In his article, philosopher Marc Schuilenburg discusses the relationship between place and identity within the context of migration and globalisation. The mobilisation of the world has caused a tension between the global and the local. He poses the question: "how can the urge for community be actualised without world citizenship on the one hand and a conservative debate about national values and norms on the other?"
He introduces and compares two contemporary examples of this struggle for place and identity: the "gated community", and its counterpart, in which I was particularly interested: the "terrain vague". The french term, coined by Spanish architect Ignasi de Solà-Morales, refers to a zone with no fixed identity, the semi-abandoned interstitial or "in-between" spaces that exist in the urban realm.
The notion of indeterminacy and temporary openness evident in these fallow spaces promotes the possibility for their unrestricted and informal use. The lack of a permanent prescribed function allows temporary spontaneity and freedom of use, making them the ideal place for potential alternative or experimental ways of experiencing the city. In fact, these zones are commonly exploited as an opportunity to provide space for shelter and collective activities for the marginal groups of society (examples include Christiania in Copenhagen, Denmark, and parts of East Berlin).
I feel that the notion of terrain vague could be very interesting to research further as a possibility for the application of a mobile scenario such as our project. For example a mobile structure to house refugees (housing or community structure) could occupy such a space for a given time, and move onto the next fallow site when the land becomes inhabited once again.
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