Critical connotations for the ‘interstitial space’

This term seems to be randomly used in the urban debate and less used on issues of dispersed suburbanisation. It has been indirectly invoked to describe scenarios of opportunities related to new urbanisations, functions and improvements in urban quality, as by-products of sprawl, or as areas to be revamped. Mohammadi (2012), for instance, referring to the case of Urmia asserts that: ‘sprawl leaves behind numerous interstices that may be used for other functions such as agricultural land or for infilling policies, although the former appears more important that the latter’ (Mohammadi, et al., 2012: 87). In a similar vein, Gallent and Shaw (2007) explain why rural/urban fringes has attracted the attention of policy makers – referring to ongoing reforms in the British planning system such as the Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 – and the opportunities to manage inherent complexities of these near-urban ‘interstitial landscapes’ (Gallent, and Shaw, 2007).

Apart from the aforementioned, the term is also used to emphasis spatial instances as residual or as leftover spaces with social, political and environmental connotations.

The interstice as a space of proximity

At the smallest scale, Vidal (2002) uses the term ‘interstitial space’ to describe dynamic spaces delimited by physical elements such as buildings, walls and others. In Vidal’s words, the ‘interstitial space’ is:

‘…a changing space in motion and a signifier of the place's energy as it transfers important information about the meaning of the place. At any case, it is a mutation, and as a mutation it is a chance to create more space in the urban structure, as a sort of reservoir of space for future expansions of fragments or the inter-fragmentary space' (Vidal, 2002: 162-163).

The ‘interstitial space’ here emerges to support transformations of the urban space. The author clarifies that the ‘interstice’ is opposite to a ‘residue’, a

‘remnant’ or a simple ‘vacuum’, because these categories represent something ‘obsolete, outdated, deciduous, hidden, forsaken, and as a consequence it is able to be in risk or to become a hazard place’ (Vidal,

73 2002: 164). Furthermore, and stablishing the content of the ‘interstice’, Vidal asserts that ‘the interstice’ is a place in which different identities can converge, a place of individual and collective significance, a dynamic place that can change its own condition in regard of its boundaries. Finally, Vidal posits that the ‘interstitial space’ is a spatial entity that provide a better understanding of the scale of proximity, and even smaller spatial configurations such as the cracks in a wall, in buildings or the difference between the step level between the street and the sidewalk (Vidal, 2002).

In a different vein but also regarding proximity, the ‘interstitial space’ has been used to describe alternative social practices in undefined architectonic spaces. Steele and Keys (2015) argue that the attention on ‘interstitial spatial practices’ suggests further improvements on social housing policies, for instance. They identify ‘interstitial spaces’ defined by architectonic elements such as pavilions, patios [yards], corridors, balconies, doors and windows, and through this, they explore everyday housing practices at domestic scales. For them, the ‘interstitial space’ is usually an

‘uninhabitable’, undefined, uncertain and flexible space, an instance in which spontaneous activities can take place (Steele and Keys, 2015).

The interstice as a space for installations

More technically, this term is used in architecture to describe small spaces in buildings between walls or floors, and intended to host energy lines, pipes, plumbing systems and others. These interstitial spaces leave installations protected and isolated from liveable spaces in accordance with safety norms or other restrictions and provide independent space for easier access to mechanical systems, reparations, replacements, and maintenance.

This is a compulsory space in medical and scientific architecture that imply hard requirements of ventilation, cleaning, fire norms, rigorous maintenance and operations commonly required in hospitals, laboratories, industries or military facilities (Vondrak and Riley, 2005; Verderber and Fine, 2000)

The interstice as an unregulated place

Gandy (2011) used the concept ‘interstitial place’ to describe unregulated inner urban spaces. These spaces are identified as ‘wild’, ‘unregulated’ and

74 mostly characterised by the presence of nature and ecological properties.

They embrace aesthetic and scientific significance because of the presence of micro-climates, flora and fauna and also spatial conditions that reinforce the image of natural heritages and outdoor environments. These ‘interstitial places’ have valuable information about trees, local grass, natural stones, meadows, and other local knowledge transferable among citizens. The author stresses their potentials saying that the interstitial place ‘reveal a city within a city that is not stage-managed for tourism or consumption but open to multiple alternatives; a network of unregulated spaces between both ecological and socio-cultural diversity can flourish’ (Gandy, 2011: 152). In a sensitive description, Gandy highlights specific details of these places in which the presence of wind, the grass, humidity and others support wildlife, local knowledge on ecological benefits but mainly an atmosphere full of new aesthetic elements and outdoor reminiscences:

‘It is a warm July in Berlin. The aromatic white flowers of yarrow Achilea Millefolium stand out strikingly against the gloomy undergrowth of a patch of waste ground where the busy Chausseestrassr, running north-south, meets the Quiter Liesenstrasse from the east. Unnoticed the most of people walking past, this site is teeming with life as nocturnal insect dart about amidst the flowers and bats swoop occasionally from the trees. Among the interesting species found on this site is a subtly market moth, Cucullia Fraudatrix...’ (Gandy, 2011: 150).

These ‘interstitial places’ are not only found in suburbia but also anywhere in cities where regulations and institutional interests are still away and maintenance is still in hand of natural forces.

The interstice as wild space

In a similar vein, Jorgensen and Tylecote (2007) assume that ‘urban interstices’ exist in cities as spaces for wildlife. So, woodlands, abandoned allotments, river corridors, brownfield sites and others emerge as proper sites for spontaneous growth of vegetation in contrast with those planned spaces with nature ‘under control’. They indicate that these spaces have significant contributions in facilitating direct contact of urban dwellers with wild nature at different scales, and open new possibilities for landscape planning and urban design. They coin the term ‘interstitial wilderness’ to reinforce the idea of how these spaces contribute to multiple human ecologies (Jorgensen and Tylecote, 2007). These ‘urban interstices’ are not

75 exclusive elements of urban sprawl, fringe/belt areas or suburbia as can be found anywhere in cities.

The sociological interstice

In a sociological dimension, the ‘interstice’ is used by Brighenti (2013) in socio-political and spatial terms. The author appeals for the social relevance of the series of marginal areas useful to host alternatives reactions against official institutions or societal anomalies. The author insists on the idea of the ‘interstice’ as a gap within the socio-political establishment and those excluded from the societal project. Some examples are related to the role of the interstice to describe the spatial distribution of marginalised groups – such as gangs or homeless people – or as a boundary between socially differentiated groups. It is also understood as a disorganised environment that does not belong to the official private space, neither public, or to describe any crack in the structure of social organisation (Brighenti, 2013).

So, the ‘interstitial space’ in this case is not only a matter of physical dimension but also social and serves as shelter or trench for social struggles and vindications.

The interstice for informality

Also in a sociological dimension, Dovey (2012) uses the ‘spatial interstice’

to draw the attention on the spatial elements of informality: ‘the ways in which informal urbanism flourishes in the spatial interstices of the city and produces urban phenomena with a potent impact on the streetscape and urban image’ (Dovey, 2012: 352). The author highlights the ‘interstitial’ as expression of informal practices, events or activities in the public space – such as trading, parking, hawking, begging and advertising – tied to the also informal morphologies that support them. She also uses the term to refer to unused urban sites – informally invaded by specific communities – and the morphological aspects that allow such occupations. The author argues that informal settlements take a spatial position in cities as ‘urban interstices’

that defines a dialectic and incongruent image of differing rationalities in the production and uses of the urban space (Dovey and King, 2012). Here, the

‘interstice’ is an instance supported by morphological patterns that allow

76 social expressions at the margins of institutional controls, shaped by strong links with informal functions and community organisation (Dovey, 2012).

The interstice as a creative space

Shaw and Hudson (2009) refer to ‘interstitial spaces’ as scenarios for artistic expressions that are also reacting against formal institutional controls. They highlight the creative ways in which the ‘interstitial spaces’ are occupied and how they challenge the idea of ‘place-making’ and social order. On the one hand, the ‘interstitial spaces’ disrupt positively the homogeneous and controlled official urban space, and on the other hand, they also illustrate dimensions of marginality, dereliction or abandonment. These spaces are indistinctly used by either marginal or more structured groups but in any case have the potential to become scenarios for creativity and alternative expressions of social organisation (Shaw and Hudson, 2009).

The interstice as a ‘zone of transition’

Tonnelat (2008) assumes that for American cities, ‘urban interstices’ can be understood as ‘zones of transition’ in which immigrants learn about the local culture and obtain clues of adaptation to the American society before moving to more permanent residences. This situation takes place in various residual spaces between industrial facilities, roads, canals and the poor tenements occupied by workers. This vision is contrasted with the

‘European interstices’ in which residual and functionless (leftovers) spaces are seen as opportunities – often in the eye of professional design and landscape practices, closer to nature and wildlife – to encourage community empowerment and formalisation of the space (Tonnelat, 2008).

The interstice as space for new developments

From an urban design view, Sousa Matos (2009) understands that

‘interstitial spaces’ emerge as by-products of the uncontrolled urban expansion and thus, should be reclaimed for new developments, functions and activities. These spaces are residual, voids between fragments, spaces without appropriation, marginal lands, but with potentials to be reintegrated to the urban fabric. The author asserts that these spaces show some signs of activity and values that can be reinforced by new interventions. They are

77 recognised as empty spaces of the periphery but once ‘one penetrates the system of interstitial spaces and starts to explore it, one realises that what has been called “empty” is not so empty at all’ (Sousa Matos, 2009: 66).

Considering these extant urban-scale approaches, ‘interstitial space’ has not been detected as a constitutive element of urban sprawl, even though the term seems to be more precise and conceptually more encompassing than others. Its generic character to refer to all kind of undeveloped lands – irrespective of their functions, emptiness or density, potentials and implications – suggests a more comprehensive approach to those elements of the unbuilt (in-between) suburban geography and thus, it deserves a more precise conceptual analysis.