Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

This paper centers on the creation of community in two of Madrid’s espacios autogestionados (self-governed spaces). Esta es una plaza and El Campo de la Cebada are two microcosms created by volunteers and that have arisen, in part, out of the severe social, economic, and political unrest and have helped to reinvent the relationship locals have with urban public space. Both function as living organisms in the way in which they are constantly growing, changing, and adapting to their participants’ needs both physically, through visual adaptations, and in how they are organized. Through an analysis of the creation of these spaces, their visual and written iconography, their open architecture and design, and the way in which they are both espacios autogestionados, I will argue that these spaces act as social platforms for the exchange of ideas and opinions, and that through community participation a strong sense of collective identity is created that leads to a sense of catharsis from political and socio-economic stimuli.