Production of Urban Public Space

Production of Urban Public Space.

The case of Półwiejska Street Transformation, 1989-2006

Konrad Miciukiewicz

Institute of Sociology

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan

The paper is aimed at finding and interpreting the processes of structuring and restructuring contemporary urban public spaces on the case of Półwiejska St. (Poznań) transformation, 1989-2006. Półwiejska St., known mostly of the “Old Brewery” shopping centre and the minority demonstration called “the March of Equality”, has become the leading example of ongoing urban change in Poznań. The founding idea of the empirical research is to look at some of its transformations with particular reference to the processes of privatization, commercialization, gentrification and militarization of space, as well as to the site specific consequences of urban developments on the networks of human interaction. The author tries to answer questions concerning the production of semi-public urban spaces, the construction of the counter-spaces of city politics, cultural urban practices, and everyday life. These questions are to be answered on the basis of the empirical findings from press analysis and field work on Półwiejska St., where 30 in-depth interviews have been conducted.