The Cosmopolitan Grassroots City as Megaphone

Reconstructing Public Spaces through Urban Activism in Jakarta

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4382452
AutoresRita Padawangi (0000-0002-8050-7711, Asia Research Institute National University of Singapore 469A Tower Block #08‐22 Bukit Timah Road 259770 Singapore, autor de correspondencia)
Año2013
Volumen37
Número3
Páginas849-863
Fecha de publicación2013-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Urban and Regional Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0309-1317 • E-ISSN: 1468-2427
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2427.2013.01210.x
OpenAlexW1769838277
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas19

Discussions on social movements in Asian cities are inseparable from the abundance of public rallies in the region. In this article, I look at the case of Thamrin-Sudirman, the main thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia, to uncover how physical urban spaces constituting part of the city as living systems broaden the reach of social movements' agendas. The study involved continuous observation at rallies, interviews with social movement leaders and participants, and a look at simultaneous public rallies in various cities. This article analyzes the sites of public rallies as 'megaphones', based on the patterns of issues featured in the rallies, the groups participating, and the nodes and paths that they constructed. Two key dimensions of the megaphone are: (1) the symbolic and historical significance of the sites of rallies; (2) the relationship between the space and the media. Particular sites in cities become places where information is gathered, distributed and transferred through the media, facilitating a network among cities. This article concludes that cities are agents of political actions that amplify ideas and spread them across the globe. The urban centers' megaphonic function results from the synergy between the public space in the built environment and the public sphere, and is reflective of the recentering of the city

Globe · Grassroots · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Public space · Public sphere · Social media · Social movement · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies