Alleyways in a Global Perspective
Research Project Annotation
The research will critically explore alleyways which are understood as ordinary neighbourhood landscape providing the setting for everyday urban life and place-based identities being shaped by varied everyday practices, collective experiences and forces. As alleyways mark the intersection between public and private forms of use and habitation, they can allow us to understand the socio-spatial, personal and cultural dimension of urban realities. As liminal space, alleyways offer the potential to become the vehicle of different intellectual, artistic, cultural, economical and political discourses. On the other hand, urban alleyways provide multiple narratives of change which make it possible to understand how vernacular places are transformed and help us to re-negotiate the function of different public spaces in inner city areas.
The research argues that an analysis of this marginalised urban form can lead to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of urban change and a more sensitive approach to the design of ordinary places. If urban planners and architects are to develop alternative approaches to the creation of diverse and versatile public places in contemporary cities to facilitate richer levels of social interaction, then they must confront the real and conceptual links between everyday practices of place making – the social construction, appreciation and attachment to place – and the ways in which places are affected and shaped by global forces.
Alleys are one of these untapped spaces which conceal the unsavoury truths of our urban habitation although being often ignored as gray, hidden or dark zones of our urban experience that we observe from the distance, but which we are not yet able to understand. But with the increasing intensification and gentrification of urban communities worldwide, we should develop a greater understand of alleyways as they can present a great opportunity to create a more vibrant, healthy and sustainable urban environment – if we can implement new ideas how to integrate these forgotten spaces, while still maintaining their cultural and functional meaning.
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