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A Shared Everyday Ethic of Public Sociability: Outdoor Public Ice Rinks as Spaces for Encounter

Author

Listed:
  • Mervyn Horgan

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada)

  • Saara Liinamaa

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada)

  • Amanda Dakin

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada)

  • Sofia Meligrana

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada)

  • Meng Xu

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada)

Abstract

Everyday life in urban public space means living amongst people unknown to one another. As part of the broader convivial turn within the study of everyday urban life (Wise & Noble, 2016), this article examines outdoor public ice rinks as spaces for encounter between strangers. With data drawn from 100 hours of naturalistic and participant observation at free and accessible outdoor public non-hockey ice rinks in two Canadian cities, we show how ‘rink life’ is animated by a shared everyday ethic of public sociability, with strangers regularly engaging in fleeting moments of sociable interaction. At first glance, researching the outdoor public ice rink may seem frivolous, but in treating it seriously as a public space we find it to be threaded through with an ethos of interactional equality, reciprocal respect, and mutual support. We argue that the shared everyday ethic of public sociability that characterizes the rinks that we observed is a function of the (1) public and (2) personal materiality required for skating; (3) the emergence of on ice norms; (4) generalized trust amongst users; (5) ambiguities of socio-spatial differentiation by skill; and (6) flattened social hierarchies, or what we call the quotidian carnivalesque. Our data and analysis suggest that by drawing together different generations and levels of ability, this distinct public space facilitates social interactions between strangers, and so provides insights relevant to planners, policy makers and practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Mervyn Horgan & Saara Liinamaa & Amanda Dakin & Sofia Meligrana & Meng Xu, 2020. "A Shared Everyday Ethic of Public Sociability: Outdoor Public Ice Rinks as Spaces for Encounter," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 143-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:urbpla:v:5:y:2020:i:4:p:143-154
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark Del Aguila & Ensiyeh Ghavampour & Brenda Vale, 2019. "Theory of Place in Public Space," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(2), pages 249-259.
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    Cited by:

    1. Louise Sträuli, 2023. "Negotiating Difference on Public Transport: How Practices and Experiences of Deviance Shape Public Space," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 89-98.
    2. Robin James Smith & Jonathan Ablitt & Joe Williams & Tom Hall, 2023. "The Coining of Convivial Public Space: Homelessness, Outreach Work, and Interaction Order," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 42-51.
    3. Shirin Pourafkari, 2023. "Visually Impaired Persons and Social Encounters in Central Melbourne," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(4), pages 99-106.
    4. Mattias Kärrholm & Sandra Kopljar, 2020. "Built Environment, Ethics and Everyday Life," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 101-105.

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