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Splintering the public realm:
Using local public space for
corporate economic gain?
Fiona Raje
Introduction
This paper reflects on empirical evidence from
recently-completed research on transport and
social inclusion which revealed an apparent gap
between stated local authority policy and actual
planning practice in the urban environment.
The wider research looked at the ways in which
people in two case study areas in Oxfordshire in
the UK experience the transport system and how
this affects their ability to access key services,
activities and facilities. The findings described
here concentrate on one <strong>of</strong> the main issues
revealed in the urban case in Barton, an urban
peripheral estate <strong>of</strong> Oxford. The paper looks at
how local authority planning decisions may
conflict with their own Council’s stated policies
and how the manifestation <strong>of</strong> this conflict can
contribute to social exclusion in neighbourhoods
which are already vulnerable to the effects <strong>of</strong>
social inequalities.
Background
The concept <strong>of</strong> “splintering urbanism” was
developed by the UK urban planning scholars
Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin who were
responding to “what we feel is an urgent need:
to develop a more robust, cross-cutting,
international, critical, dynamic and
transdisciplinary approach to understanding the
changing relations between contemporary cities,
infrastructure networks and technological
mobilities” (Graham and Marvin, 2001:33). The
authors argued that “a parallel set <strong>of</strong> processes
are under way within which infrastructure
networks are being ‘unbundled’ in ways that
help sustain the fragmentation <strong>of</strong> the social and
material fabric <strong>of</strong> cities” (Graham and Marvin,
2001:33). MacLeod (2004:28) provides an
overview <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the features <strong>of</strong> the concept:
Blending several theoretical perspectives and
deriving their analysis from a truly impressive
range <strong>of</strong> cities stretching across the global
‘north’ and ‘south’, Graham and Marvin position
the emergence <strong>of</strong> features like gated
communities, US-style privatised Business
Improvement Districts, self-enclosed shopping
malls, and edge city developments within a
broader context <strong>of</strong> political economic transition.
In particular, and importantly, they locate such
trends within the shifting contours <strong>of</strong> state
power and the practices <strong>of</strong> and limits to urban
and regional planning.
The concept <strong>of</strong> fragmentation <strong>of</strong> the public realm
is relevant to discussions <strong>of</strong> transport and social
inclusion since any “splintering” which may
occur would be counter to the objectives <strong>of</strong>
lessening social exclusion. To this end, in this
paper we examine one <strong>of</strong> the features <strong>of</strong>
Graham and Marvin’s splintered urban
environment in greater depth: the gated
community, a residential area with restricted
access:
Through the establishment <strong>of</strong> designated
perimeters (usually in the form <strong>of</strong> walls or
fences) as well as controlled entrances, gated
communities are intended to prevent intrusion
by non-residents. For some scholars, they are
deemed to be precipitating a private world that
shares little with its neighbours or the larger
political system leading to a fragmentation that
“undermines the very concept <strong>of</strong> civitas –
organised community life” (Blakely and Snyder,
1999). (MacLeod, 2003:5)
A history <strong>of</strong> residential separation in Oxford
While not as prevalent in European societies as
in many other regions <strong>of</strong> the world, the gated
community is showing a rising presence in the
UK. There are now over 1,000 gated
communities in England with most being found
World Transport Policy & Practice________________________________________________________
Volume 13.1 September 2006
30