IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section B

Abstract

As the domain of the state, market, community and the individual, public space in its political, social and material form is under constant flux resulting in continuing contraction, expansion and paradoxes. This century can be characterized by the assault on civil liberties and severe constrictions on public life. Paradoxically, this disenfranchisement has compelled several groups to find fissures in the system and claim their right to the city by making marginal space public. A growing number of contemporary public spaces are being produced through more dynamic and grassroots processes. These marginal spaces—alive with new uses and meanings—expand our conceptions of “public” and “space,” and begin to outline new possibilities for democratic practice. But as with most things complex, this is rife with paradox. Even though space gets produced by numerous counterpublics, those that lay claim are educated and well-connected. Additionally, many have grown up in an era where public space has been delivered by the market. This has severely altered their expectations for uses, meanings, and interpretations of public space to a contained set of bourgeois values. Many new residents in the revitalized city find urban living and its public spaces too frenetic and demand more oversight. Paradoxically the state has responded with more surveillance that has enabled a sense of safety, but also created a fortress-like environment unwelcoming to those with unconventional identities. Technology and communication have created new enigmas. Although technology and social media contains us to personal and parochial bubbles disincentivizing any intersubjectivity, it connects us to a digital realm that can be used for collective social and political action that is indispensable to the formation of the public sphere. An understanding of these and other paradoxes can lead to a more meaningful public space as a medium for negotiations between the state, market, society and various groups.