Public time-space, Interstices, Intersections and Traces-as-remains: Possible Chronotopes of the European District in Brussels

Abstract

The most common image of the European Quarter of Brussels is built on the idea of a clean, free, safe and controlled space that attracts people with high economic, social and cultural capital, and a growing number of "passing" users (tourists or consumers). Against this background, our research aimed to investigate the nexus between the material, symbolic, normative and discursive construction of the EU district time-space, on one hand, and everyday life, on the other. To do so, we explored the potential of a rhythmic and nonrepresentational approach in deconstructing dominant socio-spatial-temporal representations, scraping off the layers of the commonly-known to unveil alternative chronotopes. In this article, we present and discuss a reinterpretation of our experience and discuss the results of our analysis through four chronotopes linked to the spatio-temporal rhythms we observed, rhythms we have called Public time-space, Interstices, Intersections and Traces-as-remains.