Cultural Cities > Speakers > holck

Julie HOLCK

Abstract:

The Urban Qualities of Market Places

Using Torvehallerne, a market place to be in the center of Copenhagen, as an example I will discuss the role of the market place, mediating between the local and the global, the planned and the improvised, the well known and the unfamiliar. In contrast to ordinary, enclosed shopping environments like super markets and shopping centres, good market places have a different placemaking effect owing to their individually owned stalls, sensuous qualities and diversity. Placemaking is a process that can be defined as "incorporating humanity into space" and market places have great possibilities of doing this and thereby creating a unique place with a special atmosphere; an important feature at a time where strong forces (chain stores and developers) are doing the opposite. 

I will shortly present the project of Torvehallerne, including both the physical prospect and the urban and cultural consequences it is expected to generate. Afterwards I will point out different aspects of the urban qualities of market places in general, using existing examples from around the world.  

Short CV:

Education: Master in Literature and Modern Culture from University of Copenhagen (2004). Final thesis: Urban consequences of the Shopping Culture.

Present occupation: Industrial Ph.D. student at University of  Copenhagen (Department of Arts and Cultural Studies) in cooperation with the Danish Chamber of Commerce. The thesis is about the actual challenge for urban shopping environments: In what ways do or don't retailers and shopping environments contribute to the creation of diversified and attractive, vital cities? With a discussion of  "the vibrant city" and "the good place" as my point of departure I will try to identify the relations between city, shop and citizen/consumer from a phenomenological point of view. The approach is historical as well as contemporary as I am analysing four archetypical shopping environments (the market place, the department store, the shopping street and the mall) focusing on the ways we're sensing and experiencing the places. Examples are from Denmark, Spain, France, Syria, Morocco, the US et al.

Publications:

"Shoppingrummets pædagogiske potentiale" ("The didactic potential of the shopping space") in: Når TEKST møder RUM, essays fra Forskeruddannelsesforum for Urbanitet og Æstetik, Årbog 2007 (Forskerskolen I Kultur, Litteratur og Kunstfag, Københavns Universitet 2007)

"Shopping malls and Urban Utopian Imaginations" in: Marling, Gitte & Zerlang, Martin (ed.): Fun City, Arkitektens Forlag 2007