Between flânerie and fiction: ways of seeing exclusion and inclusion in the contemporary city

Abstract

Cities have long been a focus of interest for social scientists, flâneurs and writers of fiction. Having commented on the contribution made by each of these, the article proceeds to argue that insights into urban leisure activity can best be portrayed through a combination of flânerie and fiction. With this in mind, two partly imagined cities are presented here, with an emphasis on exclusion in the first and the lives of the excluded in the second. Although exclusion from leisure spaces may be morally questionable, this does not mean that the excluded necessarily miss out on pleasurable experiences. Indeed, in the light of the sterility of so many of our new downtown entertainment zones as presented in this article, the excluded may well have lessons to offer on how to enjoy life better. The article argues that we should continue to do research– as flâneurs if need be or even as writers of fiction – that can provide ‘evidence’ from which such lessons may be learned.