Circadian Space: An Ethnographical Study

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CIRCADIAN SPACE emerges from an interpretation of time - namely daily rhythmes - as a rule of space and human behavior within it. As Lefebvre writes at the end of the 20th century: ...public space becomes the site of a vast staging where all these relations with their rhythms show and unfurl themselves... It is to be noted that a deserted street at four o’clock in the afternoon has as strong a significance as the swarming of a square at market or meeting times...

PROXEMICS AND TEMPORALITY E.T. Hall’s science of proxemics contributes to an understanding of the wide range of rules which organize and conduct patterns of life in human settlements. Using empirical evidence from animal communities and reflections on his own experiences, Hall reveals how cultural differences condition different sensory worlds, leading to different perceptions. Space becomes a means of tacit communication, choreographing these perceptions and managing the coexistence of their diversity.

Despite touching on a variety of topics, Hall only briefly mentions time, which he bifurcates into monochromatic - meaning compartmentalized or ordered engagements - and polychromatic - meaning simultaneous engagements. Fortunately, others have carried on and contributed to this omission.

In their introduction to Time, the City, and the Literary Imagination, Evans and Cramer talk about the many ways to understand or ‘read’ time in cities. Like space, time is experienced differently by different people and therefore exists as a collection of ‘fractured chronologies.’ Time may be seen as something regulated and organized by institutions, enterprises, or individual citizens, but time also has the capacity to resist such rules within heterotopias such as during transit or within parks at night. Evans

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and Cramer go on to discuss the contrast between the city as a thing which endures over time whilst maintaining aspects of ephemerality and temporariness. In this latter category, events may create ad hoc time zones existing beyond typical conventions.

Throughout, time is treated as a rule which organizes activity. It contains enough shared meaning between individuals and entities to be communicative, while permitting for a variety of differences, cultural or otherwise, much like Hall’s proxemics.

The relationship between these two organizational criteria is perhaps less explored. When space as a rule and time as a rule meet, does one dominate? Do they frequently complement each other or cause conflicts? Since the assumed understanding is that they frequently operate in tandem, are they distinguishable?

These questions arose within the following ethnographic field study.

SITE AND METHODOLOGY The fieldwork took place at Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan in the northern corner of Milan’s Porta Venezia interchange. One of the busiest movement nodes in the city, metropolitan rail, suburban rail, tram, and high-capacity roadways all converge on this location leading to many daily passersby. Corso Buenos Aires,

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running on a North-South axis through the site is one of the most frequented commercial strips in the city, and the oldest public garden in the city is situated to the southwest. Both attract people to this part of Milan, if not to the Piazza directly. These mingling spaces extend underground. Piero Portaluppi’s historic ‘Day Hotel,’ located directly under the piazza, served locals throughout much of the 2oth century and still leaves a topographic trace on the piazza above. In sum, this is a dynamic area with many functions coexisting in space.

clues to their perception of the space in that moment, and so to them some gratitude is due.

During the study period, Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan was functionally anchored by a McDonalds. A hair salon, pizzeria, and cafe are also present in the space, but were only open for brief moments due to the epidemiological condition.

mobile users, or those passing through the space en route to an alternate destination

Direct observation was the primary study method; however, in such a bustling area, observing everything at once proved an impossible task. This was resolved by scheduling 5-10 minute visits to the site at a variety of hours which acted as ‘snapshots’ - complemented by several lengthier, impromptu visits. The goal in each visit, beyond an open survey, was to try to make sense of the volume and variety of people who were there in that moment, where they were located within the space - and why and finally, how the space responded to and conditioned these actions.

Simple people and object mapping exercises were conducted during each visit, along with weather and climate information, which served as journal, documenting observations and insights made in the field. These later became useful as tools to reconstruct and compare changes over time.

Photography complemented all of the above.

Staying true to the example laid out in Kitchen Stories, I did not verbally engage with people, unless they engaged me first.

This occurred several times, often consisting of a few questions to alleviate curiosity and concern about my own activities within the space. These folks also became unexpected informants for their own use groups, offering

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OBSERVATIONS The many, diverse users of the space could be categorized in endless ways, but after several visits, three primary categories emerged: stationary users, or those staying within the space for an extended time

workers, mostly food delivery couriers, but occasionally sanitation or maintenance crews As alluded to in the introduction, observations around time as a dimension emerged as the most interesting. Documentation of visits was done according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) since it is the standard imposed upon most of the planet, but other chronologies also appeared to shape the place. McDonalds appeared to attract, or be associated with, about half of the space’s users during its open hours. Before typical mealtimes, workers would stage in the eastern part of the Piazza, socializing, strategizing, and sometimes blending in with other stationary users of the space, up until seemingly calibrated moments of peak intensity when they became more movement oriented and turned over at a high rate. In this way, the schedule or internal chronology of the restaurant influenced the spatial use of the piazza, and even ruled the sensory atmosphere. The space was notably quieter when these businesses were not operating, and when combined with darkness in the evening, the vacancy of the Piazza even felt insecure.

Other variables such as weather attach themselves to time, creating complex circumstances. The period of site observation was particularly wet - about half of the visits were during either outright rain or a brief intermission within a wet day. The effects of these climactic factors on the user categories proved difficult to determine within the time frame. Wet weather appeared to reduce the number of people loitering or staying within the space, but there was no noticeable reduction in mobile users or couriers. The data collected indicates that it caused a reduction in total users. Rain also appeared to produce a vacuum effect where people stuck to the edges of the space, even if it did not offer a dryer environment in reality.

The regulations set by the government responding to the covid-19 situation varied significantly during the period of observance.

During stricter periods, the space contained fewer stationary users, mostly in the evening hours, and the curfews also had a direct influence on quickly emptying users in

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Representatives of the three primary user groups observed within the Piazza. (1) stationary users, (2) mobile users, (3) workers

the evening. Beyond these factors, the mandates appeared to have less direct influence on how the space was used and more indirect influence by proxy of the restaurants, McDonalds never ceased preparing food for delivery through the various mobile applications, and because of this, gig economy workers consistently used the space. However, in only about half of visits were non-workers permitted to order and collect take-away meals on site. The restaurant was open to the public for eating onsite even more sporadically - approximately 15% of visits. In each instance the number mobile, but especially stationary users greatly increased. By altering the chronologies of the businesses who rule the space by thier timetables, these regulations altered behavior.

It became apparent that people had differing relationships to the space, perhaps depending on the cumulative time spent there. Many users appeared to be occasional - they came for a meal, to meet a companion, or maybe to do some type of sport in the Piazza. Often these users conveyed more caution within the space. If they were eating take-away, they crouched in corners or behind furniture to reduce their visibility.

Several who were skateboarding, for instance, asked whether I was a journalist, concerned that images of their poor mask behavior might be shared with the public. For them, the space – especially in the pandemic era contained uncertainty. As such it was used with caution and corresponding positions were taken. These users were complemented by others, who were identified on multiple days within the space. Many were vagrants, and they expressed a comfortability and familiarity with the space, perhaps acquired through sheer time spent there. There was less concern with the rules set by authorities.

They understood the space well enough to know which bench remained dry during rainfall, and which corners were naturally the most concealed from street surveillance.

It was apparent that the Piazza is a very masculine-dominated space. Women still frequently moved through the space, particularly at the edges, and some stationary users were also women. However, the work users were unanimously male, and a disproportionate number of the other

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users were also male. This aspect has not been explored in depth, but some rough connections can be made with time as it pertains to daylight. The mornings had more gender parity in terms of use than evenings.

As a final topic, one can observe the ways in which the space shifts over time through its materiality. Hall’s conception of space is not necessarily Newtonian, but rather a relative, material one, formed by sensory perception.

When the weather was dry and pandemic regulations favorable, the restaurants would set up outdoor seating areas which filled the central part of the Piazza. It was extremely rare during the study period, but it appeared to eliminate the vacuum effect of the internal space and shift the location of each user.

Even more noticeable, and perhaps equally significant is the fluctuation of rubbish within the space. Throughout each day, the waste in the space, mostly paper products from McDonalds, would begin to fill the space.

Some of this refuse overflowed from disposal bins, and some could be identified beyond the Piazza itself on nearby sidewalks.

Regularly scheduled sanitation workers would arrive to remove much of this, and the cycle would repeat. In this sense, the space itself seemed to expand and shrink with time.

CIRCADIAN SPACE This final section will combine these observations and make the case for a timeregulated understanding of space. Derived from biology, the word circadian refers to the endogenous processes within organisms that drive them to follow a certain timetable – chiefly a 24-hour rhythm. Just as Hall takes an understanding of organism’s sensory worlds and upscales it to group level in order to form a communication theory around space and proximity, one might also consider how individual circadian rhythms lead to a new understanding of time as a rule amongst the collective. The interaction between time and space leads to a circadian space.

While many fragmented chronologies exist in Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan, the day is still the overarching organizing period. Businesses, governing institutions, and even individual citizens set their own rhythms from this

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meta-cycle, and the space reflects this.

With minor accommodation for weather and safety-related shifts, the space exhibits roughly similar usage characteristics at the same time daily time stamp. The oscillating process is reflected in the materiality of the space. Umbrellas are erected and eating areas occupy the space during the day before receding at night. Rubbish slowly accumulates throughout the day before being hauled away and restarting. Despite the variability, conflicts appear minimal. One may question if the shifting materiality could be coordinated to better accommodate the preferences of some user majority, or if there are potential users who avoid the space because their time-marked interest is incompatible with the dominant use and material configuration of that moment.

Overall, the users were observed to exercise a high level of tolerance.

Lefebvre takes on this idea in Rhythmanalysis where he discards the frequently used linear conception of time, for one which is attentive to repetition and difference. As rhythms become associated with space and activity, a certain tempo of life emerges, which accommodates the many interacting timelines. These rhythms show a certain independence and agency, while also being conditioned and synchronized by the whole.

It shows how diverse groups might coexist within a Piazza and develop unique, yet coordinated behaviors, and it makes a strong case for time as a rule.

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Sources: 1.

Evans, Anne-Marie., & Kramer, Kaley. (2021). Time, the City, and the Literary Imagination.

10.1007/978-3-030-55961-8.

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Hall, Edward T. (1990). The Hidden Dimension. Random House. New York.

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Lefebvre, Henri. (2004). Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time, and Everyday Life.

Continuum. New York.

Typical allocation of user-groups in the Piazza. (1) Morning, (2) Evening CIRCADIAN SPACE

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IMAGE 1: Northwest perspective of Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan on rainy afternoon. Is it a subliminal desire to be indoors? The vacuum effect of the space is observed, and the way in which rain pushes users to exterior walls.

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IMAGE 2: Plotted user volumes in Piazza Gugliemo Oberdan throughout the day. The Y-axis counts are not rigorous, but rather estimated from 1-minute records while within the space at different times of day. Varying weather and heath restrictions are aggregated.

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IMAGE 3: Northeast perspective of Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan during a wet and ‘orangezone’ morning. The space’s materiality is recessed in response to its dormant period.

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IMAGE 4: Southeast perspective in Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan at dinnertime rush hour, around 7:00 PM. The intensity of use, especially by workers, is visible.

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IMAGE 5: Late evening take-away diners take up more makeshift and concealed positions within the space in the absence of better provisions during lockdown.

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IMAGE 6: Northwest perspective of Piazza Guglielmo Oberdan just before the 10:00 PM curfew. The photo captures the eerie emptiness of the space as it prepares for its hours of rest at the trough of the circadian rhythem.

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IMAGE 7: Litter within the plaza in the late afternoon before the sanitation crews arrive.

Accumulating rubbish indicates the circadian character of the space and the branded entity whose chronology is dominant.

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THE HIDDEN RULES OF THE CITY