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Walking in the City of London

Bibliographic Data

ID6220175
AuthorsIsabelle Köksal (City, University of London, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume11
Issue3-4
Pages446-453
Publication date2012-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial movement studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1474-2829 • E-ISSN: 1474-2837
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14742837.2012.704356
OpenAlexW2034435443
LanguageEN
Citations received7

The closure of the ‘public’ Paternoster Square, or more accurately, the fortifying of the space with police, private security and metal barriers, was a moment when the real nature of this ‘public’ space was revealed—only a very specific type of public was welcome, and their activities are restricted to those of work and consumption. The sudden transformation of Paternoster from public to private reflects, in fast-forward mode, the process of the privatization of urban space that is happening in the City of London and beyond. This privatization of vast swathes of the City makes it out of bounds to ordinary people and protest, which greatly undermines the state of our democracy. Armed with picnic baskets, Twister, badminton racquets and our own ‘Street Bingo!’ a group set off to walk and play in the City in order to explore and challenge the increasingly blurred boundaries between public and private space, and with the aims of creating and reclaiming public space. The City of London is predominantly used as a space of financial accumulation for the elite, however, we reckoned, using the City in different ways would displace and disrupt this primary (dys)function. This paper draws from this action-walk around the City of London using it to discuss the changing nature of urban space that has been central to people's discussions and experiences at Occupy London. The paper also argues that the walk can be a powerful action in which people can begin to re-imagine and re-create urban space

Action (physics · Democracy · Elite · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Private space · Public space · Sociology · Cultural Studies and Postmodernism · Engineering · Law · Nostalgia and Consumer Behavior · Walter Benjamin Studies Compilation

  • Mapping hot routes and perceived landscape values of “City Walk” in Beijing’s historical neighbourhoods in the social media era

    Open Access•Haiyun Xu, Yuan Zhou et al.•Humanities and Social Sciences…•2026

  • Geographies of public space

    Open Access•J Qian•Progress in Human Geography•2018

  • The formation of tourists' behavioral intention in City Walk in Malaysia through the embodiment perspective

    Open Access•Zhenbin Wang, Zhang Hui et al.•Acta Psychologica•2025

  • Public space without the public

    Open Access•Alin Li•Chinese Journal of Sociology•2021

  • Occupation as refrain

    Jamie Matthews•Social movement studies•2018

  • Walking, feeling, talking

    Dimitra Kanellopoulou•The Senses and Society•2017

  • Populism, inequality and representation

    Open Access•Jamie Matthews•The Sociological Review•2019

Unique citing works7
Citations per year0,78
Citation span2017 - 2026 (10)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7

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