»Reclaiming« the City: A Collective Endeavor

Sergiy Ilchenko

doi:10.14361/dak-2021-0214

Abstract

This contribution elaborates upon the appropriation of urban space in spatiotemporal and procedural interventions in the example of the city of Kharkiv, as well as the impact of urban space on the process of how various groups rediscover and use various parts of the city. Being moved during collective actions - in the sense of feeling urged to move along - goes beyond routine practices by influencing the city and its perception. It seems that these general processions, celebrations, and festive activities of the residents are their contributions to the process of »urban renaissance« - the rebirth of interest in the urban way of life. Since public spaces reflect the historical inheritance of local communities, joint transformative actions such as, »appropriation«, »production«, and »governance« of urban spaces are considered. This article advocates for the practice of domestication of urban space by the local community, as well as the need for the existence of »urban lagoons« - free (unregulated) areas of the city used as resources for urban development and interaction of citizens.

Highlights

The transformation of urban landscapes can be instigated by the actions of authorities, business activities, or urban communities, where each actor has their own interest and levers of inf luence
If we focus on the activities of citizens and their impact on urban space – we notice that they do not necessarily result in physical improvements (Koch/Latham 2013: 10)
Collective actions by the residents are rather more of a temporal nature; and such interventions in the urban space are limited in time

Summary

Introduction

The transformation of urban landscapes can be instigated by the actions of authorities, business activities, or urban communities, where each actor has their own interest and levers of inf luence. If we focus on the activities of citizens (collective action) and their impact on urban space – we notice that they do not necessarily result in physical improvements (Koch/Latham 2013: 10). To a large degree it is a transformation in the mental attitude toward the ownership of urban space by the wider community, and inclusion of the latter into daily life (sometimes through temporary use, and through the increased activity of the residents). Releasing the »abstract« urban space (Lefebvre 1996[1968]) from objectification is a step-by-step process of the adaptation of the cityscape by its residents. This domestication (Koch/Latham 2013: 10) of abstract space by means. These short-term inf luences affect the perception (or acceptance) of certain urban spaces, not always leading to physical changes in the latter, but inf luencing their further development

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