Designing care via sharing: Theorizing South-South urban practices

Karimnia, Elahe

Abstract

The paper theorises from the sharing of south-south urban practices that restore care to the city and thereby transform the meaning of public spaces. The “wall of kindness” originated in Mashhad and other cities of Iran, under conditions of austerity and threats of sanctions. Citizens anonymously began sharing the basic necessities of life, such as clothing [and later books, tools and other items for homes] by attaching hangers outside the walls of buildings followed by the motto: "Leave what you don't need" and "Take what you do". Since then, the concept has travelled to other cities of mainly the Global South (such as 'Muro da Gentileza' in Rio de Janeiro) and its form has developed, while the main meaning of care through sharing in cities stays the same.

This paper investigates and theorises how such south-south practices emerge, grow and transfer around the world by further developing the comparative analysis of types and degrees of publicness [following Karimnia 2018] in two cities: Tehran and Rio de Janeiro. These community-based urban practices appropriate the urban walls and transform them into public common. Designing care reveals how the material city can be part of meaningful actions through which not only is sharing spatialized, but also the meaning of urban walls is transformed: built for separation, they have become places for sharing and care. These micro-urban practices show the power of grassroots actions in making social change and transforming cities to become democratic spaces

Citation

Karimnia, E. (2019, November). Designing care via sharing: Theorizing South-South urban practices. Paper presented at At the frontiers of the urban: thinking concepts and practices globally, UCL

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: At the frontiers of the urban: thinking concepts and practices globally
• Conference Location: UCL
• Start Date: Nov 10, 2019
• End Date: Nov 12, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 6, 2022
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9295255
• Publisher URL: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/sites/urban-lab/files/parallel_3b.-1.2_juxtaposition_conflict_and_segregation_in_cities.pdf