Monday, January 19, 2015 6:00 pm
-
6:00 pm
EST (GMT -05:00)
Of
the
thesis
entitled: No
Common
Ground
: Atlas
of
Resistance
and
Control
during
the
2010
Toronto
G20
Summit
Abstract:
Architecture and legislation describe the spaces of the city, and the activities they contain. ‘Security’ can dislodge this public space. This is especially true during gatherings of global leaders within major cities. The threat of terrorism and the temporary nature of these events tend to excuse authoritarian treatment of public space. The Toronto G20 summit of June 2010 is a model for the dynamic between resistance and control, the unmediated relationship between these two forces, and the resulting change in freedom and movement in the modern city.
Abstract:
Architecture and legislation describe the spaces of the city, and the activities they contain. ‘Security’ can dislodge this public space. This is especially true during gatherings of global leaders within major cities. The threat of terrorism and the temporary nature of these events tend to excuse authoritarian treatment of public space. The Toronto G20 summit of June 2010 is a model for the dynamic between resistance and control, the unmediated relationship between these two forces, and the resulting change in freedom and movement in the modern city.
During
the
Toronto
G20
Summit,
security
was
used
on
an
exceptional
scale:
first,
through
architectural
design
and
secondly,
through
the
tight
enforcement
of
existing
legislation.
The
G20
security
apparatus
made
changes
to
the
natural
flows
and
spatial
relationships
of
the
city.
Everyone
who
came
into
the
downtown
core
was
confronted
with
these
changes.
This
work
focuses
on
how
crowds
moved
through
and
appropriated
space
in
downtown
Toronto
during
the
protest
demonstrations
that
took
place
during
the
summit.
It
examines
how
the
space
of
the
city
shaped
these
movements
and
how
the
security
apparatus
reconfigured
the
space
in
order
to
control
it.
In
the
aftermath
of
the
G20
Summit
many
narratives
competed
to
become
public
record.
The
information
presented
in
this
work
was
compiled
from
information
readily
available
on
the
Internet.
Sources
of
information
came
from
government
documents,
news
articles,
blogs,
and
social
media
sites.
To
obtain
a
spatial
analysis
of
the
event,
these
fragments
of
information
have
been
collated
according
to
time
and
space.
The
work
organizes
the
information
into
three
modes
of
representation:
text,
image,
and
map.
Two
essays
–
“Two
Cities”
and
“No
Common
Ground”
–
explore
the
ramifications
of
layering
a
repressive
security
apparatus
on
top
of
the
modern
city.
A
photo
essay
catalogues
images
of
the
security
of
the
G20
Summit,
the
demonstrations
and
the
interactions
between
activists
and
the
police.
A
series
of
original
maps,
organized
according
to
five
significant
turning
points
amid
the
events
of
the
summit,
provides
spatial
context
for
the
text
and
images
and
emphasizes
the
relationship
between
event
and
space.
A
time
log,
included
as
an
appendix,
complements
the
work
by
weaving
text,
image,
and
map
into
a
comprehensive
account
of
events.
The
events
of
the
G20
Summit
have
a
form
that
is
intimately
connected
to
the
space
of
the
city.
By
heavily
restricting
areas
of
the
city
that
are
normally
considered
accessible
or
common
to
all,
the
government
transformed
a
thriving
metropolis
into
a
ghost
town.
In
this
environment,
all
political
action,
even
simple
act
of
occupying
public
space,
becomes
subversive.
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
Committee Members:
Donald McKay, University of Waterloo
Adrian
Blackwell,
University
of
Waterloo
Ryszard
Sliwka,
University
of
Waterloo
External Reader:
Pierre Filion, University of Waterloo
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Monday
January
19,
2015
6:00PM
Architecture
Room 2003
(Photo Studio)
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.