Public Space andSocial Identity

Dr. Sergi ValeraUniversitat de Barcelona

A previous version of this paperwas published in Remesar, A (Ed)Urban Regeneration,. A challengefor Public Art. Universitat deBarcelona. Monografies Psico-socio ambientals, 1997

As the presentation of this Semnar emphasizes, publicart can involve a variety of public places (parks, streets,public buildings) an it can means sculptures, buildings,street furniture, fontains, bridges and so on. Some of theseartistic features can be considered monuments, not sothe other ones. As Bohigas said, the monument is theexpression of an identity and not a large and rethoricvacuum constructed to hide problematic facts (Bohigas,1985).

But, what it means the expression of an identity?, whocan decide the type of identity?, or, which is the role ofthe urban spaces in relation to this identity?This paper presents some reflections about these ques-tions on the basis of the symbolic urban space conceptas a way to generate or consolidate social identities inrelation to the environment. An empirical research car-ried out in a neighborhood of Barcelona and implicationsfor urban art and design will be also presented as de-rived form the theoretical framework.

urban social identity

We can to begin with an example taken from the dailyexperience. We are in a party and someone introcuces aperson completely unknowed for us. Inmediatly, we willtry to know something about this person. There is a needto identify him to settle common features and to establisha social interaction. So, probably, one of the firts ques-tions we ask him will be: Where are you from? or Where

do you live? that’s to say, we will try to identify this personon the basis of a spatial categories.As such, even though from the social psychology disci-pline there exists an extensive theoretical work on thesubject of social identity, seldom social psychologist haveconcentrated so much attention on environmental aspectsand the role of physical surroundings in the genesis, de-velopment or maintenance of the social identity.

First, it seems necessary to take into account the gener-ally accepted idea that social identity is basically derievedfrom the belonging to or affiliation to precise categoriessuch as social groups, socio-professional categories, eth-nic groups, religions, nationals, etc. with which individu-als identify themselves and which generate a group ofinternal attributions and external attributions that definethe make up of this identity. However, They appear asaxes from which social urban identity are formed, as asubstructure of social identity.

Futhermore, this mechanism of spatial categorial identifi-cation develops as a essentialy dinamic process. Indi-viduals are able to identify on the basis of different levelsof categorial abstraction, depending on definite conditionswhere the interaction occurs. So, social spatial identitywill depend on what both internal attributions and exter-nal which define a categorization were at the same levelof abstraction and on salient categories to each other.For example, we are able to identify as an inhabitant of aneighborhood and, on the basis of this category, differ usfrom the other ones: a) who don’t belong to our

neighborhood, b) who know something about it, and c)who are capable to identify them with their neighborhoodtoo.

Instead, if we would identify us using this urban categori-zation in the presence of a stanger who doesn’t know ourneighborhood, we must use the more inclusive category«city», so that he will be able to define him with belong tohis city. Both, however, need to have any previousknovledge about the categorial dimensions used in theinteraction. This knovledge about the most salient dimen-sions are not necessary an «in situ» one about a definiteneighborhood, area or city.

Two elements can, outstandingly, be converted into rep-resentative symbols of a social urban identity of a groupor a community: the name of the social urban categoryunder which it is identified and defined a precise urbansurrounding, and definite places which, because their pe-culiar characteristics, are recognized as representativeof this urban category, at the same time that simbolizesome relevant dimensions for such a categorization.These elements are the symbolic urban spaces.

urban symbolic spaces

On the basis of this approach, a symbolic urban spacewould be that element of an urban structure, understoodas a social category, which identifies a social group linked

with this environment, capable of symbolizing one or quieta few of the relevant dimensions to this category, andwhich permits individuals who make up the group per-ceive themselves as equals in as much as they identifythemselves with that space and different from other groupson the basis of the space itself or the categorial dimen-sions symbolized by this. Thus, some spaces can havethe property to facilitate urban social identification proc-esses and can manage to be converted into symbols ofidentity for the group associated with a definite urban en-vironment. The «environmental imageability» or capacityto elicit a clear and relevant cognitive image (Lynch, 1960)thus as the «social imageability» or characteristics of theset of meanings socially created and spacial attributes(Stokols, 1981) are two of the basic characteristics to de-fine a symbolic urban space. These meanings -or «per-ceived social field» in Stokols and Shumaker terminol-ogy (1981)- can be analised according to their content,clarity, complexity, heterogeneity (homogeneity),distorsions or contradictions (op.cit.). On the other hand,the great importance is recognised which spacial appro-priation has (Pol, 1994; Korosec, 1976) through whichindividuals are already capable of creating or receivingsymbolic meanings in space and incorporating them intotheir own identity. The conceptual relationships estab-lished untill now is reflected in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1. The relationship between symbolic urban space and social urban identity from the proposed carried out theoretic.

empirical research

The field which has been chosen for the empirical inves-tigation is the Poblenou neighborhood of the city of Bar-celona. This neighborhood, borned around 1850, locatednear the sea and the city center, was knowed as «TheCatalonian Manchester» because there was numerousfactories, industries and warehouses. Recently, it hasbeen subjected to an important urbanistic remodelation,emphasizing a large residential area builded on theocasion of the Olympic Games in 1992 which is calledOlympic Village.

methodological procedure

To carry out the investigation, we have opted for a meth-odological proposal which establishes a triple approachto the object of study: a socio-historical approach basedon an investigation and documental analysis, a quantita-tive approach based on a poll as a means of collectinginformation and an analysis of this information throughstadistical methods and, finally, a qualitative approachbased on the method of group discussion and on an analy-sis of the contents of the obtained information. The mainvariables regarded were:

(N) Name of the neighborhood(L) Boundaries of the neighborhood(D) Differences with respect to other

neighborhoods(R) Most representative places of the

neighborhood (R)

(P) Places most representatives of the past(F) Places most representatives of the future(FR) Most frequented places

results

Considering the first of these variables, it is fitting to em-phasise that 70% of the individuals polled identified theirneighborhood as «Poblenou», while 11,6% identified itas «Sant Martí de Provençals». This is the name of thedistrict as such as it was the name of the old town beforeit was annexed to Barcelona in 1897.

On the other hand, all the discussion groups opted forthe first option and all the participants called theirneighborhood as «Poblenou». When a groupal agree-ment was seeked, the other options was removed.

In the second place, the characteristics which define thepeople of the neighborhood are, basically, a communallyidentified geographical area (territorial dimension), a work-ing class social composition (social dimension), the per-ception of sharing a common past which identified them(temporal dimension) in addition to some practical socialcharacteristics (behavioral dimension), a radical and lib-eral ideological tradition (ideological dimension) and, themost marked, a particular way-of-life similar to that foundin a village or reduced community (psychosocial dimen-sion). Both the data obtained through the poll (see FIG-URE 2) and the information provided by the dicussiongroups agrees with these ideas.

FIGURE 2. Percentages of the configured categories for the variable D.

Especially, we wanted to mention the importance attrib-uted to the psychosocial dimension as a configuratingfactor to the social urban identity. The fact of perceiving alifestyle similar to a village appears as a category of par-ticular note in the quantitative approach (see FIGURE 2,category 2). For its part, the analysis of the discussiongroups allows to observe how this dimension («thisneighborhood is like a little town within Barcelona») istranslated into a feeling of familiarity between the resi-dents of the neighborhood («we all know each other»,«we are like a family») thus as security and support («Younever find yourself alone», «you feel like you are in yourown home»). This type of expressions related to the groupof the neighborhood, even though surprising to find it in ametropolis like Barcelona, is in keeping with the conferredimportance of the neighborhood as an urban environmentfacilitating social identity (Milgram, 1984; Reid and Aguilar,1991) or of characteristic life styles (Jacobs, 1961).

symbolic urban spaces.

In the third place it has been possible to detect and ana-lyse definite spaces of the neighborhood which, due totheir characteristics, can be defined as symbolic urbanspaces, clearly related with the feeling of identity of theirinhabitants, specially with respect to temporal dimensions,behavioral and psychosocial. Among those, Rambla delPoblenou Avenue clearly stands out as the most proto-typical place (preponderantly recognised as the most rep-resentative place of the neighborhood), that which setsout some structural physical characteristics which facili-

tate a clear cognitive and identificable image (the struc-ture of avenue itself confers these qualities) and as suchatributes a great richness and quantity of meanings clearlyestablished and socially shared related in great part withthe categorial dimensions previously indicated. (see FIG-URE 3).

On the other hand, it has been possible to detect andanalyse other places which base their symbolic value onthe preservation of the history of the neighbor-hood, asin the case of Prim Square, the factories (represented byCan Girona and the Water Tower) or the Casino ofPoblenou, as a symbol of the associated life of theneighborhood. Finally, places appear whose meaning isassociated with the future of the district, especially theOlympic Village, the Sea Park (Marbella beach), Diago-nal Avenue or the Sea Front. In general, the symbolicrelation with these places is based on a sense of threatperceived about the identity of the neighborhood, sincethey can generate the arrival of new groups and socialclasses which provoke a split in the structure, social char-acteristics and current lifestyles of the people of theneighborhood, generating urban gentrification processes.In fact, we want to emphasise 3 places which in our analy-sis have turned out to be specially relevant since theyappear, to a greater or lesser extent, in the replies to allthe main items (variables R, P, F, FR, D). In the first ofthese, Rambla del Poblenou Avenue can be consideredas the symbolic urban space most important to Poblenouor, in other terms, the most prototypical space of the so-

FIGURE 3. The main ideas obtained in the discusion groups referred to «Rambla del Poblenou».

FIGURE 4. Percentages ofobtained instances in the

variables D, FR, R, P and Ffor the three places which

appear in all the mainvariables

cial urban category«Poblenou neighborhood» since it ac-cumulates the greater percentage of incidence in 3 out ofthe 5 variables: as a characteristic or representative placein the district (55,7%), as a place representative of thepast (22,6%) and as the place most frequented by theresidents of the neighbor-hood ( 38,7%). On the otherhand, the Olympic Village has an important role as a dis-tinguishing element from the rest of the districts (13,8%)but its most accentuated virtue centers on it being themost representative place for the future of theneighborhood (48,5%), even though from the analysis ofthe contents it is deduced that this future could threatenthe social identity of the neighbor-hood.For its part, and even though with fewer percentages, theMarbella Beach also appears in the five variables, spe-cially as a representative element of the future throughits recent remodelling (13,4%), with more positiveconotations than the Olympic Village.Finally, in the phase of quantitative analysis we have stud-ied the relationship between the items of the question-naire and personal variables of the individuals through t-test proofs, analysis of the variance and chi-square test(see TABLE 1). The obtained data allows the observa-tion of the related items to representative places of thedistrict (R) and representative of the past (P) are shownspecially useful for detecting symbolic urban spaces. So,we have observed that these are the only items which donot demostrate significant stadistical relationships withany of the personal variables, that is to say, the answersgiven by the individuals in these items can be considered

Age Leghth Work Level Study Occupation Assoc.Member. Gender

N .032 .878 .55040 .00285 .01065 .71384 .64860

D .023 .0005 .47729 .54462 .01344 .79643 .42306

FR .0001 .0028 .49160 .10243 .49269 .95205 .01922

F .0000 .0001 .58613 .00934 .32573 .62132 .64326

R .34581 .3768 .93207 .58213 .42032 .91196 .19097

P .2153 .6128 .43745 .15274 .54374 .76517 .65732

TABLE 1. Levels of significance among the main variables and the personal variablesregarded on the investigation (age of the individuals, lenght of residence, working in theneigborhood Y/N, level of studies, occupation, membership of any association in theneigborhood Y/N, and gender). SIG.= p< 0.05.

as independent to how the individuals are. This one leadsus to infer that this stadistical effect can hold a narrowrelationship with the possible clarity and homogenousnessof the underlying meanings to these spaces. The qualita-tive phase of analysis has allowed a reinforcing of thisidea. So, excluding the representative places to the fu-ture, the contents of the rest of places regarded by thegroups are highly agreed.

conclusions

The investigation carried out on the neighborhood ofPoblenou shows three important conclusions for our pro-posals:a) a sense of social identity in relation to the neighborhoodhas been observed, it is to say, the social urban category«neighbor-hood» appears as a relevant category for thesocial identity of the inhabitants. So, a boundariescommontly defined (territorial dimension), the conscious-ness of a common past (temporal dimension), thebelonginess to a working class (social dimension), a setof specific social practices (behavioral dimension) and,specially, a particular way-of-life similar to a little town(psychosocial dimension) are the main dimensions whichdefine the social urban identity of the inhabitants ofPoblenou.

b) a set of particular places has been regarded as sym-bolic urban spaces. Strongly, the Rambla del PoblenouAvenue appears as the most important symbolic place.People referred it as a relevant place which symbolizethe past of the neighborhood, the present one and theexpectations on the future. Futhermore, its perceivedsocial field (set of meanings referred to it) has a relevantcontent with an important complexity, clarity and homo-geneity as well. This homogeneity has could be confirmedthrought the analysis among the main variables and per-sonal variables; results show the strength of social con-structed meanings related to urban spaces. On the otherhand, the Olympic Village and Marbella Beach are othersymbolic places, specially in relation to the future of theneighborhhod.

c) the methodological procedure which has been choosedto carry out this investigation can be regarded as a validprocedure to investigate the subject of social identity fromthe social created meanings in relation to the urban space.So, the triple approach planed -sociohistorical, quantita-tive and qualitative- as well as the triangulation of theresults obtained from each one has been very useful forour proposals.

Sharing the idea of Amos Rapoport that every time a ma-jor disonance is given between urban design and theuniversal symbolic meanings shared by the users of thatspace or, in the words of Pol, the introduction of spaceswith an «a priori» meaning on the part of instances of

power, we believe that an approximation of the type thatis proposed here can contribute interesting elements onreflection for those professionals who, with their designactions on urban planning or art in public spaces, try tobring their objectives closer to the ground of individualstowards which these actions are orientated, and in thisway, convert the city into something more accesable andhuman.

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