Blog | Nationen/Orte

6. August 2021

Infrastructural violence in Johannesburg’s taxi industry

Silvia Danielak

Since the emergence of ride-hailing applications, South African urban centers have seen a rise in violence between the traditional metered taxis and the new ride-share services. Hundreds of criminal cases have been opened over the last years, and protests organized by ride-hailing drivers have drawn attention to the rising tension in the transport industry. A focus on urban infrastructure might shed new light on the history, politics and materiality of places that perpetuate violence in South Africa’s cities.

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26. April 2021

Conflicted fantasies and spatial identities: from Ramallah to Paris

Aseel Aldeek

This post presents a personal account of my experiences growing up in Ramallah, Palestine, studying at Al-Quds Bard university in Palestine and then emigrating to France. It is an overview of all the spaces I had to interact with throughout my life which have now come to define my identity. By observing the different political and social atmospheres in different spaces and their effect on me, I have come to realise that my identity has no static definition and is continuously redefined through every space I exist in.

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16. April 2021

Fluid boundaries of urban living spaces

Melissa Bayer

In the city of Antofagasta in Northern Chile, 16,396 people live in around 62 so-called informal settlements which lack basic service provision – with water access being the residents’ main concern. Drawing on extensive qualitative fieldwork carried out between 2018 and 2020, this blog post offers a hydro-social analysis of the informal practices of water acquisition employed by the residents of Antofagasta’s informal settlements. By taking into account both the material elements of these practices as well as their underlying logics and rationalities, the author aims to shed light on the reciprocal relationship between official water access and social belonging, paving the way for a more nuanced discussion of urbanisation processes.

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26. März 2021

Ein Gefühl von Heimat – Stadien als Orte von Polykontexturalität

Dr. Michael Wetzels

Wenn wir von »Stadien« sprechen, haben wir bestimmte Bilder im Kopf. Orte, an denen sich »legendäre« Spiele ereignet haben, jubelnde Fans, kurzum: Räume, an denen sich Großes ereignet und viele Menschen zusammenkommen. All diese Vorstellungen ist eins gemeinsam: Stadien wirken auf Menschen vielfältig oder um ein Wort aus diesem SFB zu verwenden: polykontextural. Was verbirgt sich hinter diesem komplizierten Wort? Das werde ich in diesem Blogbeitrag am Beispiel des Olympiastadions Berlin und dem Verein Hertha BSC erklären.

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19. März 2021

Energie, Infrastruktur und Herrschaft

Wie lassen sich Energiewende, Demokratie und Ökonomie zusammendenken, um den Herausforderungen des Anthropozäns zu begegnen? Der Blogbeitrag skizziert aus einer räumlichen Perspektive, wie Energieinfrastrukturen nicht nur bestimmte Produktionsverhältnisse, sondern auch spezifische Herrschaftsmuster begünstigen. Während Kohle und insbesondere Erdöl kapitalistischen Oligopolismus und Autoritarismus befördern, bieten erneuerbare Energien durchaus postkapitalistische und demokratische Potenziale, wenn Energieautonomie mit lokalen Entscheidungsstrukturen und solidarischen Wirtschaftsformen ineinander ginge.

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26. Februar 2021

“I will kill you, I will waste your life and nothing will happen”.

Rebecca Enobong Roberts | Comrade Deji Adeyanju

Navigating public space is globally complex and complicated . In nations of the Global South, where democracies are gradually becoming problematic , it is becoming obvious that these democracies are blurry with porous boundaries. Various mechanisms such as “no trespassing” signs, high fences and strategic CCTV cameras all testify to increasing contestations over what public space means and who has a right to access it. In Africa, the situation is progressively getting worse, as the recent oppression and killings of unarmed protesters in public spaces attest to. For example, the arrest and killings of unarmed protesters in the cities of Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria and Kampala, Uganda , should bring to the fore debates and questions on the reconfiguration and negotiation of public space. In this post, we seek to reflect on the ENDSARS protest in Nigeria and its implications for rights to public space in Nigeria.

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1. Februar 2021

Apart Yet So Close – A report on Cairo’s Pandemic Experience

Dina Nageeb

The Coronavirus outbreak has had an impact on cities and populations all over the world. Although the virus itself is only a tiny, invisible thing, it has set a challenge for humanity: public spaces in cities have become empty, airports are closed, prayers have been cancelled and people are told to stay home for the first time in our lifetime. As cities are not meant to only satisfy basic human needs but provide crucial physical and social environments for human interaction, the changes the virus has brought to urban spaces have left stark impressions on their inhabitants and vice versa. Our daily habits influence our lives, and the way we act and interact reforms our built environment.

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22. Januar 2021

TANGIBLE & INTANGIBLE BORDERS IN CONTEMPORARY BEIRUT

Laura Isabelle Simak

This report from Beirut presents the topic of tangible and intangible borders-in-flux, which underlie the complexities of social space in modern Beirut Central District (BCD), on account of top-down planning after the civil war and the accumulation of the latest disruptive events, peaked by the port-blast on August 4th. Along with Lefebvre's triad (1974) —the people-less and conceptualized space of 'conceived' dimensions, the navigation of spatial practices or 'perceived space', and the signs and symbols of 'lived space'— it points out the changes in the urban fabric and linked contemporary borders. After introducing BCD, I will focus on Martyrs' Square due to its unique position in Beirut's former demarcation line, the main venue for political protests, and impacted area after the blast.

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