disputa de hegemonia sobre a gestão urbana; (II) o planejamento estratégico,a neoliberalização e a emergência de uma representação hegemônica do espaço urbano a partirdo Projeto Eixo Tamanduatehy e (III) planos, projetos estratégicos e a emergência de novos espaços de representação.Palavras-chave Empresariamento urbano; planejamento estratégico; Projeto Eixo Tamanduatehy. A b s t r a c t In this paper the critical literature on the Project Eixo Tamanduatehyis highlighted in a problematic perspective, in the sense of embedding it within the specific trajectory of the city of Santo André, and to contribute with a reflection on the significanceof the “real experiences” of strategic urban planning in the present scenario of neoliberal globalization. Our argument is that the absence of an analysis on three interlinked dimensions has made an adequate understanding of the legacy of this project more difficult, that is: (i)the political and contested nature of scale, besides its significance for the hegemonic disputesover urban management; (ii) strategic planning, neoliberalization and the emergence of ahegemonic representation of urban space on the basis of the Project Eixo Tamanduatehy; and (iii) plans, strategic projects and the emergence of new spaces of representation.Keywords Projeto Eixo Tamanduatehy; strategic planning; urban entrepreneurialism;.

The Politics of Planning

2012 ◽  
pp. 738-758
Author(s):  
J. Phillip Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Aspect ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
The City

This article examines the political aspect of urban planning. It discusses Robert Beauregard's opinion that planning should not reject modernism entirely or unconditionally embrace postmodernism, and that planners should instead maintain a focus on the city and the built environment as a way of retaining relevancy and coherence, and should maintain modernism's commitment to political reform and to planning's meditative role within the state, labor, and capital. The article suggests that planners should also advocate utopian social justice visions for cities which are not so far-fetched as to be unrealizable so that planning can then attach itself to widespread values such as democracy, the common good, or equality.

scholarly journals Should there be a 'Right to the City'?

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 69-78
Author(s):  
Heather Lang
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Henri Lefebvre ◽  
Philosophical Discussion ◽  
Global System ◽  
Legal Arguments ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

Henri Lefebvre coined the phrase the ‘right to the city’ in 1968, which encapsulates a set of collective rather than individual rights. It is based on two principals for urban dwellers: the right to participate in decision-making in regard to the city and the right to appropriate or “physically access, occupy, and use urban space” (Purcell 2002, 103). This original social-philosophical discussion has recently evolved to include legal arguments in the context of a global system which espouses the supremacy of human rights. Though there is not anywhere with a functioning, Lefebvre-inspired “right to the city”, radical and incremental attempts to create its foundations are occurring in South America and common law jurisdictions.

Squatters and migrants in Madrid: Interactions, contexts and cycles

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 2472-2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Martínez López
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
The Political ◽  
Mutual Relationship ◽  
Police Harassment ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
City Space ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The City

Squatters and migrants use the city space in a peculiar and anomalous manner. Their contributions to the social and political production of urban space are not usually considered crucial. Furthermore, their mutual relationship is under-researched. In this paper I investigate the participation of migrants in the squatting of abandoned buildings. This may entail autonomous forms of occupation but also various kinds of interactions with native squatters. By looking historically at the city of Madrid I distinguish four major forms of interactions. I collect evidence in order to show that deprivation-based squatting is not necessarily the prevailing type. The forms of ‘empowerment’ and ‘engagement’ were increasingly developed while ‘autonomy’ and ‘solidarity’ were continuously present. These variations occurred because of specific drivers within the cycles of movements’ protests and other social and political contexts which facilitated the cooperation between squatters and migrants, although language barriers, discrimination in the housing market and police harassment constrained them too. Therefore, I argue first that two key social organisations triggered the interactions in different protest cycles. Second, I show how, in spite of the over-representation of Latin American migrants, the political squatting movement in Madrid has consistently incorporated groups of migrants and their struggles in accordance with anti-fascist, anti-racist and anti-xenophobic claims and practices. The analysis also provides a nuanced understanding about the ‘political’ implications of squatting when migrants are involved.

A Transgressive Approach Towards Agritectural Space – The Idea of Agricultural-Urban Use Settlements

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Kleszcz
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Rural Space ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Planning Concepts ◽  
The City

Abstract The article aims at presenting the phenomenon of transgression of the modern urban space through the formation of new spatial units defining the city in relation to its productive sphere. Due to the gradual departure from the notion of an enclosed city to one that is open and connected to the form of the surrounding countryside, the problem of defining a new notion of modern urban-rural space emerged. One of the first manifestations of this phenomenon is the emergence of new forms of housing that combine urban features with food production. Analysis of examples such as EVA-Laxmeer in Culemborg, Agromere in Almere, Cannery in Davis, Detroit and Philadelphia allowed for the verification of architectural and planning concepts related to urban values as a form of urban development of new agricultural forms. These phenomena can be understood both as a process of tearing the compact tissue of a city or, in the case of a less orthodox approach towards the built environment, as a process of network layering towards self-sufficiency of various structural, functional, energy-related and food production related characters within the unfavourable external conditions.

The impact of urban regrowth on the built environment

Urban Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 2683-2700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Wolff ◽  
Annegret Haase ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Nadja Kabisch
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Similar Density ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

After several decades, an increasing number of European cities have been experiencing population growth after a longer phase of decline. This new growth represents not just a quantitative phenomenon but also has qualitative implications for the urban space and the built environment. A juxtaposition of re- and de-densification, as well as changes in land use, in the form of a small-scale spatial mosaic, can be observed. A crucial factor for estimating the relationship between the built environment and demand for it is population density. Increasing population densities may put pressure on sustaining a certain quality of life and on ecological recovery spaces. In this vein, an indicator concept for re- and de-densification will be applied to the city of Leipzig, one of the most illustrative examples of a regrowing city, in order to shed light on the complex relationship between changing human housing demands and their impact on land use. The concept involves measuring population density. Our study has demonstrated that, although similar density changes can be observed in different periods in different parts of the city, they are dominated by different drivers, leading to the formation of different spatial patterns. The results of our study emphasise that regrowth should be understood as a distinctive process because it is distributed very heterogeneously within the city area, with a variety of spatial effects and impacts. The concept allows us to draw conclusions about processes that mitigate, drive or reinforce regrowth, and therefore contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon and its implications for land use.

scholarly journals INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OF THE KYIV CITY DUMA IN 1906–1910s: ACCORDING TO THE MATERIALS OF PERIODICALS

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
Oleh Ivanyuk ◽  
Yana Martianova
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
City Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
Red Tape ◽  
The City ◽  
Transformation Processes

The article reviews the infrastructure projects of the Kyiv City Duma, which were implemented during 1906–1910s. Special attention is paid to the most ambitious programs: the development of sewers, public transport, arrangement of the streets, which contributed to the transformation processes in urban space. It has been established that the principle of development of not only the downtown, but also Kyiv suburbs, declared in the election programs, ultimately failed. The infrastructure projects announced by the City Council sometimes did not take into account the financial capabilities of the city, the bureaucratic red tape inherent in the Empire, lobbying and the influence of business on decision-making. The political struggle, the low level of technical awareness of the vowels, the dishonesty and indifference of some of the elected officials to the performance of duties, which were transformed into non-attendance and frequent disruption of meetings, significantly slowed down their implementation. The most informative source, which allows to cover in detail and quite emotionally the decision-making process and the main stages of implementation of infrastructure projects are Kyiv periodicals — “Kyivlianyn”, “Hromadska Dumka”, “Rada”, in particular.

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