Third Space as Transitional Agent Analysis article by Socrates Stratis (CY) — PhD in Architecture, urbanist; Associate Professor, Dpt. of Architecture, Univ. of Cyprus. Co-founder of AA & U www.aaplusu.com; www.socratestratis.com
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OVERCOMING CRISIS
politics happen. And if they diminish, the contemporary
How far do the products you consume travel in order to
society needs to support them because they can
reach your nearest drugstore or supermarket? How far
confront regressive politics of division by transforming
do you need to travel to work, and with which means
impenetrable limits to porous edges, encouraging,
of mobility? Two questions that don’t come to our
therefore, urban exchanges (Sennett, R., “Edges: Self
mind very often. However, when a crisis occurs, they
and the City”, in Mohsen Mostafavi, ed. “Ethics of the
re-emerge persistently. The coronavirus COVID 19 has
Urban: the city and the spaces of the political”, Lars
made visible the trajectories of people and goods in
Muller Publishers, Germany, 2017, pp.261-268).
the laissez-faire globalized economy. “Where to land,
It is not surprising how much the Europan 15 theme of
how to orient ourselves in politics?”, is Bruno Latour’s
‘Productive Cities’ has become utterly topical and at
question having realized that the “ground” the humanity
the same time challenging. Topical, since the Europan
stands on is not stable or even non-existent anymore
actors are discussing how the transformation of
due to the devastating ramifications of climate change
peoples’ milieu can reformulate the relation between
(Latour, B., “Où atterir, comment s’orienter en politique”,
co-living and co-producing. To shorten, in other words,
editions La Decouverte, France, 2017). Latour seeks for
the production trajectories, to make them sustainable,
an answer away from the modernists’ approach that
to invent new ones. Challenging, because, the Europan
takes for granted planet Earth considering its resources
actors are discussing urban design projects that are
inexhaustible. Moreover, he denounces the nationalist
by default limited in size and fragmented when the
way of reacting with a populist regressive manner to
coronavirus COVID 19 reminds us how interconnected
the global economic and environmental crises. Richard
humanity is within the actual problematic global
Sennett gives an additional answer, as regards to
economic context.
where to land ourselves: at the places where everyday
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