The Politcal Economy Of Public Space

A recent trip to Marakech and The Reading of Harvey's The Political Economy of Public Space Have lead me to produce the graphic below.

David Harvey, discusses the effects of hausmanisation in creating a public space for the rich alone. He uses Baudalaire's poem, the eyes of the poor to highlight this. In the poem the female character, whilst looking out upon the boulevards of Paris, proclaims to her husband that "Those people are insufferable with their great saucer eyes. Can't you tell the proprietor to send them away?"

In conclusion Harvey states that,


"the character of public space counts for little or nothing politically unless it connects symbiotically with the organization of institutional (in this case commercial though in other cases it may be religious or educational institutions that need to be placed in the forefront of consideration) and private spaces. It is the relational connectivity between public, quasi-public and private spaces which counts when it comes to politics in the public sphere."




http://davidharvey.org/media/public.pdf