Sidewalk City

Remapping Public Space in Ho Chi Minh City

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Cartography, History, Asian, Southeast Asia
Cover of the book Sidewalk City by Annette Miae Kim, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Annette Miae Kim ISBN: 9780226119366
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: May 27, 2015
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Annette Miae Kim
ISBN: 9780226119366
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: May 27, 2015
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

For most, the term “public space” conjures up images of large, open areas: community centers for meetings and social events; the ancient Greek agora for political debates; green parks for festivals and recreation. In many of the world’s major cities, however, public spaces like these are not a part of the everyday lives of the public. Rather, business and social lives have always been conducted along main roads and sidewalks. With increasing urban growth and density, primarily from migration and immigration, rights to the sidewalk are being hotly contested among pedestrians, street vendors, property owners, tourists, and governments around the world.

With Sidewalk City, Annette Miae Kim provides the first multidisciplinary case study of sidewalks in a distinctive geographical area. She focuses on Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a rapidly growing and evolving city that throughout its history, her multicultural residents have built up alternative legitimacies and norms about how the sidewalk should be used. Based on fieldwork over 15 years, Kim developed methods of spatial ethnography to overcome habitual seeing, and recorded both the spatial patterns and the social relations of how the city’s vibrant sidewalk life is practiced.

In Sidewalk City, she transforms this data into an imaginative array of maps, progressing through a primer of critical cartography, to unveil new insights about the importance and potential of this quotidian public space. This richly illustrated and fascinating study of Ho Chi Minh City’s sidewalks shows us that it is possible to have an aesthetic sidewalk life that is inclusive of multiple publics’ aspirations and livelihoods, particularly those of migrant vendors.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For most, the term “public space” conjures up images of large, open areas: community centers for meetings and social events; the ancient Greek agora for political debates; green parks for festivals and recreation. In many of the world’s major cities, however, public spaces like these are not a part of the everyday lives of the public. Rather, business and social lives have always been conducted along main roads and sidewalks. With increasing urban growth and density, primarily from migration and immigration, rights to the sidewalk are being hotly contested among pedestrians, street vendors, property owners, tourists, and governments around the world.

With Sidewalk City, Annette Miae Kim provides the first multidisciplinary case study of sidewalks in a distinctive geographical area. She focuses on Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a rapidly growing and evolving city that throughout its history, her multicultural residents have built up alternative legitimacies and norms about how the sidewalk should be used. Based on fieldwork over 15 years, Kim developed methods of spatial ethnography to overcome habitual seeing, and recorded both the spatial patterns and the social relations of how the city’s vibrant sidewalk life is practiced.

In Sidewalk City, she transforms this data into an imaginative array of maps, progressing through a primer of critical cartography, to unveil new insights about the importance and potential of this quotidian public space. This richly illustrated and fascinating study of Ho Chi Minh City’s sidewalks shows us that it is possible to have an aesthetic sidewalk life that is inclusive of multiple publics’ aspirations and livelihoods, particularly those of migrant vendors.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Flip the Script by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Good Enough for Government Work by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book French Modern by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Bloodtaking and Peacemaking by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Treasuring the Gaze by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book The Meaning of Fossils by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Renegade Dreams by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Improvement by Design by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Truth Machine by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Patent Politics by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Doña Barbara by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book The Politics of Information by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Proust among the Nations by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2015 by Annette Miae Kim
Cover of the book Daguerreotypes by Annette Miae Kim
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy