Your (Internet) Connection Is Unstable

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Your (Internet) Connection Is Unstable

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  • Research Article
  • 10.5204/mcj.1950
A City Divided
  • May 1, 2002
  • M/C Journal
  • Simon A.Bennett

Imaginings of cities are powerful...imagination can be either an escape...or an act of resistance or both (Bridge and Watson 2000: 16). Imagination and the city are closely entwined for Gary Bridges and Sophie Watson who organise the relationship between the city and the imagination in two areas: how the city affects the imagination and how the city is imagined. They see that the city provides both constraints and stimulus on the imagination of all its inhabitants. From screenwriters to urban planners to policy makers to city visitors from suburbs or country towns, each person has his or her imagined city and this is reflected in the way we live (lifestyle), where we choose to live (urban versus suburban) and how we use public and private space. The effects of the city on the imagination are also apparent from the way cities are represented in film, the way they are planned and how they are produced in a range of discourses. However, these diffuse imaginations can be opposing and it these opposing imaginations that forge the distinctions between an imagined city and an urban imagination. So where is this evident? The most visible evidence is found in the use and role of public space. Both Mike Davis and George Morgan document how public space is viewed as a threat giving rise to what Davis calls defensible space and a clear demarcation between public and private space (1994, 79). Davis witnesses that this practice, when applied, results in a fortress mentality of guarded properties and walled-in private suburbs that is destroying accessible public space(1992, 226). Documenting a more sociological approach is Jane Jacobs' argument that the city and social interactions within are a street ballet (2000, 107) and Lewis Mumford's notion of urban drama (2000, 92). This sociological approach views public space as providing an opportunity for people to invest in and interact. These longstanding opposing views toward public space as either a threat or an opportunity are a large part of the urban imagination and have consequences for the way in which the city is designed and planned. General concerns on security are evident by the ever-increasing reliance on architecture to provide security. This is most noticeable in urban areas where the rise of defensible space is apparent. Defensible space can be achieved by applying a commonly accepted practice amongst urban planners known as CPTED (pronounced sep-ted and standing for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). CPTED recognises that proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime, and an improvement in the quality of life (Howe, http://www.cpted-watch.com, 2002). CPTED principles are built on four overlapping strategies of natural surveillance, territorial reinforcement, natural access control and target hardening. These strategies are equally apparent in urban theorists like Morgan, Davis, Bridges and Watson; indeed even Jacobs can be seen as an early pioneer of CPTED with her views on natural surveillance. However, the application of these strategies differ in the separation of public and private space and how public space is designed and planned. Davis may concede CPTED's existence as perhaps only one small component of urban theory and practice that, for the most part, he argues, ignores the existing trend of fortifying the built and natural environment: Contemporary urban theory has been strangely silent about the militarisation of city life that is so grimly visible at street level (1992, 223). For Davis, who is referring to Los Angeles, Hollywood fiction has, ironically, been more realistic and politically perceptive in its representations of the urban. And these representations support Bridge and Watson's view of how the city affects the imagination as they only extrapolate from actually existing trends (Davis 1992, 223). Davis also sees a post-Liberal Los Angeles obsessed with the physical (security systems) and collaterally with policing of social boundaries through architecture. Such developments though are not unique to LA. In Australia the use of CPTED principles, though relatively low-key, are applied to the new Brisbane Busway Stations. In this instance it is the use of natural surveillance, a design concept primarily aimed at maximising the visibility of people and space through site location (parallel to highly utilised suburban streets and a major freeway) and site design (use of glass walls and bright lighting). The application of CPTED principles indicate that the role public space plays in a community has been in the imagination of the planning fraternity and the wider public for many years. Whilst the Brisbane Busway initiative may seem tame in comparison to enfortressed LA, Morgan reveals how CPTED principles have been key to urban and suburban planners in Australia since the late-nineteenth century and involved the imposition of middle-class ideals of how and where to live. Drawing on Sydney's urban planning response to two contrasting moral panics in the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Morgan locates an ironic contrast between the fear of a dense and public sociability at the turn of the [20th] century and the contemporary fear of urban crime which is based on lack of sociability in street spaces that are not occupied or controlled (1994, 80). This contrast depicts the use of public space as associated with inner urban living to the more private existence of outer suburban living which has its roots in the urban planning undertaken in the late nineteenth century. The planning at that time was a response, in the main, to middle-class fears of social ills and disease that over-crowding in the inner city were thought to produce. This same middle class further extended their influence by pushing a population outward and in the process changed the use of public space by disconnecting the existing social and cultural networks of established communities. This outward movement eventuated in suburbs that were founded on the modernist thought of progress reflected in decentralisation, growth in car ownership and a denial of traditional urban life which were seen as dissonant and unacceptable (Morgan 1994, 82). These unacceptable traditions of a gregarious street life were controlled ultimately by urban planning through the design of new suburbs that were sold as a utopian landscape that offered land ownership a concept only previously dreamt or imagined. As the populace spread and thinned out, new communities developed. These new suburban arrivals adapted similar lifestyles and a degree of homogeneity formed within the community that eventually established and then fostered a socio-psychological division between public and private personas as suburban living nurtured a more private existence (1994, 84). This division is a very real danger to Jacobs' idea of a city as a street ballet and to Mumford's notion of urban drama as it takes the view of public space as not a place to stop and interact but as a space to be used, in many cases literally, as a thoroughfare to another private destination. This use of public space is exemplified in the everyday activity of driving a private vehicle straight from work to home. And, more importantly, this use of public space has detrimental affects on the role of public space, most noticeably on streets and sidewalks a city's most public of spaces. Jacobs recognises that the key to making a neighbourhood a community and making a city livable is, first and foremost, the use and safety of the street: Streets and their sidewalks, the main public places of a city, are its most vital organs, Jacobs suggests, and if a city's streets look interesting, the city does so (107). Jacobs addresses the issue of safety as the fundamental task of a city street and sidewalk and is critical of planners, and their inability to understand that people and their subsequent activity leads to attracting even more people to use or watch a sidewalk. By indicating that nobody watches an empty street, Jacobs implies that people do not seek emptiness from an urban setting and by removing the players from the drama also means removing the audience: in this case, the street's natural observers or, in CPTED terms, the safety net that natural surveillance can provide. Despite this apparent resonance between CPTED planning and critical urban theory, there are important distinctions. Mumford's sociological view of what a city is supports Morgan's and Jacobs' views that planners often did not understand the social web of community. In questioning the role of the city as a social institution Mumford identifies a handicap in that planners have had no clear notion of the social functions of the city...(and)... derive these functions from a cursory survey of the activities and interests of the contemporary urban scene (2000, 93). The risk as witnessed with the spread of garrison-suburbia is that the physical organisation of the city may deflate the essential drama and imaginative spur that Mumford believes a city requires. When Mumford identifies that the city fosters art and is art; the city creates the theatre and is the theatre (2000, 94) he is urging that planning considers the fulfilment of people's imaginations, or put another way, their fantasies. The physical layout and organisation of a city is not an end in itself and it must not solely shelter the human body but also the human imagination; it must not simply be at the convenience of industry but must account for social and cultural needs. Or as Mumford states the physical organisation of a city, its industries and its markets, its lines of communication and traffic, must be subservient to its social needs (2000, 94). Thes

  • Research Article
  • 10.31025/2611-4135/2025.19467
Consumer behaviour with regard to waste separation in public and private space
  • Mar 2, 2025
  • Detritus
  • Betül Gök + 4 more

Consumer behaviour plays an important part in waste separation. In contrast to private households, consumer behaviour in public spaces, like parks, pedestrian zones and on sidewalks, has hardly been analysed and waste separation in public is scarcely implemented. Recent research on the characterization of public waste indicates that waste from public spaces contains a high proportion of recyclables, which shows that considerations concerning the introduction of separate waste collection are reasonable. This study aims to understand the differences between consumer waste behaviour in private and public spaces. Waste separation behaviour in public spaces is analysed through guided interviews (n=12) and an online survey (n=238) of residents of Vienna (Austria) and is compared to waste separation behaviour in private spaces. The results show that, firstly, social norms regarding waste separation are more established in private households than in public spaces. Secondly, although the total amount of waste generated in public spaces is lower, recyclables (paper, plastic, metal, glass) are relevant waste fractions in public waste and are therefore regarded as important when high resource recovery is pursued. Thirdly, waste separation in public spaces requires more effort on the part of consumers disposing of waste than in private spaces. This is mainly due to the lack of recycling bins. Fourthly, waste separation in public spaces is seen as a lower priority by respondents compared to litter prevention. The results suggest that separation behaviour varies according to the contextual space and cannot be regarded as identical.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 1
  • 10.15320/iconarp.2021.164
The Relationship Between the Public and Private Spaces in Siverek Traditional Settlement
  • Jun 21, 2021
  • Iconarp International J. of Architecture and Planning
  • Mazlum Kalak + 1 more

Purpose Traditional houses are living spaces that the user shapes over time according to specific environmental factors and needs, which come together in a certain pattern forming some key parts of the traditional settlement texture. This pattern, which also reflects the local culture, is created by the relationships among the public, private, and intermediate spaces. The traditional Siverek architectural settlement is quite rich in such spaces. The main elements that form the urban pattern are the squares and streets that form public spaces, the houses representing the private space, and the in-between spaces such as texture-specific dead-end streets and archways that bridge these two types of spaces. However, due to the uninformed and miscalculated interventions in the original texture, mistimed protection measures, and failure to produce solutions for preservation, these architectural gems are at risk of extinction. At this point, two problems have been identified. The first is the preservation of the historical fabric. Another problem is the incompatibility of the newly planned areas with the old texture and housing layout. The purpose of this study is to provide guidance for new planning by analyzing the spatial arrangement of the traditional Siverek settlement. Design/Methodology/Approach In this context, from public spaces to residential private spaces, the spaces and their spatial relationships in the Siverek settlement plan were examined in a hierarchical order. The interrelationships among the spatial elements specific to the original texture of Siverek were discussed, and their status regarding their functional and spatial features in the urban texture were explained. Findings As a result of the study, it is stated that the traditional settlement texture and architecture of Siverek should be documented and preserved. Furthermore, considering the fact that the physical and social components that shape the spatial elements of the traditional fabric remain valid today, the need to transfer spatial formations and spatial hierarchies between public and private spaces to new designs on the settlement scale and building scale was emphasized. Social/Practical Implications It will serve as a guide for consideration in future designs of the city of Siverek, not by imitating traditional forms, but by analyzing spatial setup. Originality/Value This study is the first study on the public and private space relationship in Siverek.

  • Research Article
  • 10.5204/mcj.1948
We shall soon be nothing but transparent heaps of jelly to each other
  • May 1, 2002
  • M/C Journal
  • David Prater + 1 more

We shall soon be nothing but transparent heaps of jelly to each other

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 1
  • 10.6107/jkha.2015.26.5.153
르 꼬르뷔제 집합주택의 공·사 공간 개념 및 공간구성 방식 연구
  • Oct 25, 2015
  • Journal of the Korean housing association
  • Eun-Jeong Park + 1 more

The purpose of this study is to understand Le Corbusier's idea of public and private spaces, and the hierarchical spatial structure in his multi-family housings. It investigates the origin of Le Corbusier's ideology about the public and private spaces in his multi-family housing projects. Precedents those influenced his ideas are two: first, Fourier's ideal community model <TEX>$Phalanst\grave{e}re$</TEX>; second, Monastery of Ema near Florence. In both cases, private and public spaces and intermediate spaces were in clear hierarchy and also in harmony. Le Corbusier focused on the interplay of individual and collective life. This study analyzed the spatial composition of Le Corbusier's three multi-family housing models. They are Immeubles-Villas of Ville contemporaine pour 3 millions d'habitants (1922), Immeubles-Villas at Pavillion of l'Esprit Nouveau (1925), Unite d'habitation at Marseille (1945). The three projects are different according to size and periodical characteristics. However, they followed his basic principle for spatial composition about multy-family housing. His 'method of harmony for public and private space' is as follows: first, the securing of clear personal space; second, the importance of the intermediate space; Third, the essential understanding of communal space. Through this study, it was reaffirmed that the 'multi-family housing is a space where individuals and the whole co-exist'.

  • Book Chapter
  • 10.4337/9781785367243.00015
Gendered networks and spatial arrangements of informal entrepreneurial activities in a Detroit neighbourhood
  • Jul 28, 2017
  • Jenny Lendrum + 1 more

This chapter explores the gendered spatial arrangements and practices of informal entrepreneurial and economic activities in one neighbourhood in Detroit, Dtown. Using ethnographic methods, we explore how the larger political economy and spatial arrangements and practices shape the social relationships which mediate exchanges in the informal economy. The ways in which urban space is structured shapes and supports social networks and challenges dichotomous relationships of space. We show the fluidity of space as women carve out and use space in the neighbourhood in new ways to create and sustain networks of economic and social importance, challenging the standard conceptualization of private and public space. We present three types of gendered space based on usage: public, private, and domestic. We show how: 1) public spaces are gendered, which disallows/prevents women from utilizing these spaces in ways that benefit or enhance their opportunities for economic gains and access to resources; 2) private spaces such as businesses are gendered in ways that limit interactions for women but are tailored to men’s interactions; and 3) domestic spaces operate as the public when cash-generating activities are conducted in this space and have become more public as they are used for economic, community and social activities. Our data show the gendered ways that public and private space is blurred and suggest that we should not only look at how public spaces are contested or become privatized but also the process by which private space becomes public. These gendered and racialized processes have important implications for women’s social and economic opportunities, often created through social networks, which should be investigated further.

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  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 32
  • 10.3390/su11195396
Residents’ Willingness to Participate in Green Infrastructure: Spatial Differences and Influence Factors in Shanghai, China
  • Sep 29, 2019
  • Sustainability
  • Yang Yu + 6 more

Green infrastructure (GI) plays a fundamental role in achieving urban pluvial flood management, mitigating urban heat island effect, and improving living suitability. Residents’ participation is the main driving force of GI implementation. Based on semi-structured interviews, GIS spatial analysis, and multiple regression, we investigated residents’ willingness to participate in the implementation of GI in public and private space and identified the influence factors in Shanghai, China. The results show that, compared with private space, residents prefer to implement GI in public space, where they have different preferences of GI measures. On urban scale, residents’ willingness to participate in the implementation of GI in private space is characterized as “high in the inner city, low in the suburban areas”, while the spatial difference is insignificant for public space. In addition, the factors affecting residents’ willingness to participate in the implementation of GI are different in private and public space. The deterministic factors of GI participation are gender, education level, and floor for private space, while only include building age for public space, in addition to the common factors of free time, cognition of GI, perception of pluvial flood risk, supportive factors, and environment-improving factors that can influence both private and public space GI participation. Our analysis therefore provides valuable information for policymakers concerning nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation and urban sustainability.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 3
  • 10.59490/abe.2018.5.2009
Privatisation of the Production of Public Space
  • Jan 1, 2018
  • Architecture and the Built Environment
  • Els Leclerq

Privatisation of the Production of Public Space

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 7
  • 10.1016/j.cities.2022.103722
The hidden boundaries of public space: Awareness of civil rights restrictions in privatized urban squares in Poland
  • May 12, 2022
  • Cities
  • Marcin Gałkowski + 1 more

The article presents a multidisciplinary study investigating to what extent users are aware of occupying urban areas with limited functionality where civil rights, such as free expression of political beliefs or practice of religious rituals, are hindered. Using a mixed-methods approach combining a comparative case study with a survey in a multi-level manner, we show that boundaries between actual public spaces and their privatized and commodified equivalents can be successfully hidden from users. Most respondents in public, recently privatized and private spaces were convinced that they enjoyed full-fledged public space. Furthermore, individuals shared misconceptions about awarded civil rights, especially with respect to overestimating the ability to freely express political and religious beliefs in private spaces. The study serves as a warning about the elusive consequences of privatization. It highlights differences between private and public spaces crucial for political, social, and religious functions in the creation of democratic, sustainable communities. Moreover, it shows the weakness of urban policies in developing countries, where shadow privatization masks the boundaries separating public spaces from privatized ones. The findings, pointing to the need to ensure civil liberties, are of particular value to practitioners, especially urban planners, city managers, architects and sociologists.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 51
  • 10.37705/techtrans/e2020020
Public space or safe space – remarks during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Jan 1, 2020
  • Technical Transactions
  • Artur Jasiński

The coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak and its immediate impact on all aspects of human life have changed the way we use public space in our cities. People have been forced to adopt social isolation measures and wear masks. Street life has ground to a halt and public transport use has plummeted, while social facilities such as restaurants, clubs and cinemas have been closed. The relationship between private and public space has been reversed: public space has become deserted while private space, one of luxury, has been available only to the richest. The behaviour and interactions between people in public space have also changed. The paper analyses the above phenomena and raises questions about the future of metropolitan public spaces after the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 1
  • 10.25071/ryr.v2i0.40365
Are Shopping Malls Private or Public Space?: The Effects of Hanging Out at the Mall
  • Jan 1, 2015
  • Revue YOUR Review (York Online Undergraduate Research)
  • Jeremy Bonham

Public space is a topic of great interest these days as it is extremely limited. The concept of space that is open to all and allows for the proliferation of social interaction is an ideal. Shopping malls have tried very hard to be the new town marketplace or public square and have often promoted themselves as such. However, their private nature does not allow for the full spectrum of social interaction that true public space offers. This understanding is important as it has serious effects for those who hang out at the mall for extended periods of time, particularly young people. By defining “public space,” it can be shown that shopping malls, while they may present themselves as public spaces, are not true public spaces. An examination of how malls as private spaces limit access to certain individuals emphasizes how shopping malls are not the new town square as all are not welcome. As well, how shopping malls control the usage of their space shows that these spaces are only available for use for what the private owners deem appropriate social behaviour and ideas. Any activities that are contrary to their list of appropriate uses is not allowed. By limiting who uses the space and what uses are made of the space, shopping malls effect individuals by stunting their social interactions and activities within these spaces.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 2
  • 10.21043/addin.v13i1.3324
The Definition of Private adn Public Space in Implementation of Qanun Jinayah in Aceh
  • Feb 1, 2019
  • ADDIN
  • Faradilla Fadlia + 1 more

&lt;p&gt;This paper will discuss how the Qanun Jinayah differentiate the concept of private and public space in the implementation of sharia in Aceh. This paper will particularly discuss how private and public space being defined in the Qanun and how broad the scope of this Qanun is. This paper finds that there is no private space in Qanun Jinayah. There are only two conditions that listed in Qanun Jinayah, first, when at the work place, second evidence by the family card. A person who committed to criminal Act (Jarimah) in private and public space, he or she will be punished by Qanun Jinayah. Because of that Government in this case Wilyatul Hisbah and investigator has right to enter a person’s private space if that person is suspected to Jarimah crime. This paper sees that the authority has changed to violate the human right. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;

  • Research Article
  • 10.59490/abe.2018.26.2661
Seditious Spaces
  • Jan 1, 2018
  • Architecture and the Built Environment
  • Nurul Azreen Azlan

The title ‘Seditious Spaces’ is derived from one aspect of Britain’s colonial legacy in Malaysia (formerly Malaya): the Sedition Act 1948. While colonial rule may seem like it was a long time ago, Malaysia has only been independent for sixty-one years, after 446 years of colonial rule. The things that we take for granted today, such as democracy and all the rights it implies, are some of the more ironic legacies of colonialism that some societies, such as Malaysia, have had to figure out after centuries of subjugation. While not suggesting that post-colonial regimes should not be held accountable for their actions, it is ironic to see a BBC commentator grilling the leader of a Commonwealth state about repressive laws and regulations inherited from the colonial era. (Even the term ‘Commonwealth’ is itself ironic, implying shared wealth, in reality it commonly meant a colonised country was contributing to the wealth of the metropolitan centre). This research sought to understand how the trajectory of urban development, which is shaped by the colonial legacy, has produced the contemporary geography of contention in Malaysia. Given that public space is shaped by the colonial legacy, how does it facilitate or hinder street protests as a function of democracy, which is also a vestige of colonialism? To do this, rather than going into a long discussion about notions of public sphere and public space, much of which originated from Western traditions, I used postcoloniality as a lens for the topic1. By taking the concepts as a given, the postcolonial gaze allowed me to contextualise particular Malaysian conditions. In this thesis I argued that the postcolonial narrative (democracy, modernisation, development) is ambivalent precisely because the colonial narrative itself is ambivalent; there was no real break between colonisation and the present condition. I examined three aspects in particular. Firstly, colonial architecture as a subversive ‘third space’, where independence amplified the subversive quality of colonial architecture because of the power vacuum left after the colonisers had left. Secondly, postcolonial ‘amnesia’, where certain aspects of history were conveniently forgotten or others selectively remembered in the production of space to build a hegemonic vision of society. Finally, I looked at postcolonial mimicry, where the post-colonial society imitated either the former colonial master or some other references that fit within its narrative. These notions were mapped onto public space which not only provided the backdrop for dissent but also shaped its form and practices. Protest provided a direct line for the interrogation of just how democratic postcolonial public space actually is. The mobilisations, negotiations, and potential conflicts that arise from the moment a street protest is announced reveal a lot about the politics of space as much as the event itself. Public space comprises material and discursive spaces and, at the time of writing, included social media which has become part of the infrastructure of protest. The empirical part of this research came from the Bersih 4 protest in Kuala Lumpur, which took place from 29-30 August 2015. To ground the somewhat abstract postcolonial discussion, methods (outlined below) were used to collect and analyse data. Firstly, to understand the logic behind the control and surveillance of public space I reviewed literature on how architecture and public space are produced and governed in Malaysia. Secondly, I observed protest in both digital and material public space, which means I harvested social-media data about the protest but also observed street protests in Kuala Lumpur. This informed me how protest produces space within which protesters could foster a collective identity, something that is necessary for the continuity of the protest. I then conducted a thematic analysis on a large number of tweets collected during the protest to understand how information about their places were communicated. Other protests that have taken place in Kuala Lumpur since 1998, when new media started playing a role, were also mapped; this was crucial for the understanding of the spatial patterns of the protests. By tracing the production of architecture in Malaysia we can see how the nation-building project was an ambivalent one, evidenced by how the state mapped their aspirations onto the built environment. Postcolonial amnesia is exhibited in how the Malay-Muslim identity is amplified in architecture while other identities were suppressed and only utilised when it seemed productive. Mimicry, on the other hand, can be seen in how certain architecture is created based on an imagined past, and how visions of modernity fluctuate between Occidental and Orientalist visual cues. Malaysian public space is not only a colonial legacy in terms of its material infrastructure and regulations, it also carries traces of colonial practice. Here, mimicry was manifested in how society imitated the erstwhile colonial masters in seeking to avoid the Other (due to the perception that public space is dangerous and uncomfortable, and showing that segregation had moved from one defined by ethnicity to one defined by class). The lack of a clear break between the colonial and the Neoliberal can also be seen in how public space is governed. Undesirable activity was always framed according to its potential for disrupting economic activity, indicating that public space was perceived as being useful only for production and consumption, not for the performance of citizenship. An urban-planning assessment of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (the seat of the postcolonial government) was carried out to see which place could better support protest. Accessibility, land-use patterns, and urban form were all aspects of the city that were decided upon at the urban-planning level and throught to influence the probability of protest taking place. This indicates that a city can be designed to support or hinder the performance of democracy. I found that Kuala Lumpur, founded during the colonial era, was actually more supportive of protest activities than Putrajaya, a city purpose built by the newly independent democratic regime. Analysis based on data collected around Bersih 4 was organised into four themes. I first examined how protest produces space. I did this by tracing how the collective identity, already formed by previous Bersih protests, was cultivated on social media in order to mobilise protesters to take to the streets. The act of converging in the same space and performing these spatial choreographies (marching, knowledge-sharing, occupation) further enhanced the collective identity. Images and descriptions of what took place on the streets then travelled through social media which in turn propelled events in the public space. While protest is shaped by the materiality of the urban environment, protest also produces space. Secondly, a reading of the space revealed the interplay between symbolic places and the spaces of everyday life. Protests are shaped by the existing materiality of space, which the authorities could further control by putting up extra measures. Due to this, Bersih 4 ended up occupying the intersection between symbolic and institutional places and spaces of everyday life. The polite restraint shown by Bersih 4 (in not entering Dataran Merdeka – which was barred to them) served to amplify the distance between the state and the people, further magnified by the fact that the protest coincided with Independence Day (31 August). The junction that Bersih occupied was teeming with people throughout the occupation but Dataran Merdeka was left empty and silent on the eve of the Independence Day commemoration. On the other hand, a thematic analysis of tweets revealed that most of those that mentioned geographical places were inflammatory in nature, in the sense that they were urging people to join the protest. Therefore, while the state could construct the symbolism of the space, it does not mean that the space is viewed in a similar way by the people, which means, in turn, that it can be rewritten. This is one way in which the subversiveness of colonial architecture was manifested. Thirdly, I found that the control of digital and material space was symmetrical. This can be seen in three ways: One, how regulations of both spaces can be used to suppress dissent; Two, how access to space can be blocked, either by blocking certain websites or platforms, or by limiting the access to the material public space; and Three, bottom‑up disruptions – while the Red Shirts disrupted Bersih’s performativity in the material public space, cybertroopers were disrupting protest exchanges on Twitter. Finally, the digital and spatial divide between Bersih and its opponents. The digital divide was not defined by degrees of expertise, but, rather, it revealed a differing logic of operation based on norms shaped by what was available to these different parties. Geographically, it revealed the difference between experience of organising protests for a collective cause versus a lack of experience (compounded by racist motivations). What this indicated was that the cleavage does not only run along communal lines, is also political. The research showed how the production of the Malaysian built environment is ambivalent, as is evidenced by the traces of amnesia and mimicry found in the narrative, where identities are grafted onto projections of modernity. Putrajaya shows that there is a disconnect between what the regime claims itself to be, a democracy, and the city it builds. What Putrajaya seems to demonstrate (ironically, as the seat of a democratic government) is how urban planning can be used to design a city so that it does not support the performance of democracy. It is also ironic how Kuala Lumpur, a city founded during the colonial period, is now more accommodating to street protest, cem

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 37
  • 10.1007/s11524-015-9992-x
Exploring the Public Health Impacts of Private Security Guards on People Who Use Drugs: a Qualitative Study.
  • Oct 9, 2015
  • Journal of Urban Health
  • Nicole Markwick + 3 more

Private security guards occupy an increasingly prominent role in the policing of private and public spaces. There are growing concerns regarding security guards' potential to shape violence, discrimination, and adverse health outcomes among vulnerable populations, including people who use drugs (PWUD). This is relevant in Vancouver, Canada, where private security guards have increasingly been employed by private organizations to manage public and private spaces, including those within urban drug scenes. This qualitative study sought to understand interactions between PWUD and private security guards and explore their impacts on health care access, risks, and harms among PWUD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 PWUD recruited from two ongoing prospective cohort studies. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a coding framework comprised of a priori and emergent categories. Study data indicate that participants experience pervasive, discriminatory profiling and surveillance by security guards, which exacerbates existing social marginalization and structural vulnerability, particularly among PWUD of Aboriginal ancestry. Participants reported that security guards restrict PWUD's access to public and private spaces, including pharmacies and hospitals. PWUD also reported that their interactions with security guards often involved interpersonal violence and aggression, experiences that served to increase their vulnerability to subsequent risks and harms. Our findings highlight that private security forces contribute significantly to the everyday violence experienced by PWUD within drug scenes and elsewhere and do so in a manner very similar to that of traditional police forces. These findings point to the urgent need for greater oversight and training of private security guards in order to protect the health and safety of PWUD.

  • Research Article
  • Cite Count Icon 3
  • 10.5204/mcj.406
Eat, Swim, Pray
  • Aug 18, 2011
  • M/C Journal
  • Maree Pardy

Eat, Swim, Pray

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