Substantiations, refutations, surprises

Public space may be the city synecdoche par excellence but it can also be deeply ambivalent. Without doubt the original research in this book exposes the importance of the production of urban public space for post-industrial city transformation. Case study research of three cities in three countries, big theoretical conjectures and a cornucopia of spatial fragments, rendered coherent through theoretically informed, robust analysis, have disclosed the importance of social relationships in the production of space. In so doing the book has brought forth a remarkable range of empirical data, leading to strong evidence for the production of differential space. The book contributes to the development of the debate by bringing into the public domain for the first time fresh insights arising from new and reinterpreted data. On this historicised, analytical journey, several of Lefebvre’s important theoretical suppositions have been substantiated empirically. Unexpectedly, a number of what might be called lost histories have been recovered, resulting in some surprising revelations. Empirical exposés extend the book's contribution into the realm of problematising what are called the dominant academic narratives.

The book encourages a radical rethink beyond the accepted ways of understanding the spatial triad and its relationship with abstract space, differential space and the right to the city. Differential space has been found to coexist through time with other Lefebvrian spatial moments. Therefore, the book makes noteworthy contributions through disclosures about hypercomplexity in the production of urban space; identifying spatial fragments and plotting their relationships and influences.