The private in the public space. The case of an emergency camp

Abstract

The definitions of the notions of public space and private space established by various disciplines do not consider a possible space of interference between the two. The value of the acceptance of manifestations of the private in the public urban and political space will be discussed. These manifestations are of the nature of the sensible and come from the social interactions, the sensory experiences of the inhabited spaces and the affective memory of the inhabitants. The social and urban reconstruction of a community after a natural disaster is a scenario where a series of redefinitions of the public-private borders take place. Through the study of the daily experience of the inhabitants of a post-natural catastrophe camp we analyze how they reconfigure through their practices the border between the public and the private, postulating their importance for the resilience of a community. In order to explore this limit, its thickness and its malleability, a qualitative investigation was carried out, consisting of the observation of public spaces and interviews with the inhabitants of the El Molino de Dichato camp, in the Biobío Region, Chile.

Keywords: public space, private space, natural disaster, resilience.