This is a VERY rough draft – I still need to work and write out the details in the background, method, etc:
Note: (added 5/15/17) – I will revise my final draft to reflect more on the concept of Heterotopias and Panopticism (re: Foucault) and space as power. Though I am still very much interested in urban art and graffiti, I will keep this as a side project and for study in my senior undergrad thesis next year.
ABSTRACT:
I propose that within urban spaces there exist two cities: One, a city in constant development, a place of prosperity, $6 lattes, rising rents, and a privileged class of people generally thriving or at least getting by with plenty to spare. Two, a city often unseen or not wanted to be seen, populated by struggling communities, homeless, immigrants not considered “part of the same urban space”, people unable to be settled. The chasm between these two cities continues getting wider as developments and planning meant for “everyone” clearly exclude inhabitants of “the second city” and, in fact, seem to seek to erase city two completely. In both Seattle and Berlin – two cities themselves with a history of grassroots activism and struggle over “space”, now seen as two rising, global cities developing rapidly – one, a self declared “sanctuary city”, the other a city determined to manage the refugee crisis, the disparity seems even greater. Under these conditions, urban art and grassroots development of urban spaces (as opposed to official, sanctioned space activation) seek to make visible this “second city”, to merge the two cities into one and to be included and considered in the development and planning.
BACKGROUND:
The idea of two cities existing together, sharing the same space, came to me after reading the science fiction novel City and the City by China Mielville. The novel is set within the cities of UI Quomo and Beszel, two cities that exist within the same space. While the two cities share a space, they exist as two separate entities with their own unique attributes (language, fashion, architecture, laws, etc). The inhabitants of each city are somewhat aware of the other city and it’s inhabitants but they do not (and are not allowed to) directly acknowledge anything or anyone in the other city. The two cities are watched over by a sort of shadow government known only as “Breach.” Anyone who directly acknowledges the “other” or who attempts to “cross over” is immediately arrested by Breach and harshly punished.
I had the fortune of reading this book during a class called “City of the Future” in which we were examining different aspects of “future cities” and development (within Seattle itself and around the world). Among all aspects of “development” we also examined the darker side – rising rent and home prices, gentrification, the human cost of “eco friendly” and sustainability. City and the City made me consider the idea that, within the shared space of a city such as Seattle (or Berlin, or insert any other “global” city of your choice), there exists two realities or two separate cities. Berlin is particularly interesting as it already has a history of existing as a city divided – with globalization and immigration, the division is no as clear cut as east and west, rather (as within City and the City) the separate “cities” within the city do not have clear demarcation lines. Rather, in this instance, they are intermingled, the edges of each blurred between alleyways, low income neighborhoods, areas of high income and development, etc.
Urban art is sometimes looked upon favorably but “graffiti” is rarely seen in a positive light. I propose that graffiti, along with urban art, and grassroots public space activation areas are ways of making the second “lesser” city visible, of forcing those in the more “developed” city to see and reckon with this other city.
(to be continued)