R1201_Exchange publics
Reconceptualising exchange in the public city
Understanding the public city involves not just public space but also the people that use it and how use changes over time, accommodating diverse needs and demands. In this chapter, we explore the lived realities of the public realm on Whitecross Street and address questions regarding how people function within diverse systems of exchange in their everyday lives.
Whitecross Street, which is situated within the Bunhill ward in the borough of Islington along the northern edge of the City of London, plays an essential role in providing facilities for the residents and various daytime populations in the wider vicinity. With a range of shops and a popular daytime market, the street contributes to a sense of ‘publicness’ in the area.
In exploring the nature of everyday public life, we do not shy away from acknowledging the way in which the urban is shaped by capitalism and consumption. Instead, we recognise that human interactions are embedded in systems where the social and the spatial, consumption and production, and the monetary and non-monetary are not only linked but interdependent…
Description_
Studio project for MSc City Design and Social Science 2011-2012
Credits_
Author(s)_Caitlin Amos, Denizer Ibrahim, Jorge Martín & Magdalena Morel
References_
‘Exchange Publics, Whitecross Street’ in Public City. LSE Cities Programme Studio 2012. Edited by Fran Tonkiss y Suzanne Hall. London. pp. 115-135.