Spaces for activity, spaces as activity

Physical spaces enabling and upholding civic action

Authors

• Teppo Eskelinen Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Sanna Ryynänen Itä-Suomen yliopisto (vuoden 2021 ajan vapaalla Sosiaalipedagogisen aikakauskirjan apulaispäätoimittajan tehtävästä)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30675/sa.103048

Keywords:

civic activity, physical space, people's houses, worldshops

Abstract

The article explores a recognised, yet empirically understudied topic: the significance of physical spaces for civic action and its formation. The topic is
approached through two case studies: people’s houses1 and world shops. People’s houses are spaces constructed by various non-profit associations to serve as their assembly spaces, sometimes  referred to as ”the groundwork of the Finnish civil
society”. The world shop movement, for its part, operated fair trade boutiques around the country for decades. Both cases exemplify civic action, in which own physical space has particular significance. The article analyses two separate sets of thematic
interview data to illustrate the various dimensions of the significance of physical spaces for civic action. We ask, what does physical space under one’s control signify for active citizens and what is its impact on activities. In other words the analysis asks, how does physical space in given circumstances generate action, instead of merely enabling it. The article also discusses, from two perspectives, the separation of
physical spaces and civic action: spaces without  activity (the case of people’s houses in many locations) and activity without spaces (world shops). The reflections on the significance of physical spaces are interwoven into discussions on the pedagogical
meanings of civic and collective action, and broader  questions related to societal action and participation. On the basis of our analysis we argue that physical space under one’s control can generate a community orientation which both enables civic action and has significance beyond the immediate activities. Uses of physical space not related to civic activities can nevertheless uphold these activities and possibly generate new forms of them, as well as strengthen a sense of shared identity locally (people’s houses) or within a group (world shops).