The Interacting Subject in Urban Public Space: In Need of Places for Interpersonal Cooperation

This PhD research examines the relations between public space and interpersonal interaction. More in particular it looks at how spatial configurations, or actions afforded by particular spatial set ups, influence interpersonal interaction in a positive way. It sounds logical that interpersonal collaboration can be rewarding, but what encourages people to work together and what role does the spatial configuration play in this cooperative interaction? The doctorate searches for human drives and uncovers various ways in which people make adjustments to spatial configurations in (public) spaces in order to attend to and nurture the social need of belonging through interpersonal interaction. The research is situated in the field of Planning and more in particular of Social Innovation (SI). In spatial terms this broadly means that it involves among others the socio-spatial development of a certain spatial area, be it a neighbourhood or a site. SI is about transformation of social relations in a place, through stimulating or animating e.g. reconfiguration of identities, reconstruction of social relationships, (re)building of community identity, re-appropriation of (public) space through social mobilisation. The research also touches upon disciplines like feminism and anthropology, because throughout it uses a cross combination of ethnography and phenomenology as a research methodology in which, among others, intersectionalism is used, but also brings in a self-reflective account on research related topics. Intersectionalism allows to reveal various strands of discrimination; it further touches upon social psychology where it brings interpersonal interaction and the notion of 'social cues' to the fore, i.e. signals people transmit with their bodies such as facial expressions, pitch, occupying a particular place, … ; it makes use of social and cultural geography where its main context is 'space', i.e., the structural and geometrical qualities of the built environment. As such it also includes dimensions of lived experience, interaction and use of space, to which we refer as 'place'. Culture in this research's perspective is best understood in its contextual and historical context. It is the distinct ways that people living in different parts of the world classify and represent their experiences, and act creatively. This behaviour refers to a set of norms and values of a particular culture, its language, its artistic expression, its religion, politics, economy and technology and also its creation of the livability of the landscape by bringing in a particular culture; and in the instances where it focuses on the physical design and management of urban structures, it touches upon urbanism. The research also employs an innovative workshop method for the design of (public) mural making. The PhD consist of four papers with four different case studies pursued in different research projects/environments. Paper one reports on a small-scale case study about first-generation Turkish migrant women who migrated to Belgium in the 1970s and who live in Antwerp 2060 (Belgium). A single-group analyses shows how this group of women copes with place related consequences of their migration. Complexity in the analysis is derived from situating the group as a 'social location', at the intersection of four single dimensions of four social categories: (place of) origin, socio-economic situation, age and gender. It shows how the interviewed women have taken on efforts to re-enact and renegotiate places in search of interpersonal connection within their new environment and illustrates how the benefit of economic migration for these migrant women comes with several social, including interpersonal sacrifices, that are reflected in a 'deduplicated' feeling of belonging. Paper two describes place related aspects, both material and immaterial, that support a small group of people of very diverse (cultural) origin to cooperate in a natural way in the SPIT vzw business kitchen. The study uncovered a dialogical work attitude, often based on social cues, between workers and work leaders. This attitude not only promotes recognition of a person but, at the same time, gives a natural and informal feeling to working together in diversity. Paper three shows that genuine youth participation in neighbourhood development requires a deep and enduring commitment to invest in interpersonal relations with youth and look at their relation with space. The small St Remi Park once was a physically and socially dilapidated environment where one youth gang ruled to the detriment of other children, youth and locals. It was a basis of trust and true listening skills that made up the core of a successfully implemented youth participation process to the redevelopment of one of Molenbeek's (Brussels - Belgium) public places attracting an ethnically diverse public. Paper four describes the fully collaborative 'mural making experience' of Welcome (W)all - MURO. It is a context sensitive participatory art project embedded in an action research process located in the socio-economic disadvantaged neighbourhood of Cruz Vermelha, Lisbon. A researcher, a youth organisation, a school and pupils together with the local public administration of Lumiar, were the principal partners of the project. The project took the pupils outdoor to create a mural on which they could display their (public) place related needs, attachments and personal capacities. Findings confirm that the arts and crafts workshop setting for mural making does accommodate empowering opportunities for learning and socialisation in youth as seen through the mediating factor of the body. The overall research findings inform on the importance of social cues. Social cues are important instigators for people to make adjustments to a spatial configuration in (public) spaces in order for them to attend to and nurture the social need of social interaction and belonging. The transmission of these social cues is afforded by spatial objects and is always context specific. People in need to belong, which often coincides with living in a socio-economic precarious situation, show a higher degree of attentiveness and reactivity to social cues. Especially in workshop settings involving crafts or creative manual labour activities, attending to social cues can create positive visceral feelings which foster a feeling of belonging and, in turn, contribute to interacting in a cooperative way.status: publishe