Drawing Political Space
“Drawing Political Space: Reassembling Civic Apparatuses in Montreal.” In Critical Practice in an Age of Complexity, edited by G. Cairns, 210–223. AMPS proceedings series 12. London: UCL Press, 2018.
Paper presented at the Critical Practice in an Age of Complexity conference at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
On April 14, 2014, the City of Montréal’s municipal court’s new South service point opened at 7777 boulevard Newman in the neighbourhood of LaSalle. The court moved in the renovated space of the former Bella Vista Buffet, a venue favoured for fund raising events and weddings and attended, over the years, by various political figures including former Mayor of Montréal Gérald Tremblay[i] and the current (at the time) Premier of the province, Philippe Couillard.[ii] When the City moved in, the buffet and dance hall were subdivided into the public program of the court including reception desks, waiting area, audience chamber, meeting rooms and toilets. The City does not own the building and leases the space from owners of the entire strip mall (twenty-nine commercial spaces available for rent). The service point is now one of four serving the territory of the City of Montréal, formalizing the way relations between the municipal association and the occupants of the city are organized – not as singular buildings, but as distributed field.
This article reports on the initial stages of a three-year research by design project on the political space and public-private interfaces of Montréal, Canada. By focusing on interfaces and distributed fields, the article explores how political space is produced in the city in a way that displaces and complements the traditional understanding of spaces of representation. Drawing explorations are presented as a way to investigate where, when and how research by drawing turns analysis into critical spatial practice.
[i] “United Island of Montreal – Let’s live Montreal together - Gérald Tremblay LaSalle City Tour - Wednesday May 2, 2001,” Canada NewsWire. May 1, 2001.
[ii] “Succès Éclatant Du Souper Bénéfice de Marquette,” Le Messager Lachine et Dorval, May 22, 2005.
Projet lié:
L’agencement du commun
