scholarly journals Gendering and Spatializing the New Urban Space: A Study on Working Women in the City of Dhaka, Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-144
Author(s):  
Wasifa Tasnim Shamma

This paper will explain the gendering and spatializing of Dhaka city that unearths the interaction between the new urban public space and women’s spatial practices. These women are working in different shopping malls, fashion houses and beauty parlours of the city which was impossible for them few decades ago. This study has replicated the theoretical position of Lefebvre (1991) on production of space and Harvey (1989) on spatial practices. Tonkiss’s (2005) ‘Geography of gender’ has been used to describe the gendering and spatializing the new urban space of Dhaka. In short, the study has collected data using survey method and supplemented the quantitative findings with qualitative data by some unique and informative case studies. It reveals that the new urban space of Dhaka has been produced by increasing consumerism and the rise of private service sectors where huge numbers of women are working nowadays. It further exposes that the empowerment of women and simultaneously the unemployment of men is contributing to unleashing traditional patriarchy from being confined to domestic spheres. Men are now harassing women in public place more than ever before to hold up their masculinity symbolically. Consequently, women’s free movement in the public space is being restricted by their perception and experience of harassment by certain male population of the city and by women’s protective negotiation of the space. The paper thus argues that harassment against women in the public space in Dhaka has recently been connected to increasing participation of women in private service sectors during the recent neoliberal transformations. Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 125-144

Author(s):  
Jonathan Stutz

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 409-410 ◽  
pp. 883-886
Author(s):  
Bo Xuan Zhao ◽  
Cong Ling Meng

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Francesca Menichelli

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.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna Nosal ◽  
Łukasz Franek ◽  
Sylwia Rogala

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.


Author(s):  
Mykhailo Zubar ◽  
◽  
Oleh Mahdych ◽  

Taras Shevchenko is one of the most researched and discussed figures in Ukrainian society. In each historical period receptions and assessments around Shevchenko` personality differentiates, depending on the public circumstances or prevailing trends in humanitarian discourse. These perceptions swayed between positive and critical judgment. Authors identified several key perceptions of Shevchenko in Ukrainian public space, for instance, «national hero», «father of the nation», «poet», «revolutionary democrat». In their opinion, modern Ukraine still faces the search for Shevchenko` new image. New forms of public honour (commemoration) are being developed, including through museum exhibition projects. Authors also analyze the significance of the museum narrative expositions and exhibitions for the creation of new public images, giving the example of the exhibition project «Shevchenko by the urban tongue», which took place in the Taras Shevchenko national museum from November 4th to January 31th in 2021. Curators attempted to explore how personal experience in the city changed due to the process of urbanization from the XIX-th century and how the urban space influenced the shaping of the Taras Shevchenko figure. Specifically, in the XIX-th century, cities ultimately transformed into an environment, which created trends, emphases of the global public development that influenced Shevchenko, since exactly in the city he gained domestic freedom, profession and widened his social circle. The city gave him a sense of understanding of the culture, its influence and importance not only for consumer purposes or acceptance but also for the creation of new meanings. According to the authors, this approach allows us to better understand the significance of Taras Shevchenko, his connection to modern Ukrainian realities and world context.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Ully Irma Maulina Hanafiah ◽  
Doddy Friestya Asharsinyo

The public area of the city in general is currently experiencing rapid development due to economic growth and the influence of globalization. The public space is formed based on economic, social, political cultural interests, as well as developments and changes that occur in the current public space, making it limited and cannot be accessed optimally by the wider community. This is caused by the hierarchy of public spaces that are formed based on the functions that surround them. The purpose of this study is to reveal the phenomenon of public hierarchy in urban space in the context of its changes. This research is descriptive-analytical and based on theoretical and empirical elaboration. This approach is used to read public spaces in urban areas to get a reference for the interpretation of theoretical relationships from an empirical condition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 584-586 ◽  
pp. 2384-2386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Ou Wang ◽  
Xin Bo Yu

The underground urban complex is developing rapidly with the three-dimensional redevelopment process of the city. The public space of the underground urban complex has been making a great influence on the urban ecology, intensive construction and sustainable development, etc. This paper emphatically expatiate the conception of the public space in the urban underground complex of the cold cities and the necessity of humanized design of the public space. It also analyze how to make a systematic and people-oriented design from several different aspects, such as plane function layout, traffic streamline organization, open space integration, indoor environment., thus establishing a complete underground space order and optimizing the urban space environment as a whole.


Author(s):  
Sanja Janković ◽  
Danica Stanković

Most certainly, architectural objectives are the basis of the physical structure of a city, yet they are distinct morphological and typological units, they are free spaces with exceptional values and characteristics. Buildings that form the spaces of cities often change, build and disintegrate, but the permanent motive of the city space remains - an empty, unfinished part, as a constant sign of history. On the hierarchical scale of the urban environment, important elements are ephemeral structures, permanent or temporary. A possibility for empty space to be revived is the installation of artistic or ephemeral utilitarian structures. This paper presents the role of such micro-urban interventions that enrich the public space and contribute to its revitalization. Ephemeral architecture is especially suitable as a space for the presentation of artistic ideas and for incorporating new technological contents. The aim of the paper is to highlight a view about the importance of ephemeral structures by analyzing and studying the case studies. Special emphasis is placed on examples of completed projects of the pavilions of unique forms and the use of ship containers as a space for introducing artistic ideas. The main contribution of this paper should be a proposal of using ephemeral structures in urban space revival by promoting art and establishing a social contact.


Author(s):  
Ekaterina Golubkova ◽  

In the article, the author considers the influence of new advertising media on the establishment of public space and the transformation of the urban environment of Yekaterinburg. Though popular in Europe, the sociocultural phenomenon Ambient media remains insufficiently studied in contemporary Russia. Ambient advertising has the ability to change the usual urban space in a special way, overcoming environmental alienation and modelling the environment into a comfortable and safe one, therefore developing the public life of the city, making it attractive and creating ‘places of attraction’ for city dwellers. The author carried out an in-depth interview with representatives from the advertising community in Yekaterinburg (N = 22) to research into expert views on unconventional media, and to study expert appraisal of how the new form of advertising communication, Ambient media, impacts the urban environment of Yekaterinburg. The interviewed experts were specialists in advertising and marketing. Main occupation: advertising project management, creative strategies, outdoor ads, event-marketing, PR with a status of an advertising agency or department in the city of Yekaterinburg. Gender profile: 50% males, and 50% females; all aged between 27 and 50. Our study has revealed that advertisement experts regard Ambient media to be a very promising tool in terms of their professional practice, including in regards to the transformation of ambient urban space. Respondents note a correlation between the propagation of Ambient- objects in the city and public space formation. Non-standard media can fill the city with new meanings of freedom and creativity, helping to overcome feelings of alienation and creating new comfortable and safe spaces that people recognise as ‘their own’. Ambient-objects are moreover a source of pride for various social groups of citizens, as they contribute to the formation of a new image of Yekaterinburg: a unique, modern art centre, a city of freedom and creativity.


GeoTextos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
António Cláudio do Nascimento Silva ◽  
Daniel Paiva

<p>Este artigo pretende refletir sobre a complexa relação entre os artistas de rua, as suas performances e o espaço urbano. Para esta reflexão, baseamo-nos num estudo desenvolvido na Baixa lisboeta, localizada no centro histórico da cidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Metodologicamente, o estudo implicou observação sombreada com recurso a caminhadas e à videografia entre 2016 e 2021, bem como um conjunto de 15 entrevistas realizadas a artistas de rua em 2018. Conceptualmente, o estudo recorre ao crescente corpo de bibliografia no âmbito da geografia sensorial e da etnomusicologia, nomeadamente em relação aos artistas de rua e às suas performances, e a sua intersecção com questões económicas, os aspetos da urbanidade, a influência do turismo e as experiências sensoriais. Os nossos resultados desvendam o processo de territorialização dos locais de performance na Baixa lisboeta, o impacto das performances artísticas no espaço público, e a relação dos artistas de rua com os agentes formais da economia urbana. Concluímos o artigo com uma breve reflexão sobre a importância do turismo para a expansão do busking.</p><p><span>Abstract</span></p><p>URBAN ECONOMY AND STREET ARTISTS: PERFORMANCE, MOBILITY, AND CONFLICT IN A TOURISTIFIED PUBLIC SPACE</p><p>This article reflects on the complex relationship between street artists, their performances and urban space. For this reflection, we draw upon a study conducted in the Baixa, located in the historic centre of the city of Lisbon, Portugal. Methodologically, the study involved shadowed observation, including walks and videography, which took place between 2016 and 2021, as well as a set of 15 interviews with street artists which were conducted in 2018. Conceptually, the study draws upon the growing body of works within the scope of sensory geography and ethnomusicology, namely regarding street artists and their performances, and their intersection with economic issues, aspects of urbanity, the influence of tourism and sensory experiences. Our results reveal the process of territorialization of performance sites in Lisbon’s Baixa, the impact of artistic performances in the public space, and the relationship of street artists with the formal agents of the urban economy. We conclude the article with a brief reflection on the significance of tourism for the expansion of busking.</p>


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