Reading Socio-Spatial Interplay - Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i ...

R E A D I N G S O C I O - S P A T I A L I N T E R P L A Y P A R T 2keeps in daily contact with friends who live far away, with thehelp of the Internet. In that he has more than enough to occupyhim with his own social network, he does not need “fortunatelyto mingle with the neighbors − except for on very specialoccasions − like when the cooperative building societycelebrated its 100 th anniversary”.In the interviews the informants describe experiences with different spatialsocialarenas, which in different ways are part of their everyday lives. Theinformants of this layer do not speak of any plans to move other places,although the decision to remain living there is not presented as a choice. Thelack of awareness regarding other choices results in another manner ofrelating to the surroundings than was the case with the transit residents whoat times virtually maintain that the world is their oyster. Descriptions ofsymbolic, identity-related qualities of the neighborhood are also completelyabsent in the interviews from this layer, and neither are there any whoexpress being preoccupied with living on the east side. Several of theinterviews contain descriptions of adaptation to given framework conditions,where the level of ambition is not to have a fantastic, interesting and excitinglife, but to have a decent life and to manage well. With this perspective onliving, these informants’ experiences from use of the city and localcommunity illuminate other aspects of the areas’ repertoires of spatial-socialarenas than do those of the other layers. Compared with the transit layer’sinformants, there is much greater variation in the informants’ background,age, and life situation in this layer. It is therefore more difficult to generalize.But some geographical differences are nonetheless evident, particularlybetween the everyday descriptions from Furuset and the two other areas.The informants from Furuset describe neighborhood arenas where verydifferent people are together: the arenas are both more demanding for thosewho are interested in investing time and energy in development of theneighborhood, and also offer the opportunity for others to participate in avariety of organized common activities. In the descriptions of thecommunities that are created through the voluntary communal work andparticipation in social arrangements of different kinds, a defining distinctionis also created between “we” who take part and “the others” who are notinterested in participating. Many describe stopping and talking with peoplethey meet when they are out walking in the neighborhood and many speak ofhow they chat with the neighbors. Otherwise there are few who speak ofspending time in the green common areas between the buildings, except tocook out/eat, with the family or with the neighbors. One goes for walks in the277