Participation or autonomy? Production of space for political emancipation

Abstract

This article contributes to the discussion proposed by V!RUS on the theme "to participate and to collaborate", in the context of the reflection on the theoretical-critical foundations of the concept of participation in the production of space, and proposes the term "autonomy", instead of participation. The text seeks to identify the conceptual bases of the production of space that can enhance the political emancipation of social groups excluded from the right to the city. The processes of this production of the space, so called participatory, are reformists, as they employ the same capitalist apparatus under the politically correct discourse of citizen participation. In order to overcome the conservatism of participation, the traces of autonomy in the daily production of space must be recognized and valued. Finally, restoring control over the processes of production of space to society presupposes a transformation in the structure of knowledge production itself, that is, in the conventional way that architects and urbanists work.