Relative rhythms, urban oases, and spatial resilience / Exploring syntaxes of seclusion, solitude, and tranquility

Abstract

This article engages with the role of what one might tentatively call “secondary” urban spaces, in that while they are public, they are not the most vibrant, populated, or active places. These are not the spaces envisioned in many project illustrations. They are not full of people and activity. They are however a crucial part of a wider texture of urban situations, and important to extending our understanding of seclusion, solitude, and tranquility beyond distant parks and recreation areas. My aim here is to understand the emergence of these spaces in-between; those that are close to the vibrant streets and are embedded in city centers yet which offer a respite from the most bustling urbanity. These spaces, I will argue, more easily allow for the kinds of interactions that can lead to bridging and bonding with the unknown, in addition to the important everyday encounters that occur on central streets and squares. Using qualitative methods which build on Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis, the discussion will draw on observations of the syntactic properties that condition, enable, and characterize such spaces, and address a series of concepts, including capacity, insulation, sequencing, and interface. A better understanding of such places, it is argued, not only allows a richer set of tools for working with urban design and planning, but offers possibilities for more resilient planning in terms of generating social relations, the emergence of communities, and for cities to manage and withstand extraordinary conditions.