VIRTUAL Barcelona Livable Cities

Abstract

Growing urbanization and neoliberal development in cities across the world has resulted in increasing homogenization of the urban experience. There has been increasing pressure on the traditional practices and spaces within cities, resulting in the decline of the quality of public life, which has warranted renewed interest in the study of such topics in South Asian cities. In the Bengali context, āddā is a form of convivial, prolonged session of socialization which is informal in nature and where conversation is the main activity. This literature review explores this cultural practice of āddā as a mode of enacting Henri Lefebvre’s idea of the “right to the city.” Drawing from works in urban, social, anthropological studies and wider elaborations of the idea of ‘right to the city’, the article situates āddā within the broader framework of urban citizenship, public space, and cultural resistance in South Asian cities. The review critically analyzes existing scholarly work on the practice of āddā, right to the city and informal urbanism while highlighting the ways āddā embodies spatial re-appropriation and grassroots democratic expression. The study maps out and synthesizes interdisciplinary texts using qualitative content analysis methods, aiming to bridge the gap between urban theories and forms of traditionally rooted cultural practices such as āddā. The findings suggest that while āddā may appear to be a simple leisurely engagement, it holds deep significance as an urban practice that asserts presence, memory, and local narratives within increasingly neoliberalized and fragmented cityscapes.