Towards a Dialogic Perspective for Urban Voids

Abstract

One of the primary purposes of urban studies is to investigate scenarios for the future of cities and how the decisions influence the urban landscape. Every decision taken by authorities changes the physical, social, economic, and political qualities and identi- ty of the city, and these changes are reflected in the urban space and, therefore, in the urban experiences of people. These decisions are mostly taken by solely considering the tangible qualities of the urban space. However, there are also intangible aspects of urban space. This paper addresses the importance of these intangible aspects, with a particular focus on deepening urban experience. Urban voids are an essential part of the urban experience. They are the cornerstone for urban development and the grounds for change; therefore, their design process should be considered thoroughly, together with the city organism and taking different viewpoints into account. There are two risks of not considering urban voids in such a manner: 1. These voids will become undefined areas and transform into lost spaces, 2. These voids will potentially break off from the city organism and become patches. Thus, they should be intertwined with the city before they become patches in every aspect. Only in this way will they be filled with meanings, identities, people, actions, subsequently, urban experiences. The scope of this study is to scrutinize the potential of urban voids with the conceptu- al framework of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of ‘dialogy’, ‘carnival’, and ‘heteroglossia’. The Bakhtinian point of view aims to reveal a heteroglot and a dialogical perspective dominated by the carnavalesk state of urban voids. In line with this purpose, this pa- per aimed to bring a Bakhtinian perspective to urban voids.