scholarly journals Shamanism in a Post-socialist City

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Збигниев Шмыт
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The City

Citation: Szmyt Z. (2020) Shamanism in a Post-socialist City. Mir Rossii, vol. 29, no 3, pp. 51–65. DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2020-29-3-51-65 This article focuses on shamanic placemaking and the struggles for public space in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude. Special attention is given to the indigenization of the city, which is a result of the mass immigration of Buryats from rural areas and the decay of the Soviet urbanization model. The article investigates how contemporary shamanism is involved in the decolonization of the urban space, new temporalization, and indigenous placemaking. Instead of dealing with traditional shamanist mediation between spirits and people, the emphasis is on mediation between the idea of ethnicity and the urban space.

scholarly journals “The street is ours”. A comparative analysis of street trading, Covid-19 and new street geographies in Harare, Zimbabwe and Kisumu, Kenya

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kiaka ◽  
Shiela Chikulo ◽  
Sacha Slootheer ◽  
Paul Hebinck
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
Urban Food Security ◽  
Street Trading ◽  
Food Economy ◽  
City State ◽  
Abstract Spaces ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

AbstractThis collaborative and comparative paper deals with the impact of Covid-19 on the use and governance of public space and street trade in particular in two major African cities. The importance of street trading for urban food security and urban-based livelihoods is beyond dispute. Trading on the streets does, however, not occur in neutral or abstract spaces, but rather in lived-in and contested spaces, governed by what is referred to as ‘street geographies’, evoking outbreaks of violence and repression. Vendors are subjected to the politics of municipalities and the state to modernize the socio-spatial ordering of the city and the urban food economy through restructuring, regulating, and restricting street vending. Street vendors are harassed, streets are swept clean, and hygiene standards imposed. We argue here that the everyday struggle for the street has intensified since and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mobility and the use of urban space either being restricted by the city-state or being defended and opened up by street traders, is common to the situation in Harare and Kisumu. Covid-19, we pose, redefines, and creates ‘new’ street geographies. These geographies pivot on agency and creativity employed by street trade actors while navigating the lockdown measures imposed by state actors. Traders navigate the space or room for manoeuvre they create for themselves, but this space unfolds only temporarily, opens for a few only and closes for most of the street traders who become more uncertain and vulnerable than ever before, irrespective of whether they are licensed, paying rents for vending stalls to the city, or ‘illegally’ vending on the street.

Mocking Parades and the Place of Pagan Statuary in Late Antique Alexandria

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-288
Author(s):  
Jonathan Stutz
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Mob Violence ◽  
Visual Contact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sacred Objects ◽  
The One ◽  
The City

AbstractWith the present paper I would like to discuss a particular form of procession which we may term mocking parades, a collective ritual aimed at ridiculing cultic objects from competing religious communities. The cases presented here are contextualized within incidents of pagan/Christian violence in Alexandria between the 4th and 5th centuries, entailing in one case the destruction of the Serapeum and in another the pillaging of the Isis shrine at Menouthis on the outskirts of Alexandria. As the literary accounts on these events suggest, such collective forms of mockery played an important role in the context of mob violence in general and of violence against sacred objects in particular. However, while historiographical and hagiographical sources from the period suggest that pagan statues underwent systematic destruction and mutilation, we can infer from the archaeological evidence a vast range of uses and re-adaptation of pagan statuary in the urban space, assuming among other functions that of decorating public spaces. I would like to build on the thesis that the parading of sacred images played a prominent role in the discourse on the value of pagan statuary in the public space. On the one hand, the statues carried through the streets became themselves objects of mockery and violence, involving the population of the city in a collective ritual of exorcism. On the other hand, the images paraded in the mocking parades could also become a means through which the urban space could become subject to new interpretations. Entering in visual contact with the still visible vestiges of the pagan past, with the temples and the statuary of the city, the “image of the city” became affected itself by the images paraded through the streets, as though to remind the inhabitants that the still-visible elements of Alexandria’s pagan topography now stood as defeated witnesses to Christianity’s victory.

scholarly journals Exploring Successful Small Urban Spaces’ Criteria with Emphasis on Cultural Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-482
Author(s):  
Parvin Partovi ◽  
Kebria Sedaghat Rostami ◽  
Amir Shakibamanesh
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The City

In the crowded cities of the present age, public spaces can provide a quiet area away from the hustle and bustle of the city that citizens can interact with by incorporating utility features and meeting human needs and Relax there. Small urban spaces are among the most important and effective urban spaces to achieve this goal. Because these spaces due to their small size and lower costs (compared to larger spaces) for construction can be created in large numbers and distributed throughout the city. In this way, citizens will be able to reach a public urban space on foot in a short time. If these spaces are well designed, they can encourage people to stay in and interact with each other. It is not difficult to identify and experience high-quality successful places, but identifying the reasons for their success is difficult and even more difficult, understanding if similar spaces in other places can be considered successful. This question is important because public space with deep social content is considered a cultural product. Public space is the product of the historical and socio-cultural forces of society. Therefore, one of the most important issues that should be considered in the study of public spaces and the reasons for their success is the cultural context. In Iranian cities that have been influenced by the values and principles of Islam,recognizing Islamic principles and their role in shaping public spaces can lead us to desirable results. The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model of successful small urban spaces with an emphasis on cultural issues, especially in Iranian-Islamic cities. In this regard, the effective criteria for the success of urban spaces in general and small urban spaces in particular in the two categories of Western countries and Iranian Islamic cities were examined and then, taking into account the criteria derived from cultural theorists, the conceptual model of research with 38 subcriteria is provided.

scholarly journals KULTUREL DYNAMIK I OPLEVELSESBYRUMMET – EN ANALYSE AF BRANDTS KLÆDEFABRIK

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (109) ◽  
pp. 55-69
Author(s):  
Hjørdis Havsteen Brandrup
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Textile Mill ◽  
Urban Experience ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The City ◽  
Cultural Dynamic

CULTURAL DYNAMIC IN THE URBAN EXPERIENCE SCAPE – AN ANALYSIS OF BRANDTS KLÆDEFABRIKBrandts Klædefabrik (Brandt’s Textile Mill) is a cultural cluster in the city of Odense, Denmark. The cultural experiences available at Brandts Klædefabrik cover a wide field and are relevant for people of all levels of education and all ages, embracing as they do not only fine culture but also triviality and excitement. Brandts Klædefabrik is therefore a culturally inclusive place, although its symbolic power is dominated by a cultural and economic elitetrying to maintain an exclusively controlled social and physical order in the urban space. However, Brandts Klædefabrik is part of a city which contains a wide range of cultural groups: a Danish cultural elite, immigrants, homeless people and drug addicts. In this cultural multiplicity Brandts Klædefabrik is a cultural cluster and an urban entertainment district which does not include marginalised groups. Paradoxically, the attempt to maintainan exclusive order to satisfy an audience with buying power runs against the creative profile of the area, in which cultural and social multiplicity are important values. The area around Brandts Klædefabrik is a public space; but if it is going to be a public domain and the scene of cultural exchanges between different groups in the city, it needs to become more culturally inclusive. Brandts Klædefabrik may turn into a public domain if a cultural dynamic and multiplicity are given the chance to unfold there.

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.

Analysis on Building Readable Image of Urban Public Spaces

2013 ◽  
Vol 409-410 ◽  
pp. 883-886
Author(s):  
Bo Xuan Zhao ◽  
Cong Ling Meng
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Space Images ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Good Image ◽  
The Public ◽  
The City

City, is consisting of a series continuous or intermittent public space images, and every image for each of our people living in the city is varied: may be as awesome as forbidden city Meridian Gate, like Piazza San Marco as a cordial and pleasant space and might also be like Manhattan district of New York, which makes people excited and enthusiastic. To see why, people have different feelings because the public urban space ultimately belongs to democratic public space, people live and have emotions in it. In such domain, people can not only be liberated, free to enjoy the pleasures of urban public space, but also enjoy urban life which is brought by the city's charm through highlighting the vitality of the city with humanism atmosphere. To a conclusion, no matter how ordinary the city is, a good image of urban space can also bring people pleasure.

Edible public space. Experimenting with a socio-environmentally just urbanism

TERRITORIO ◽  
2012 ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
Chiara Tornaghi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Critical Geography ◽  
Space Project ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

This paper presents an English case of urban agriculture, the Edible Public Space Project in Leeds, contextualised in a context of urban agriculture initiatives committed to social-environmental justice, to the reproduction of common goods and the promotion of an urban planning which promotes the right to food and to the construction of urban space from the bottom up. The case study emerged as the result of action-research at the crossroads between urban planning policies, community work and critical geography. As opposed to many similar initiatives, the Edible Public Space Project is not intended merely as a temporary initiative hidden within the tiny folds of the city, but rather as an experiment which imagines and implements alternatives to current forms of urban planning within those folds and it contextualises them in the light of the ecological, fi nancial and social crisis of the last decade.

Rearranging Urban Space

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Francesca Menichelli
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Surveillance Cameras ◽  
Public Character ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City

This article investigates what happens to urban space once an open-street CCTV system is implemented, framing the analysis in terms of the wider struggle that unfolds between different urban stakeholders for the definition of acceptability in public space. It is argued that, while the use of surveillance cameras was initially seen as functional to the enforcement of tighter control and to the de-complexification of urban space so as to make policing easier, a shift has now taken place in the articulation of this goal. As a result, it has slowly progressed to affect the wider field of sociability, with troubling consequences for the public character of public space. In light of this development, the article concludes by making the case for a normative stance to be taken in order to increase fairness and diversity in the city.

SPACE AND ITS USE FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC IN CENTER AREAS OF SELECTED POLISH CITIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (0) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Nosal ◽  
Łukasz Franek ◽  
Sylwia Rogala
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
City Center ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Street Furniture ◽  
Pedestrian Infrastructure ◽  
The City

The quality of urban space in terms of walkability can be assessed taking many parameters into account, such as the presence of sidewalks, their density and continuity, appropriate technical parameters as well as the presence of greenery, squares, parks, which create the environment for pedestrian traffic. The lack of travel barriers, the possibility to shorten the route, travel safety and security, the presence of street furniture, shops and services are also significant. This article concerns some of the above described factors and presents selected research results on the use of space in city centers of several Polish cities – Kraków, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Warsaw, Gdynia, Wrocław and Poznań as well as the results of an analysis on the friendliness of this space for pedestrian traffic. The first phase of this study was to determine the share of public space within the analyzed city center areas, and then define areas used as roads, infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, squares, green areas, parks and public courtyards. The balance of the used space was created for each researched area, and the space dedicated to pedestrian traffic was additionally analyzed in terms of the presence of obstacles as well as sidewalk location. The analysis results prove that that greatest amount of the public space is located in the city center of Poznań, and the smallest in Kraków. Warsaw is characterized by the greatest and Szczecin by the smallest percentage of the pedestrian infrastructure. Szczecin dominates in terms of the share of roads in the downtown area, Wrocław in terms of squares and Gdańsk – public courtyards.

scholarly journals The quality of pedestrian space in the city: a case study of Olsztyn

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (30) ◽  
pp. 31-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Cieślak ◽  
Karol Szuniewicz
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Production Management ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Current State ◽  
Pedestrian Space ◽  
The City

Abstract The system of pedestrian urban space is the primary source of information on the state of the space. Walking around a city, we are perceptually building in our mind its physiognomic silhouette, which becomes the basis for evaluating the attractiveness of a city. Unfortunately, pedestrian traffic is rarely the subject of careful planning and design. Usually it regulates itself or is a side-effect of building an extensive system of road communication. On the other hand, concepts of shaping this system as a primary one appear more and more often, and pedestrian space is seen as high priority public space. The purpose of the article was to evaluate qualitative evaluation methods determining the current state of pedestrian pathways in the town Giżycko. Valuing quality, as a part of the science called qualimetrics, refers to determining the quality of objects which are the product of human activities, designed to meet the needs of human beings. At the root, it is a science relating to the determination of the quality of market items, supporting the production management process. As space, particularly urbanized, is created by people to satisfy their needs, it was concluded that quality valuation methods may also be useful to assess the quality of space. The article focuses on the quality of pedestrian routes that are essential to the central part of Giżycko. For these routes, the current state of the features identified as key for their quality was investigated, and quality classes of the routes were determined by analysis. The procedure can be a tool supporting the planning and implementation of modernization and renovation works for the area of pedestrian communication, and thus the image of the city.

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