Beyond the Sit-In: Public Space Production and Appropriation in Sudan’s December Revolution, 2018

Ibrahim Z. Bahreldin
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Ibrahim Z. Bahreldin: Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture & Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: This article reflects on Khartoum’s sit-in space in front of the Army headquarter in Khartoum during Sudan’s Nile Spring. The article explores the public discourses, activities, and space transformation during the sit-in, which lasted fifty-eight days. Through studying the sit-in, we aim to discuss how the Nile Spring has, or has not, transformed the conception of what a public space is by examining the functions and activities of the sit-in space as a territory of political exercise. The methodology underlying this research includes direct and participant observation, a follow-up of the sit-in space activities on various media sources, a literature review, and interviews. The conclusions drawn by this article show how the sit-in space has challenged the current relationship between public space and the political ideology by providing a new example of what a public space is. The sit-in space succeeded in revolutionizing the understanding of how public spaces should be imagined, designed, appropriated, and managed. This inquiry has disclosed the necessity to rethink current planning and urban design processes that restrict democratic activities in public spaces.

Keywords: reclaiming public space; Sudan revolution 2018; politics of public space; space transformation; the right to the city; the sit-in space; Khartoum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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