Stop 2 – Hosier Lane

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Acts such as graffiti, street art, parkour and skating, challenge the spatial zonings enforced by society and claims of ownership on space, representing alternative forms of urban exploration (Bloch, 2008). This subverts our tendency to consider landscapes as conservative and conformist, and to only be used for what is conceived as acceptable and normal (Cohen-Cruz, 1998).

By carrying out physical practices of urban exploration and embodiment of the terrain you can make new emotionally charged embodiments of the terrain (Garrett, 2011a). This gives places a new end life, whereby spaces can be appreciated in the present, but then can mutate to a new use value after capitalist use life (DeSilvey, 2006).
Bradley Garret (2011) is a prevalent figure in urban exploration whereby he accesses areas that are classed as ‘out of bounds’, such as the top of the shard whilst it was under construction. He emphasizes how certain landscapes are only available to society in a restricted form, contrasting the conventional perspectives of landscape portrayed to us.

This strict regulation of space has enticed reactions against what can be seen as a homogenization of cultural identity (Jackson, 1980). This is thought to be because of government bodies being motivated by profit and working in the interest of national agendas (Massey, 1994). Does this laneway make you feel empowered, subverting the authoritarian discourses compared to other streets?