You think
I’m kidding. No really. I’m literally shouting out into the void here as I work out these ideas. The only
reason any of you are going to read this is if you need to use some of this
stuff in your future papers. That’s fine. Just throw me a shout out at some
point.
So space versus
place.
First let me
start with definitions. Space is defined as a virtual location where people
have defined, there is no way to pen point the location in a physical sense. Place is a physical location. Some places aren’t defined by their
physical location can be spatially defined just by the groups that operate
within them. Both are domains that we live. When thinking about the interactions that are possible in space verse place are different. The positive impacts that the internet has brought about is that it has made place feel closer together. So, as a participant in social media, I have access to people all over the world that I can quickly communicate with. In the past, when places had much most significance, if I wanted to talk to my friend in Costa Rica it would have been much more difficult. Now, I can have a live conversation with them, with little to no effort. The real question is, do interaction that occur in the virtual world actually count. With interactions like online dating and live internet games occurring more and more, the answer is seemingly yes. The interactions that we have with someone online can be seen as equally meaningful as interactions we have in the real world. So does that mean that place will soon become irrelevant?
In this case, I will use Twitter
as an example. Social movements have used this as a platform for organizing and
having live political discussions. The
hashtag (#) is a function of Twitter used to allow members to receive any news,
or “tweets” as they are more commonly known, in order to keep up with the
discussion. If someone tweets a statement about an event they will use a
hashtag that will allow others to respond and use that hashtag. There are many
different spheres of Twitter where communities collectively follow each other
in order to keep up with current events. One of those spheres is called Black
Twitter, which has been known to produce a lot of backlash and stir up conversations
around everything from political issues to pop culture. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, is a great example of this. People from all over the world were exposed to this hashtag and could weigh in on the topic as equally as someone in New York or Detroit.
How does this apply to cities or urban areas? The same way
in which we think about space v place we can think about urbanism and
urbanization. In Urbanism As A Way of
Life, Louis Wirth (1938) writes:
“While urbanism, or that complex of traits which makes up characteristic mode of life in cities, and urbanization, which denotes the development and extensions of these factors, are thus not exclusively found in settlements which are cities in the physical and demographic sense, they do, nevertheless, find their most pronounced expression in such areas, especially metropolitan cities.” (7)Now that the would is becoming more and more urban, urbanization may seemingly fade out as a less centralized issue within urban areas. The way in which spaces are developed and built will be less important than the perceptions of these existing neighborhoods and the way in which neighborhood residents way have already defined their spaces.
When
thinking about a topic that deals with all four of these concepts
gentrification is the best way to synthesize each. Gentrification basically is
the process of making an area suitable to middle class taste. The physical
characteristics of the way the middle class wish to picture their space and how
they conceptualize using their place is manipulated out of the hand of the
lower class or less wealthier residents. In fact, businesses can also be a
great example or signifier that neighborhoods will experience a spatial change
from a guarded area. Let’s think about cafes. The prices are generally aimed at
people that can afford a five-dollar cup of coffee or tea. So their physical
location and prices can be out of reach for low-income residents within their
zones.
The
contentious relationship between Pilsen and a new coffee shop is one example of
this. When the Bow Truss Coffee Shop opened up in Pilsen, the owners and worker
report having mostly received welcoming vides from the neighborhood, but local
gentrification activist protested them and depicted them as invading their
space. The signs included statements in English and Spanish. They included:
“Sabes donde
estas? La raza vive aqui”
“Gentrification
is not welcome here”
“Racism
and Classism smells like coffee”
“Sugar with
your gentrification”
“Te gusta
lucha con tu café? –No One”
Really the
tension here is that this is seen as gentrification not because of the business itself being brought in be because of who the business with serve and benefit. In this
tightly defined space, this type of change is seen as threatening to community
member that know the risk of being displaced from their neighborhoods.
If we reduce the issues of gentrification to the invasion of space by a
different community, usually one with greater access to resources, than the
contention becomes clear. To have business within a community space that is
neither meant to serve or benefit the space it has invaded would be seen as
threatening to that community.
Are you sleep yet?
Pilson Link by the Chicago Eater