Abstract
In the image of an urbanised world that is more and more elusive, public space can hardly today be reduced to a defined and permanent typology. Between the evanescence of the new electronic agoras and the enduring settings of traditional urban plazas, a form of public space that is at once nomadic, dynamic and circumstantial can virtually infiltrate itself everywhere. This constantly evolving public space would hypothetically constitute a fluctuating and interstitial constellation that could activate the existing urban framework. In this perspective, play is a promising tactic to reactivate the urban ‘living together’ at a microscale.
In the context of the research programme ‘Temporary Urban Interstices’ carried out by Constantin Petcou and a team of other researchers, the urban exploration workshop SYN- develops, in the La Chapelle neighbourhood in Paris, an intervention that addresses at a small scale the notions of public space and ‘living together’ in the city. The intervention is simple: to set in motion a nomadic and playful device – a mobile football table – as a vector of circumstantial and relational micro-activations. This device proves to be a remarkable catalyst for social interactions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bourriaud N (1998) Relational aesthetics (translated from French by Pleasance S, Woods F, with the participation of Copeland M). Les presses du réel, Dijon, 2002
Chevrier JF (1997) Mobilité urbaine et théâtre métropolitain. Cahiers de la recherche architecturale, Paris, n° 41, pp 121–132
Debord G (ed) (1958a) Contribution à une définition situationniste du jeu. Unsigned text. Internationale situationniste, n° 1, pp 9–10
Debord G (ed) (1958b) Preliminary problems in constructing a situation. Unsigned text. In: Knabb K (ed and trans) Situationist international anthology. Bureau of Public Secrets, Berkeley, 1981, pp 43–45. First published in French in Internationale situationniste, n° 1, 1958
Debord G (ed) (1958c) Definitions. Unsigned text. In: Knabb K (ed and trans) Situationist international anthology. Bureau of Public Secrets, Berkeley, 1981, pp 45–46. First published in French in Internationale situationniste, n° 1, 1958
Debord G (1967) Society of the spectacle. Black & Red, Detroit. First published in French in 1967 by Éditions Champ Libre
Deleuze G, Guattari F (1980) A thousand plateaus: capitalism and schizophrenia (trans and foreword by Massumi B). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. First published in French in 1980 by Éditions de Minuit
Foucault M (1984) Of other spaces. In: Diacritics, vol 16, n° 1. Cornell University, Ithaca, 1986, pp 22–27. First published in French as “Des espaces autres” (Conférence au Cercle d’études architecturales, 14 mars 1967), Architecture Mouvement Continuité (AMC), n° 5, Paris, 1984, pp 46–49
Guattari F (1977) Molecular revolution: psychiatry and politics. Penguin Books, New York, 1984. First published in French in 1977 by Éditions Recherches, Fontenay-sous-Bois
Huizinga J (1949) Homo ludens. A study of the play-element in culture. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London/Boston/Henley
Kotanyi A, Vaneigem R (1961) Elementary program of the Bureau of Unitary Urbanism. In: Knabb K (ed and trans) Situationist international anthology. Bureau of Public Secrets, Berkeley, 1981, pp 65–67. First published in French in: International Situationniste, n° 6, Paris
Nicolas-Le Strat P (2007) Interstitial multiplicity. In: Petcou C, Petrescu D, Marchand N (eds) Urban act: a handbook for alternative practice, AAA. PEPRAV, Paris, pp 314–318
Parazelli M (1997) Pratiques de “socialisation marginalisé” et espace urbain: le cas des jeunes de la rue à Montréal (1985–1995). PhD thesis in Urban Studies, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Parazelli M (2003) L’identité urbaine des jeunes de la rue: une problématisation géosociale de la marginalisation juvénile. In: Morisset LK, Noppen L (eds) Les identités urbaines: échos de Montréal. Éditions Nota bene, Quebec, pp 253–267
Perraton C, Bonenfant M (eds) (2009) Comment vivre ensemble? La rencontre des subjectivités dans l’espace public. Presses de l’Université du Québec, Collection Cahiers du Gerse, Québec, no 9, pp 197–207
Petcou C (ed) (2006) Interstices urbains temporaires, espaces interculturels en chantier, lieux de proximité (rapport intermédiaire). Programme interdisciplinaire de recherche “Art, architecture et paysage”, Paris, March 2006 [The final research report was published in March 2008]
Petcou C (2007) Interstices urbains temporaires [description of the action-oriented research], July 2007 (online). http://www.interstices.org/blog/index.php?Le-projet
Petcou C, Petrescu D, Marchand N (eds) (2007) Urban act: a handbook for alternative practice. AAA (Atelier d’architecture autogérée). PEPRAV (European Platform for Alternative and Research on the City), Paris. www.peprav.com
Petrescu D, Querrien A, Petcou C (eds) (2008) Agir urbain (dossier). Multitudes, Paris, n° 31, pp 11–121
Rancière J (1998) Aux bords du politique. Gallimard, Paris
Winnicott DW (1971) Playing and reality. Tavistock Publications Ltd., London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lévesque, L. (2013). Urban Play as a ‘Social Interstice’: On a Micro-intervention Involving a Mobile Game Device. In: Serreli, S. (eds) City Project and Public Space. Urban and Landscape Perspectives, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6037-0_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6037-0_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6036-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6037-0
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)