Journal of Urban Cultural Studies - Current Issue

Graffiti has long been seen as a non-mainstream form of cultural expression and urban culture. In recent decades, graffiti and street art as communicative practices have significantly changed in terms of their symbolic meaning, aesthetic value, purpose and perception. This research explores this de-marginalization of graffiti, using as a lens the perceptions and views of the different actors involved in the processes of graffiti legitimization. It contributes to our understanding of the internal dynamics taking place during these processes, identifying attitudes and tendencies that prevail. The research identifies thematic areas contributing to graffiti legitimization and discusses the agendas and attitudes of different categories of actors that have not yet received much attention.

This article examines the contested formation of Spain’s largest wholesale food distribution centre, Mercamadrid, in relation to wider projects of neo-liberal restructuring in Madrid, Spain, during the second half of the twentieth century. It first links the installations at Mercamadrid to efforts undertaken by the Franco Regime (1939–75) to liberalize the nation’s fledgling economy. To draw out some of the path-dependent legacies of Francoist urbanism, the article then explores a supply-chain dispute that unfolded at the wholesale complex during the Transition (1975–82) and early democratic periods (1982–96). A close reading of the so-called Fruit Sellers’ War of 1986 will show how urban elites symbolically framed Mercamadrid’s urban landscape as a bastion of consumer rights. The focus thereafter moves to the Arganzuela district, where prior to Mercamadrid’s construction the city’s original trio of municipal markets were previously located. This to show that a series of large-scale urban development projects there – the Atocha train station, the Matadero Madrid arts and cultural centre, and the Madrid Río Park – transformed the once-polluted industrial and service district into an iconic landscape of a burgeoning global city. The shifting narratives surrounding the purpose and function of Mercamadrid provide insights into the powerful ways that capital shapes the geographies of our cities to legitimize its own self-serving growth ideologies.

This study explores the role of ‘The Pobladores’ Carnival’ in Santiago, Chile, as a platform for collective action. The document investigates the historical and social role of the artistic-cultural practices in mobilizing urban poor settlers and their contribution to the transformation and negotiation of urban space. The research employs qualitative and ethnographic data from in-depth interviews, participant observation and documentary sources. It delves into the concept of ‘carnivalization’ and its interpretations, the historical development of carnival practices in Chile and the concept of ‘carnival politics’ in the local urban spaces. The article’s contribution to the field of urban cultural studies lies in its insights into the role of creativity and cultural practices in renegotiating urban inequality, rearticulating urban periphery actors and promoting the Right to the City.

This article is an in-depth exploration of the struggle of becak motor (abbreviated as bentor) drivers as homo sacer who must fight hard amidst the wheels of neo-liberalism at the grassroots level. Becak motor is a kind of motorized pedicab commonly found in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java. In the era of the free market, bentor drivers are not only battling over economic resources to get passengers, but they are also fighting against structural barriers where regulations on bentor are left deliberately unclear. The exacerbation of this condition is caused by their uncertainty in obtaining access to proper welfare as citizens. This study employs a qualitative method with a life history approach that specifically explores the journey of life and important events that have shaped the lives of bentor drivers in Yogyakarta. The informants consisted of three categories: first, bentor drivers from urban areas; second, from the countryside (rural); third, bentor drivers who represent becak association administrators. The findings of this study indicate that bentor drivers have to struggle to access economic resources at the grassroots level due to several factors, such as the increasing number of private vehicles leading to a decrease in demand for the use of bentors, increasing competition with online transportation applications; there are structural barriers related to the regulation of bentors which continuously being ignored; and other negative stigma attached to bentors. In facing these challenges, they also have a survival strategy developed from a mutual help mechanism designed within the bentor community. Therefore, this article offers an academic debate on the battle of bentor drivers as a homo sacer in the vortex of neo-liberalism, as well as presents a critical perspective in providing an overview of how neo-liberalism works at the grassroots level.

A colossal mosque, recently built by the current Islamic conservative government, now threateningly looms over Taksim Square where the memories of the Gezi Park protests silently mingle with the spirits of the Armenian cemetery lying beneath. The recent transformation of Istanbul’s historically most contested urban space, once recognized as Christian Pera, symbolically and also very intensely mirrors the latest backlash unleashed by ‘Islamopolis’ against the Ottoman cosmopolitanism and Turkish secularism, which are respectively framed as ‘urban affects’ in this article. Viewing the recent affective impact of Islamopolis as a scholarly invitation, I intend to revisit the urban origins of Istanbul’s Occupy encampment through the lenses of intersectional methodologies approaches and bourgeoning affect literature in urban studies.

This article discusses the unique qualities and experience of attending London’s Sculpture in the City trail. The piece also explores differences between gallery art and public art, as well as notions of transcendence in art. The concept of belief is also discussed as variously illustrated by religious architecture, art or a financial system that gambles on futures and insurances. Ultimately and implicitly, the piece encourages ways to think about our encounters with art in our urban setting, and specifically with public sculpture.