The Politics of Urban Space: Modes of Place-making by Italians in Toronto's Neighbourhoods

Abstract

This paper examines the politics of urban space through a consideration of three ways Italians in Toronto, Canada, create, make claims to and express their belonging in particular neighbourhoods in the city. The article considers forms of claiming and colonizing space that are not overtly violent or confrontational with respect to other groups living within the plural city but, in effect, are assertions of power over particular places with which others must contend. The three forms encompass a range of scales, temporal duration and purposeful collective expression by Italians in Toronto, and they include the quotidian shaping of neighbourhoods, the calendrical colonizing of public spaces during religious and secular celebrations and the monument building that attests to the permanence of Italians in the city. Ultimately, these forms of place-making must contend with the larger forces of commodification and popular imagery that influence the spatial representations of Italians in Toronto.

Stumbling upon places and cultures: An involuntary ethnography in researching the Australian ‘ndrangheta

“…These intergenerational changes do not diminish attempts to preserve the culture of origin: first-generation Calabrians were attached to their Calabrian roots; the new generations are experiencing a revival of them, by choice, actively looking for these roots. This is not only the case in Australia, but also in Canada, where studies have confirmed how regional identities among Italians do shape new forms of Italianness among new generations (Harney, 2006).…”

“…Obligations, expectations, and behavioral dispositions across families in Calabrian and Italian communities are inherited and maintained (albeit in an integrated or hybrid Australian way) as a peculiar way of being and doing (Marino, 2019c;Marino, 2020a). Ethnic solidarity is part of the identity of Calabrians and Italians in Australia as abroad (Harney, 2006) and, as already argued elsewhere (Sergi, 2021) can become a reason why certain individuals might feel obliged to-and be exploited into-support other "co-regionals/co-nationals" and become involved into complex webs of criminal or semicriminal activities. Table 1 summarizes some of the main differences between Australian and Calabrian 'ndrangheta, not in a prescriptive way, but as a means to visualize what said so far.…”

Origin, development and evolution: the space construction and cultural motivations of Shi Gandang temple in Macau

“…In addition, urban geography and spiritual sustenance were the main factors, which together constructed the historical lineage of the formation and transmission of the Shi Gandang beliefs in Macau. They relied on the power of the Shi Gandang beliefs to identify themselves and be anchored in the local community (DeMaria Harney, 2006). Through multiple interactions of ritual, space and culture, the diaspora created an urban memory in their place of immigration (Sparre and Galal, 2018), connecting the past with the present, which provided the impetus for strengthening local rituals and community solidarity (Gao et al, 2019).…”

Place Making within an Urban Public Milieu: An Ethnographic Study of the New Dwellers in Butwal

“…According to him, the social factors including the real estate developers and bankers, actually exploit the value of urban space through their investment and selling strategies. Similarly, Harney (2006) posits that the politics of urban space involves three major forms viz. how people create, make claims to, and express their belonging in particular neighborhoods in the city.…”