IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v60y2023i14p2763-2778.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond the pale: Fencing off parks for festivals

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Smith

Abstract

Pale is the Old English word for fence, and the phrase ‘to go beyond the pale’ means to stray beyond the limits of acceptable action. In this critical commentary I discuss whether the installation of temporary fencing in public parks to secure ticketed festivals is now beyond the pale. Fences restrict access but they also affect how park spaces are perceived, used and managed. I use photographs taken in three different London parks to illustrate the materiality of these temporary structures, but also their aesthetic impact, symbolic significance and lasting legacies. I argue that temporary fences have enduring effects on parks and public spaces by discouraging everyday use, by preparing the ground for future incursions, and by normalising and festivalising barriers that restrict access. My commentary highlights the often overlooked importance of fences and illustrates the splintered and sequestered nature of contemporary cities – where citizens are increasingly fenced off.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Smith, 2023. "Beyond the pale: Fencing off parks for festivals," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(14), pages 2763-2778, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:60:y:2023:i:14:p:2763-2778
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980231160943
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00420980231160943
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00420980231160943?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Kostenwein, 2021. "Between walls and fences: How different types of gated communities shape the streets around them," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(16), pages 3230-3246, December.
    2. Camillo Boano & Giorgio Talocci, 2014. "Fences and Profanations: Questioning the Sacredness of Urban Design," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 700-721, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Catalina Ortiz, 2024. "Writing the Latin American city: Trajectories of urban scholarship," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(3), pages 399-425, February.
    2. Henar Baldán & José Manuel Torrado & Joaquín Susino, 2024. "Beyond Gated Communities: A Typology of Residential Compounds in Granada," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Fernando Calderón-Figueroa, 2024. "Residential Micro-Segregation and Social Capital in Lima, Peru," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, January.
    4. Omar S. Asfour, 2022. "Housing Experience in Gated Communities in the Time of Pandemics: Lessons Learned from COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-14, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:60:y:2023:i:14:p:2763-2778. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.