Eleventh International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Cities in the global North are confronted with increasing socio-spatial inequalities and uneven development. In times of austerity, poor neighborhoods are hit hardest by neoliberal urban development and funding cuts. The aim of this paper is to comprehend poverty in the GFL area through everyday spatial practices of the urban poor and to examine how these practices are affected by urban developments in the area. We provide an in-depth ethnographic account of everyday routines and social conventions of people experiencing poverty in GFL. Our findings reveal how spatial practices that enable poor residents in GFL to meet basic needs are precariously balanced with many intersecting social, spatial, economic, and political structures. They also portray how many residents feel new developments in the area attempt to hide the presence of poverty by oppressing the undesirable aspects associated with it. Consequently, new developments disrupt residents’ spatial practices, thereby undermining their capacity to cope with poverty. We recommend a shift from thinking about developments in poor urban areas in terms of increasing desirability and profitability to becoming more aware of and involved in local practices. A first step toward more inclusive urban development starts with acknowledging and allowing space to poverty in areas such as GFL. We argue the right to the city includes the right to urban development in accord with one’s own everyday spatial practices.