Against Urban Social Cleansing.

Transgressive Architecture.

Crimes have been committed lately in our cities by politicians, municipal decision makers, urban planners and architects, and the police. In the name of safety, in the name of beautification, and economic re-development - social cleansing of urban public spaces has spread through our streets. If the term "social cleansing" sounds too harsh, as if it was taken from the environment of the Balkan wars, then just take a look at the press releases form Westminster city council, or remember the name for the government's urban planning committee - the Urban TASK FORCE.

One of the latest victims in this war have been the homeless people who used to sleep in the Charing Cross underpasses. Two weeks ago, in the name of safety, Westminster council decided to close the gates of this public space at night, and to pass a by-law that will prohibit sleeping or lying down in this space. The fact that it is one of the safest places in inner London according to the police does not matter. In this case and others, security reasons were a fig leaf for something else; the council's plan to beautify the space and conceal the homelessness that exists in the centre of one of the richest and most expensive cities in the world. The fact that Charing Cross underpass is a public space, and homeless people are part of the public was disregarded. Moreover it is not only the homeless who are being cleansed in London, it is also street vendors, beggars, prostitutes, people who cruise for sex, and other people who are considered to be involved in "anti social behaviour" which could de facto mean any activity. Non of them, we must remember, commit any crime that hurts in any significant way other people.

Transgressive Architecture, which last month launched an on-going art installation in public spaces in London, was formed to draw attention to this cleansing process which obscures democracy and the openness the public urban space. In particular Transgressive Architecture looks at the relationship between architects/planners and the urban social cleansing brigade, and the consciousness of this on the urban environment.

Cleansing is sometime directly promoted or it is the indirect result of a certain urban planning approach that puts on its flag, 'urban regeneration', 're-development' or as it is called by Labour and its Urban Task Force - 'Urban Renaissance'. These planning strategies declare war on crime, poverty, ugliness, but the enemies here are also the victims. In Barcelona, Copenhagen, New York, Singapore and Shanghai,where urban experts claim the war has been won, the enemies were poor residents, and marginalized street communities who for social and economical reasons, traditionally existed in the inner city. In these wars, they were displaced to the suburbs, outer city poverty pockets, or jails. These communities badly suffered and at the same time the urban environment became sterile, barren and stale. These renaissance cities don't have any more "inner cities ills", but they are infected by suburban mental disease and the "outdoor mall" syndrome. To escape from such environment journeys are taken to "exotic" cities where such street communities are still part of the public space - but not for long, as these diseases are highly contiguous and spread globally.

As a response to Transgressive Architecture critique, Architect lord Richard Rogers, head of the government's Urban Task Force, in a recent lecture at the RIBA, gave a clear statement which supported the rights of the marginalized street communities mentioned above to exist in the city's public spaces. His liberal, if not radical, approach does not sit well with the UTF'S present policies. If these policies are followed then the totalitarian spaces that have been created in other cities might become even more present in London and other British cities. In the face of the authorities bigoted social cleansing approach, Rogers declaration was brave and radical. Now it is the turn of other architects and planners and their institutions to break their silence and face up to the part they play in the current social cleansing of our city spaces. If not for the sake of marginal communities, then for the sake of the future of the city's environment as a whole.