Manufacturing the avaton and the ghetto: Places of fear in the centre of Athens (original) (raw)

Abstract

In everyday life, phobias and fears are considered influential on ways of perceiving, behaving and treating others; particularly those who happen to be the ‘Other’. In politics, phobias also play significant roles as governance tactics by invoking ‘public’ sentiments and (re)actions; employed both by governments and oppositions. Discourses about the state of exception (Agamben), the politics of fear (Faludi), the shock doctrine (Klein), about safety and security (Foucault, Deleuze, Marcuse) and biopower (Foucault, Rose) have all discussed the use of fears and phobias in the terrain of governance. These cultural, psychological and political aspects of phobias often entail spatial associations or manifestations. From Simmel’s description of anxieties of metropolitan life to Vidler’s ‘warped spaces’ and to ‘designing-out crime’ policies, urban space frequently embodies real or constructed phobias. Moreover, contemporary discussions about security and resilience in cities reflect phobias of ‘emergencies’ – be that terrorism, attacks or disease – which besides their significant political dimensions, they also shape cities and urban life. Yet, there are points where the political, the cultural and the spatial dimensions of phobias and their ‘use’ become intertwined. One of these points is the construction of the ghetto. The ghetto – culturally, psychologically and spatially – simultaneously embodies phobias of crime and insecurity, of ‘Others’, of social and personal decline, as well as governance tactics related to control and real-estate. Thus, this essay wishes to explore the processes of manufacturing the ghetto and the possible ‘uses’ of such construction. It does so by analysing the construction of the ghetto and the ‘avaton’ in two inner-city neighbourhoods of Athens, Greece. Exarcheia, the ‘avaton’ (a ‘no-go area’), in ‘public’ perceptions is mainly associated with anarchists and riots, while Ag. Panteleimonas is increasingly ascribed with the ‘ghetto’ stigma by media and policy-makers. Through these two cases we can explore how phobias concerning these neighbourhoods are manufactured, mobilised and manipulated by the media, governments and political groups, and by real-estate interests.

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