A democratization of urban space: Gender and ethnicity in the Whitechapel Market

ABSTRACT

This article examines how the replication of familial, communal patterns from the home country is shaping public space. Combining the synergetic aspects of subjective experience with the objective measurements of the space, we study Whitechapel Market in the East End of London. We shed new light on the term public sphere, revealing two socio-spatial mechanisms: the first is an adaptation of the spatial structure—a way of the local community to create separation between females and males in the heterogeneous western public space. The second is the “invisible hands” of the females: the unobservable force that contributes to the community’s wealth and cohesion. Our findings show the capacity of a given urban form for adaptation—it creates a new public sphere, partly democratized, but still segregated. A sphere, that from one hand provides traditional gendered roles, and from another a fertile environment for social and economic prosperity.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Although children were noted on all the days of observation, only children who were observed as holding defined roles and responsibilities (trading, gathering with the men, helped in stalls, arranged products etc.) were considered in this study.

2. Location marked on Figure 5a, where a person was observed and interviewed.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the (1) AHRC [R24 AH/N00146X/1]; and (2) The Israel Science Foundation [95/1]. The authors acknowledge financial support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [MSCA IF 744835].

Notes on contributors

Shlomit Flint Ashery

Shlomit Flint Ashery is a lecturer of Urban Planning, Head of Geodesign Strategy lab and Head of MA program in Preservation, Planning and Development of Cultural Landscape and Cultural Heritage at Bar Ilan University’s Department of Geography and Environment. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 2000 at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, an MA in public policy and urban planning in 2003 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and her PhD in Geosimulation and Spatial Analysis in 2011 at Tel-Aviv University. She was a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University College London’s Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis and a visiting scholar at Princeton University. Her current research interests are related to planning policy and practice and geodesign, the scientific method in planning, metaplanning, strategic environmental assessment, and the use of spatial information technology in planning. She is the principal author of Micro-residential Dynamics: A Case Study of Whitechapel, London (Springer 2019) and of Spatial Behavior in Haredi Jewish Communities in Great Britain (Springer 2020).

Asya Natapov

Asya Natapov is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London. She is an architect and urban planner by training and a graduate of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked for a number of architectural firms in the U.S. and Israel specializing in developing concepts for large-scale urban projects. Her interdisciplinary research links spatial cognition, complexity and urban development. She focuses on analyzing and modeling of visual perception and studies the ways this basic cognitive property contributes to spatial memory, navigation, wayfinding and emotional experience in cities. Dr. Natapov has been a guest researcher at Spatial Cognition Research Center of the Freiburg Computer Science and Social Research Institute. Also, as a research associate, she has participated in several projects of the European Union on Architectural Cultural Heritage. Dr. Natapov holds a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship from Horizon 2020 European Commission, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Beforehand her research was supported by a social science grant of the British Technion Society and the Israel Science Foundation.