Lila ZOTOU

Definition of Publicness:

A public is about social processes, practices and relations between people that negotiate social differences. And it therefore happens in spaces where social differences are very often evident: in streets, shops, parks, malls, markets, squares, playgrounds, car parks, stations. All of these places become “public” when social differences are negotiated within them. Public spaces, then, do not simply exist. Their existence depends, instead, on what happens in them, what kinds of interactions take place to create them .

Romsås is part of the vast area of Groruddalen, a place that is formed by building communities in the outskirts of Oslo. The inhabited area is occupied, according to the Norwegian Office of Statistics (SSB), with more than half of the population being non-Norwegians. 

This is an ongoing research project where I explore the term of (un)belonging and the formation of an identity in relation to public space. Making use of the philosophy of geography I research the role of publicness in facilitating community engagement with urban planning. Drawing on Habermas notion on the public space as a realm of social life, where public opinion is formed and negotiated , I intend to examine the role of urban planning in identity formation and its relation to history and nostalgia.