Towards a Theory of the Racialization of Space

Urbanists and race scholars have been attentive to issues relating to race and space for over 100 years. Though some scholars allude to how race is spatialized or space is racialized, that is, to say race is constructed in space and space is inscribed with race, a transportable and multifaceted theory of the racialization of space has yet to emerge. This paper advances a theory integrating racialization theory and Lefebvre’s trialectic theory of the social production of space. I consider how physical, mental, and social facets of space constitute intersecting “racial projects” in the context of societies in which race plays a determinative role. I illustrate this perspective pointing to findings from studies approaching issues of race and space from a variety of vantage points and conclude with suggestions for the further application of this theory.

Debtor spaces: Austerity, space, and dispossession in Michigan’s emergency management system

In recent years, debt has become a major focus of geographic research as debt relations have become increasingly central to today’s financialized capitalist economy. This paper bridges two aspects of the debt literature: (1) the emergent literature on debt spatiality, which argues that space plays an active role in the creation and maintenance of debt relations, and (2) the broader literature examining processes of debt-driven dispossession (e.g., foreclosure, eviction, austerity, etc.). Recent literature in geography, led by Harker’s work on debt spaces, has argued that debt should not only be understood as a temporal relation (a promise of future labor) but a spatial relation as well. This literature has examined the active role of space in creating debt relations but has been less attentive to the ways in which debt is a key mechanism of dispossessive economies. Analyzing Michigan’s emergency management laws, a system of forced, localized austerity, I chronicle how the social production of space is central to dispossessive debt projects. I conclude by offering a new concept, debtor spaces, to characterize the socio-spatial formations which enable practices of debt-based dispossession.

Reinforcing Place Attachment Through its Disruption: An Ethnographic Example from the Solidarita Housing Estate in Prague

Reinforcing Place Attachment Through its Disruption: An Ethnographic Example from the Solidarita Housing Estate in PragueThe Solidarita housing estate was built during the years 1946–1951 as one of the first post-war housing estates in Prague, former Czechoslovakia. Inspired by Scandinavian urban standards, architects designed Solidarita as an urban architectural experiment that combined innovative urban strategies, new technologies, collective approach, and cooperative financing. The socio-spatial structure of Solidarita was influenced by the ideology of socialism – the production of an egalitarian society through a centrally planned economy and collective ownership. As a result, the estate was self-sufficient and conducive to neighborly meetings, and it strengthened their relations through its form. The political transformation, commercialization, and privatization in the 1990s caused a gradual change of the socio-spatial image of the neighborhood. Some elements of the housing complex started to lose their original function and the community character of Solidarita could be jeopardized. Using the theoretical concept of place attachment and the concept of social production of place, the aim of this paper is to show how residents of the Solidarita housing estate in Prague are attached to the place of their home and neighborhood and how this attachment is reconceptualized through the post-socialist socio-spatial changes of the place.Posilování vztahu k místu skrz jeho narušení: etnografický příklad ze sídliště Solidarita v PrazeSídliště Solidarita bylo postaveno v letech 1946–1951 jako jedno z prvních poválečných sídlišť v Praze. Architekti, inspirováni skandinávskými urbanistickými standardy, postavili sídliště jako experiment, který kombinoval inovativní urbanistické strategie, nové technologie, principy kolektivního bydlení a družstevní financovnání. Do tehdejší podoby sídliště se rovněž promítla ideologie státního socialismu, jenž byl založen na centrálně plánováném ekonomickém systému a společném vlastnictví. V době svého vzniku měla být Solidarita místem, které svou prostorovou formou a soběstačností podporuje a posiluje sousedské vazby a vztah rezidentů k místu svého domova. Události po roce 1989, doprovázené procesem privatizace a komercionalizace, zapříčinily postupnou transformaci socio-prostorových charakteristik sousedství. Některé původní prvky sídliště ztratily svou původní funkci a spolu s postupnou individualizací začal být komunitní charakter sídliště ohrožován. Článek využívá teoretické koncepty přináležitost k místu (place attachment) a sociální produkce místa (social production of space). Jeho cílem je zjistit, jak a skrze co jsou rezidenti Solidarity připoutáni k místu svého domova a jak je tato přináležitost k místu re/konceptualizována v kontextu post-socialistické socio-prostorové transformace Solidarity. Wzmacnianie więzi z miejscem poprzez jej przekształcenie: etnograficzna analiza osiedla Solidarita w PradzeOsiedle Solidarita zostało wzniesione w latach 1946-1951 jako jedno z pierwszych powojennych osiedli w Pradze. Architekci, inspirowani skandynawskimi standardami urbanistycznymi, zaprojektowali je jako eksperyment, który łączył innowacyjne strategie urbanistyczne, nowe technologie, zasady mieszkalnictwa zbiorowego z finansowaniem społecznym. W pierwotnym kształcie osiedla uwidacznia się też wpływ ideologii socjalizmu państwowego, opierającego się na centralnie planowanym systemie ekonomicznym oraz własności społecznej. W chwili swego powstania Solidarita miała być miejscem oddziałującym na mieszkańców poprzez swą formę przestrzenną oraz samowystarczalność, co miało przyczyniać się do rozwoju więzi sąsiedzkich oraz związania się mieszkańców z miejscem. Wydarzenia po 1989 roku, którym towarzyszyły procesy prywatyzacji i komercjalizacji, stały się powodem stopniowej transformacji społeczno-przestrzennych cech sąsiedztwa. Niektóre z pierwotnych elementów osiedla utraciły swoją funkcję, co wraz z postępującą indywidualizacją przyczyniło się do osłabienia wspólnotowego charakteru osiedla. W artykule oparto się na teoretycznej koncepcji przywiązania do miejsca (place attachment) oraz społecznego tworzenia miejsca (social production of space). Celem artykułu jest sprawdzenie, czy i w jaki sposób mieszkańcy Solidarity są związani z miejscem i jak owo przywiązanie do miejsca ulega re/konceptualizacji w kontekście postsocjalistycznej, społeczno-przestrzennej transformacji osiedla.

From fishing villages to international tourist destinations: where are the citizens?

The present article examines the relationship between tourism, production of space and the role of residents at two hotspot tourist destinations in Brazil: Cabo Frio, located in State of Rio de Janeiro and Porto Seguro, in State of Bahia. The development of the tourist industry in the localities under study occurred at different points in time. In the first, the urbanization process was associated with the acquisition of second homes in the 1950s, while the second, located in the Northeast region of the country, this process emerged in conjunction with the mass tourism industry only in the late 1980s. We hope this research will enhance understanding of the process of urbanization and the configuration of tourism space and the conflicts arising from this in developing countries, notably Latin America. Our methodology employed theories based on those developed by Chesnais (1996, 2005, 2016), Harvey (2005, 2008, 2011, 2014), Santos (2006) and others to explain the production of space in a way that goes beyond the use of historical data and socioeconomic analysis. The initial conclusion was that, despite the differences in the process (mass tourism vs. second homes, development in space and over time and geographical position), the two geographical locations selected presented the same findings: unequal production of space and the exclusion of local populations. The tourism activity investigated in these two case studies thus appears to replicate the current stage of development in Brazil, characterized by inequality and exclusion and reflected in the landscapes of the country’s tourist destinations.

THE PRODUCTION OF SPACE: A BALKAN PERSPECTIVE

The article describes the approach to and condenses some of the main arguments presented in the author’s book Beyond Balkansim: The Scholarly Politics of Region Making. It charts the main phases in the scholarly conceptualization of the Balkans and its characteristics and, against this background, tackles the question: What can we learn from the Balkan case about the actual production of regions?

One Izidora and two Rosas: notes for a perspective on a space protagonized by Black women

The aim of this article is to discuss the leading role played by Black women in disputes over place, which have occurred at three different historical moments, in the region of Izidora, where the Vitória, Esperança and Rosa Leão occupations are currently located, in the north zone of Belo Horizonte, state capital of Minas Gerais. The article seeks to demonstrate a convergence between the struggles of the communities to remain in the physical-territorial dimension and their struggles to name it. Black feminist perspectives are taken as epistemology, in order to build a conceptual framework that, by problematizing unidimensional analyzes of the production of space, provides visibility to the multiple dynamics that intersect in space and time, informed by gender, race and class.

Understanding the Informal Morphology of Villages-in-the-City: A Case Study in Hanoi City, Vietnam

This paper explores the production of space in the villages-in-the-city (ViCs) through a morphological perspective. During the urbanization process, rural villages originally located in the peri-area of a metropolis are eventually merged into the urban landscape. Due to lack of proper planning, these villages have faced serious criticism due to informality, self-organized development and sub-standard living conditions, and planning policies tend to focus on demolition rather than on incrementally upgrading ViCs on the same site. In this paper, we focus on the fluidity of spaces in ViCs by drawing on a case study in Hanoi, Vietnam. The key research methods are mapping, observation and visual recording. The findings illustrate how informal urbanism works in ViCs regarding spatial structure, public/private interfaces and incremental upgrading. On a theoretical level, this research helps to enrich the description of the morphological characteristics of ViCs with relation to the effects of rapid urbanization. On a practical level, this study contributes to the ways in which researchers and planners can engage with incremental changes in the integrated village.