Occasional cities

An exhibition at the CCCB in Barcelona exploring the concept of cities within cities, temporary cities and the parallel system of commerce and community they create opened eyes to potentially freeing, unregulated alternatives.

These occasional cities, deemed illegal or overlooked by the governing state, are flourishing through necessity, as refugees, illegal immigrants and nomads remain unwelcome in their adopted, geographic or indigenous home. While the lower standard of living is all too apparent and hardly desirable, these cities are challenging the notion of despair and helplessness amongst the disadvantaged. Self-determination and disregard for rules and regulations have created a viable black-market in sub-city trading. Where the mainstream and underground meet, the lines are blurred between official and unofficial modes of consumerism.

Examples from around the world, including: a market held in a disused sports stadium in Warsaw, mobile restaurants in Hanoi and temporary living space along the Green Line between Greek and Turkish Cyprus give an incredible insight into alternative cities and spaces ingeniously appropriated for living or leisure activity or financial or political gain.

A powerful example of a ‘subversive city’ in Australia is the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which started in 1972 on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra. It highlighted the lack of Aboriginal rights in this country and demonstrated the disparity between the assumed land rights of the new Australians and the indigenous owners. Although the Australian Government does not recognise it as an official embassy it is still capable of applying political pressure to this day.