Remaking Oakland’s Streets

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
Robert Lemon
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Street Food ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Spatial Practice ◽  
The City ◽  
Community Activist

This chapter examines Mexican street food as a spatial practice that shapes the cultural landscape of Oakland, California. Community activist Emilia Otero fights for street food vendors’ right to occupy public space along city’s streets in East Oakland. She helps legitimize informal commerce in the Fruitvale district and paves the way for street food vendors to develop their businesses--from pushcarts and taco trucks to restaurants. The chapter calls attention to the friction that arises between the rationally planned city and the ways in which marginalized community groups live the city through their daily routines. It argues that remaking city streets to accommodate informal cultural practices is a way claim one’s right to the city.

scholarly journals Dutch-Moroccan Girls Navigating Public Space: Wandering as an Everyday Spatial Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Wijntuin ◽  
Martijn Koster
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Spatial Practices ◽  
Social Navigation ◽  
Appropriate Behavior ◽  
Spatial Practice ◽  
The City

Based on qualitative research among female Dutch-Moroccan teenagers in two underprivileged neighborhoods in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, this article focuses on the spatial practices of young Muslim women in public space. Compared to their male counterparts, who “hang around” in groups, female teens spend less time in public space. We focus on girls’ “wandering practices” through the neighborhood, a spatial practice structured by their search for freedom (to spend time outside the home, to talk to friends in private) and by social control (to avoid the presence of young men, to avoid being gossiped about). Our research shows that wandering both decreases their visibility and pushes against gendered cultural norms about women in public space. By analyzing their wandering as a form of social navigation, we show how these teenagers maneuver through both the physical neighborhood and the gendered cultural norms regarding appropriate behavior in public space.

scholarly journals Continuity and Discontinuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Capital City: Paris and Skopje

2015 ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Maciej Falski
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
The State ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Public Property ◽  
The City ◽  
Continuity And Discontinuity

Continuity and Discontinuity in the Cultural Landscape of the Capital City: Paris and SkopjeThe object of my reflections in this article is the question of creating a vision of historical continuity, and thus making significant the narratives about the past, in the space of the city. I treat the city as a cultural landscape par excellence; it is precisely the city that creates the best opportunities of influencing interpretation by means of creating a specific set of symbolic references and of images awakening the play of interpretation. The city is inhabited by many individuals and varied groups, which forces it into negotiations of signification. The research present herein concerns the capital cities. The capital of a nation state is a specific city, normally defined by its very legal status as capital, recognized and regulated by special edict, it is also a symbolic space of particular weight, a place to demonstrate the power of the state and of the nation, to display and consolidate identity, to present one’s image to outsiders and mould a desired self-image for the benefit of the citizens – members of one’s group. Drawing on the example of Paris and Skopje, two cities whose historical contexts are considerably different, I would like to show the specific ways of drawing conclusions adapted to the urban landscape, because despite the obvious differences, both cities allow for the discernment of a historical period in which the city itself served as an important element of the public realm and as symbolic public property. The increased significance of cities in Europe is connected without a doubt to the process of democratization, thus the capitals of France and Macedonia are good examples of the transformation that converted a privatized (feudal) space or a space interpreted along sacred lines (as land belonging to God) into a public space and public property of citizens, and/or the dominant nation.It appears that the most important agent in the capital landscape is the state. It is the bureaucracy of the state, appearing in the role of executor of the national will, deciding on the shape of the image of the city, reinforcing those values that seem to be desirable from the perspective of the represented group. The lack of that factor leads, as in the case of Skopje, to the preservation of the local past and/or to a haphazardly implemented publicly sponsored construction. In both cases discussed above, the map and the landmarks mirror the most important categories of national narrative. The shape of this narrative depends largely upon the central authorities of the nation.Ciągłość i nieciągłość w przestrzeni miasta stołecznego: Paryż i SkopjePrzedmiotem niniejszego artykułu jest zagadnienie tworzenia wizji ciągłości dziejowej, a więc usensowionej narracji o przeszłości, w przestrzeni miasta. Miasto bowiem jawi się jako przestrzeń kulturowa par excellence i ono właśnie stwarza najlepsze możliwości wpływu na interpretację poprzez tworzenie specyficznego układu odniesień symbolicznych i obrazów, pobudzających grę interpretacji. Miasto zamieszkiwane jest przez wiele jednostek i różnorakich grup, co zmusza je do negocjacji znaczeń. Przedmiotem przedstawionych tu badań są stolice. Stolica państwa to bowiem miasto szczególne, co zazwyczaj podkreśla sam status prawny ośrodka stołecznego regulowany przez specjalną ustawę, staje się niezwykle ważną przestrzenią symboliczną, miejscem pokazu państwowej i narodowej siły, eksponowania i utwierdzania tożsamości, prezentowania wizerunku obcym oraz kształtowania pożądanego wizerunku na użytek obywateli – członków swojej grupy. Na przykładzie Paryża i Skopja, miast o odmiennej kontekstowo historii, chciałbym pokazać specyficzne dla przestrzeni miejskiej sposoby indukowania interpretacji, albowiem mimo oczywistych różnic oba miasta pozwalają dostrzec historyczny okres, w którym samo miasto stało się istotnym składnikiem sfery publicznej i publicznej własności symbolicznej. Wzrost znaczenia miast w Europie wiąże się bez wątpienia z procesem demokratyzacji, zaś stolice Francji i Macedonii są dobrym przykładem tej przemiany, która przestrzeń sprywatyzowaną (feudalną) bądź interpretowaną w wymiarze sakralnym (jako ziemia należąca do Boga) przekształciła w przestrzeń publiczną, będącą dobrem wspólnym obywateli i/lub dominującego narodu.Najważniejszym agensem w przestrzeni stołecznej okazuje się państwo. To biurokracja państwowa, występująca w charakterze nosiciela woli narodu, decyduje o kształtowaniu wizerunku miasta, wzmacniając te wartości, które wydają się pożądane z perspektywy reprezentowanej grupy. Brak tego czynnika skutkuje, jak w przypadku Skopje, zachowaniem lokalności i/lub przypadkowością realizowanych inwestycji publicznych. W obu omawianych przypadkach mapa i punkty orientacyjne zdradzają najważniejsze kategorie narracji narodowej, a przecież za jej kształt w znacznym stopniu odpowiada właśnie władza centralna.

scholarly journals Educação não formal e a cidade: memórias de infância e perspectivas (p. 56-82)

1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Carlos Miranda ◽  
Renata Sieiro Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Childhood Memories ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
The City

Entender a cidade como lugar de educação, de forma institucionalizada ou não, é vê-la como campo de educação informal e não formal. A educação informal se caracteriza por experiências não intencionais, dentro do contexto de vivência individual e social do dia-a-dia e a não formal, por experiências de ensino-aprendizagem, com intencionalidade e planejamento e que, estruturalmente, não tem uma legislação nacional que regule e incida sobre ela. Dentre os usos e ocupações atuais do espaço público por contestação, manifestação, lazer, sob orientações políticas, étnicas, artísticas, ambientais, lúdicas pelo público adulto, têm surgidoexperiências que envolvem as crianças como sujeitos-cidadãos de direito à cidade. A partir de depoimentos ou narrativas de homens e mulheres adultos recolhidos por meio virtual, sobre os usos que fizeram, na infância, da rua e dos espaços públicos da cidade, bem como as expectativas ou perspectivas atuais com relação ao uso do nosso espaço público por crianças, jovens e adultos, busca-se refletir sobre o papel damemória (envolvendo o trabalho com lembranças e esquecimentos) na construção de histórias pessoais e sociais a fim de pensar as possibilidades educativas que acontecem na cidade em diferentes momentos históricos.Palavras-chave: Educação não formal. Memórias. Cidade educativa.Non-formal education and the city: childhood memories and perspectivesAbstractNon-formal education and the city: childhood memories and perspectives Understand the city as a place of education, institutionalized or not, is to see it as a field of non-formal and informal education. Informal education is characterized by unintentional experiences within the context of individual and social experience of the day-to-day. Non-formal education is characterized by experiences of teaching andlearning, with intentionality and planning and, structurally, has no national legislation regulating and focusing on it. Among the uses and current occupations of public space for contestation, manifestation, leisure, under political, ethnic, artistic, environmental, recreational guidelines for adult audiences, there have been experiments involving children as subjects-citizens right to the city. Based on statements or narratives of adult men and women collected by virtual means, on the uses they did in childhood, street and public spaces of the city as well as the current expectations or prospects regarding the use of our public space by children, youth and adults we seek to reflect on the role of memory (involving working with memories and forgetfulness) in the construction of personal and social histories in order to think the educational opportunities happening in the city at different historical moments.Keywords: Non-formal education. Memories. Educational city.La educación no formal y la ciudad: recuerdos y perspectivas de la niñezResumenEntender la ciudad como un lugar de educación, institucionalizada o no, es verlo como un campo de la educación no formal e informal. La educación informal se caracteriza por experiencias no intencionales en el contexto de la experiencia individual y social del día a día y no formal, por las experiencias de enseñanza y aprendizaje, con la intencionalidad y la planificación y, estructuralmente, no tiene legislación nacional para la regulación en centrarse en ella. Entre los usos y ocupaciones actuales de espacio público para la manifestación, reunión, recreación, bajo las directrices de recreo políticas, étnicas, artísticas, ambientales, para un público adulto, han surgido experiencias que involucran a niños como sujetos-ciudadanos el derecho a la ciudad. Sobre la base de las declaraciones o relatos de los hombresadultos y mujeres recogidos por medios virtuales, los usos que hacían en la infancia, em la calle y em los espacios públicos de la ciudad, así como las expectativas actuales o potenciales, en relación con el uso de nuestro espacio público por niños, jóvenes y adultos que buscamos reflexionar sobre el papel de la memoria (que implica trabajar con los recuerdos y el olvido) en la construcción de historias personales y sociales a pensar en las posibilidades educativas que tienen lugar en la ciudad en diferentes momentos históricos.Palabras-clave: Educación no formal. Recuerdos. Ciudad educativa.

scholarly journals RELECTURA DE DOS CIUDADES DESDE LOS CONCEPTOS DE LEFEBVRE

2020 ◽  
pp. 213-229
Author(s):  
Karina Chérrez-Rodas
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Right To The City ◽  
Control Right ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The City

El siguiente escrito es una revisión bibliográfica que se desarrolla en función de tres conceptos claves de Lefebvre: El Derecho a la Ciudad, El Control Social y el Espacio Urbano; concebidos en el marco de sus líneas de investigación y orientación marxista. La investigación pretende emplear apreciaciones del autor en mención, enmarcadas en el acontecer de la ciudad en la actualidad, y trasladar a la relectura de problemáticas puntuales en dos ciudades latinoamericanas: Cuenca-Ecuador y Córdoba-Argentina. A partir del Derecho a la Ciudad definido por Lefebvre; se realiza una crítica, al trazado de la nueva área de planificación urbanística en Cuenca, basado en principios funcionalistas, que ha jerarquizado la circulación vehicular, en detrimento del uso peatonal del espacio público. En la misma línea de la crítica de la modernidad, el control social se manifiesta en un sector de la ciudad de Córdoba, el predio de la Casa de Gobierno. Analizar problemáticas en contextos similares, pero a la vez con diferentes escalas de ciudad, permiten validar las tesis y reflexiones de Lefebvre en su época para la planificación de ciudades contemporáneas, cuyos modelos de desarrollo han tenido como consecuencia deficiencias en la vida urbana. Palabras clave: Ciudades, control social, Derecho a la ciudad, espacio urbano, vida urbana. AbstractThe following piece of writing is a bibliographic review that was developed from three key concepts of Lefebvre: Right to the City, Social Control and Urban Space. It was conceived within the framework of his lines of research and Marxist orientation. The research intends to use the author's appreciations in mention, framed in the events of the city at present, and to transfer to the re-reading of specific problems in two Latin American cities: Cuenca-Ecuador and Córdoba-Argentina. Based on the right to the city defined by Lefebvre, a critique was made of the new urban planning area in Cuenca, based on functionalist principles, which has hierarchized vehicle circulation to the detriment of the pedestrian use of public space. Under the same line of the criticism of modernity, social control was manifested in a sector of the city of Córdoba, the Government House site. Problems in similar contexts were analyzed, but at the same time with different city scales. It allowed us to validate Lefebvre's thesis and reflections in his time for the planning of contemporary cities, whose development models have resulted in deficiencies in urban life. Keywords: Cities, social control, Right to the city, urban space, urban life.

scholarly journals A rua é nossa: as intervenções urbanas do coletivo lesbiano Velcro Choque (Brasil) e as subjetividades libertárias

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-106
Author(s):  
Débora Machado Visini
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Spatial Practice ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The City

O presente artigo investiga as intervenções urbanas – pertencentes a um grupo composto por muitas manifestações artísticas realizadas no espaço público – que dialogam com a cidade. Compreendidas como práticas artísticas e socioespaciais, as intervenções urbanas do coletivo lesbiano Velcro Choque (Brasil) são analisadas a partir das potências que surgem com a ocupação das ruas da cidade e da esfera pública, já que tal ato coloca em cheque normas e narrativas históricas, que serão apontadas a partir do viés da crítica feminista da cultura. Conforme mostra a prática do coletivo, o artivismo associado aos feminismos e às dissidências sexuais e de gênero podem oportunizar a criação de subjetividades libertárias e formas de existência e resistência através das produções coletivas nas artes visuais.Palavras-chave: Cidade. Intervenção Urbana. Feminismos. Artivismo. AbstractThis paper investigates urban interventions – belonging to a group composed of many artistic manifestations carried out in the public space – that dialogue with the city. Understanding the urban interventions as an artistic and socio-spatial practice, the production of the lesbian collective Velcro Choque (Brazil) will be analyzed based on the potency that emerges with the occupation of the streets and the public sphere, since this act can put in check historical norms and narratives, which will be pointed out from the bias of the feminist critic of the culture. As the practice of the collective shows, artivism associated with feminism, sexual and gender dissidences can create opportunities for the creation of libertarian subjectivities and forms of existence and resistance through collective productions in the visual arts.Keywords: City. Urban Interventions. Feminisms. Artivism.

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