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The City as a World in Common: Syncretic Place-Making as a Spatial Approach to Peace

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: This article investigates the relationship between spatial reconfigurations and peace by examining the practice I call syncretic place-making, identified in cities experiencing conflict. I suggest that this spatial practice reflects the promise of Hannah Arendt’s political vision of a world in common, materialized in the city. I discuss architectural conceptualizations such as the Cypriot 2021 Venice Biennial entry and theorize from architectural practices of resistance identified in Sarajevo, defining syncretic place-making as a process of drawing from multiple traditions to celebrate coexistence in space. The article reflects on both the potential and challenges that such place-making has for conflict cities.

Source: Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

DOI: 10.1080/17502977.2022.2132093

Author: Gruia Bădescu

Institution: University of Konstanz

Language: English

Topic: Peacebuilding and International Security

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: University of Cambridge, Universität Konstanz