Exclusion from Urban Privatised Space: A Case Study of a Shopping Centre

Abstract

This paper contributes to the current debate about the privatisation of urban space. It presents a detailed discussion of the privatisation thesis in relation to the perceived 'loss of public space' and in relation to social exclusion , which many authors see as one of the key distinguishing features of privatised spaces. Many scholars regard shopping centres as the exemplifi ca-tion of privatised space. Therefore, this paper presents an empirical study of Czech shopping centres and focuses on the process of exclusion therein. Two kinds of exclusion are identifi ed in the research. One is formal exclusion and it derives from the shopping centres' house rules, an analysis of which reveals their key features to be issues of control, an inherent ambiguity, and hidden personalisation. The second kind of exclusion identifi ed, an informal type, derives mostly from the preventive identifi cation of 'unwelcome' groups, who are usually defi ned in terms of their physical appearance. Members of these groups, most notably homeless people, tend to be excluded from the shopping centres on the basis of a confl ation of the meanings of security and comfort. However, the process of exclusion is in turn altered and negotiated by the personal power relations between the security guards and the excluded.