There are three main texts that I am relying on for my research, two books plus one more abstract essay, to supplement them. The first of these texts is The Production of Space, published in 1974, and written by Henri Lefebvre, who was a Marxist French philosopher. His main focuses were sociology, geography, and urban space. This book, considered to be the most significant piece in his oeuvre, explores the relationship between mental space and real space, subverting notions of theory and practice. His concept of social space is incredibly important for this project, he understands space as socially produced and also that social dynamics are produced/influenced by the space that they inhabit. This logic places importance on the user of a space, because they are constantly producing the space, and being affected by it. I want to use this text as a framework for understanding social space in my research. This summer, I will be studying public spaces that are used by many people, as well as the social dynamics of these spaces. Therefore, I need my work to be grounded in a text that focuses on the social aspects of space.
Another text that is very relevant to my work is the book Cities for People, published in 2010 and written by the Danish architect and urban designer Jan Gehl, who is famous for advocating for a more human centric approach to the design of cities and spaces.The modern age led to the rise of designing cities for the convenience of cars, instead of people. Gehl aims to reverse this notion through his work, to put the pedestrian first, and bring communities together, instead of splitting them apart. He says that designing to promote sociality is key, because people enjoy being around one another, however, people must also feel safe and secure within public space. He also includes a ´toolbox´ of methods and strategies at the end of the book, for urban planners and architects to utilize to design these types of spaces. I believe that this is a good text to put into conversation with Lefevre, because it adds a perspective that is less abstract and more based in design. Both perspectives are important, but Lefebvre´s is more philosophical, while Gehl´s is more technical.
The essay titled ´on the concern of public space. a polemic,´ has really informed my thinking on public space, and is a useful supplement to the other texts I am calling into question. It was written by the Tbilisi based artist Katharina Stadler in 2015. She wrote it as part of a project she was involved in called Tbilisi Insights, as a response to her feelings of connection and disconnection with it, as well as her frustration with the gap between theory and practice. On one of the first pages she asks these questions: ´What do we need so public space becomes collective space? Collective space for individuals? Where does the individual end and the collective begin?´ She is navigating and questioning the boundaries between the collective and the individual in public space. She also wonders how public space can truly be public if society at large is still segregated and unequal, how can there be equality in public spaces if people are unequal? She notes that segregation is utilized “to create a calm and safe public space,” deciding who is and isn’t worthy of inhabiting public space. What does this mean for houseless folks and other marginalized populations? I remember something related to this playing out in Washington Square Park in 2020. Many young people gathered there at night, because there was no other place to hang out due to COVID restrictions. The people who lived around the park(mostly white and wealthy) complained, and soon the park was being raided by police so none of the young people (who were mostly black and brown) could be there at night. The public space was sterilized, through obvious dynamics of race, class and power. This text has raised questions for me about what I would like to consider in my research. This includes thinking about who public space is for, and who feels comfortable in it. If people do not feel comfortable in it, how can you improve this? How can you give people a feeling of belonging, and deserving to inhabit a space? This is definitely not only a design question, it is one that encompasses the dynamics of society at large. However, I would like to find out how design can maximize the potential of feeling comfortable in a space.
Bibliography
Gehl, Jan. Cities for People. Island Press, 2010.
https://gehlpeople.com/shopfront/cities-for-people-2010/
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2016.
https://monoskop.org/images/7/75/Lefebvre_Henri_The_Production_of_Space.pdf
Stadler, Katharina. “On the Concern of Public Space. a Polemic.” City [Un]Archived, 2015.
https://www.academia.edu/21624832/on_the_concern_of_public_space._a_polemic
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