The Spatial Production of Public Parks and Counter-Public Non-Parks in Taipei

Abstract

This research differentiates counter-public non-parks from public parks to look into the spatial politics and social processes behind the productions of urban parks and open green in the city of Taipei. The colonial modernity ushered in the concept of public parks in Taiwan, though under the authoritarian ruling the meaning of publicness was problematic and the discourse of public sphere underdeveloped. The democratization of Taiwan activated the grassroots engagement in politics and further nurtured the bottom-up mechanism of counter-publics in conservation movement and in claiming their right to the city. The paradigm of counter-public non-park defied the general definition and use patterns of public parks, and advocated a more socially inclusive and culturally diverse program for the alternative public green. It also motivated the transformation of settlement-into-park to settlement-park and responded to the call for dynamic urban conservation.