Sadie Inman
September 9, 2020
Critical Geography
Response Paper 2
Karl Marx’s line of thought that the current mode of production shapes the consciousness and also the social arena fits closely with the idea of space-time compression. The Renaissance was the beginning of the association between power, knowledge, and space and the idea of ownership through knowledge and cartography. This ideology contributed to colonialism as Europeans went out to make map each area and take the space. Colonialism gave way to capitalism through the same central values of accumulating space and wealth at other’s expense and “space and time…[being] organized…to celebrate and facilitate the liberation of “Man” as a free and active individual, endowed with consciousness and will” (David Harvey). Capitalism today has shortened production and has connected the entire world physically and ideologically. Perceiving the world in a global sense allowed the Renaissance political philosophers to solidify an idea of “otherness” to those they deemed were not controlling space.
This idea of “otherness” is the central problem with numerous social issues today. In very few situations do we directly relate space to our feelings about those people we have set outside our ideas of “normal” or “right”. In instances about race and segregation, we’ve taken away their ability to make place out of space in certain areas. The majority of people in power always control space. There is one group that we, as a society, have taken away their right to have a place anywhere and we have “[trapped] then in space” (Neil Smith). The homeless population in the United States is not only unable to have a private area they can call their own, but they are repeatedly told that they cannot exist anywhere insight of those more fortunate than them. Krzysztof Wodiczko created an art piece (The Homeless Vehicle) that allows them to rebel against this and begin to take back the space. Juneau has a large homeless population and because of the basic services we have here our population is always growing as people travel to Juneau from other towns in Southeast Alaska and even Seattle to live and use those services. The perspective that most settled Juneauites have is that they are a nuisance and they “dirty up our town” but in having those opinions we are doing what NYPD did in Thompson Square in 1988 and removing their very basic right of having place.
Hi Sadie,
ReplyDeleteI also thought of Juneau's homeless population when reading Smith's analysis of 'evicted people,' and the space they are provided along with the space they consume. I find it discouraging that the perspective you bring up of Juneauites is likely, and it reminds me of Massey's urging to consider the perspectives of other people. In the case of the evicted people and the inherent tensions of their homeless vehicle (being showy and practical), I couldn't help but think of how those who are housed flaunt their 'homeness' and 'basic necessities checked offness' (what should be basic rights) in a particularly ostentatious way.
Thanks for your great response.
Thanks for bringing it back to Juneau! I was definitely thinking about local homelessness while reading this.
ReplyDeleteI live downtown, not far from Franklin St. and "The Glory Hall/Hole" which is where the highest "visible" concentrations of Juneau's homeless folks live day to day. It's interesting to think about that space, and "who it belongs to" as Doxa put it in her essay.
Wandering up the street at any hour of the day, I see people in groups hanging out, or with spots staked out in shop entrances to store belongings and sleep. There's a sizable contingent of skateboarders among them, somewhat to my delight. Occasionally I'll spot a tweaker who used to be my roommate and we'll exchange a wave. It's fairly common to be sitting on my porch and hear shouting from the street below: it's just kind of part of the ambience, like the cruise ships usually are...
I have to admit, they are uncomfortable neighbors. To be frank, I wish they weren't there. As I walked up the street, night before last, I was thinking about what a fun, artsy community space the street could be, picturing it cleaner and brighter. But I also see that's it's one of the few places a lot of these folks can have as a community space and meet (produce?) their own needs...
I'm curious about your statement that people come from out of town to take advantage of the services provided to homeless people here. I've heard that before, and it definitely makes sense. I think I've heard it from one or two people who have done so (though I might be imagining it) But I've also heard of research done that indicates that's false. It's an interesting problem: some cities provide resources for homeless people, more homeless people migrate to access those resources, more resources are needed to provide for people. For people who are against providing resources for homeless people, these cities become examples of why it's a bad idea...
This is all rambling. There's a lot to think about. I wish we could have a whole class on local homelessness.
Hi Sadie I like your comments on Juneau too. Being from Texas though I feel we are more tolerable of homeless people here though. People seem to be comfortable enough shopping near them and when I was in Fairbanks I noticed homeless people hanging near parks where families were playing. In Texas most of the homeless population is in poor and dangerous communities and people seem to fear them so much more.
ReplyDeleteVery excellent and precise connection in that first sentence, Sadie. Harvey is now giving a language and a concept to exactly what Marx was arguing in the mid-nineteenth century. this triadic link between modes of production, space, and culture is exactly want we want to keep focus on in each one of our essays moving forward. How are these three categories related and shifting all of the time. How can we take control over that process at each scale of its production?
ReplyDeleteIt is incredible the way in which we can identify the origin of the issues of our present moment within the spatial processes at work in the Enlightenment. It invites us to think different about "progress" and about "history." What is the difference between change and real change across time and space?
You observation of the way "otherness" was overmuch about keeping people in their place within Enlightenment modes of production and modes of cultural practices. It is very valuable to begin to think about these issues in Juneau in and in our own surroundings. The ordinance that controls the homeless in Juneau is referred to as a "No Camping" ordinance. What kind of assumptions are at work in that language? How does it identify homelessness with recreational activity to suggest that it is choice, rather than a failure of the city and state? This focus on individuality and personal responsibility is of course the current dominant ideology of neoliberalism which expresses the time-space compression of our own era, globalization.
I encourage the focus on applying these concepts and practices to our own communities. And we can certainly have an entire class on homelessness or any issue. It is my hope that the readings and discussions begin to inspire projects, essays, and solutions to the issues we are all confronting in our own lives. This material is exactly meant to get you to begin thinking about how we can also produce a new kind of space(s).