Advisor / tutor: Doreen Mende

Independent reviewer: Füsun Türetken

Arnhem, June 2013

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the spatial face of the fundamental crisis, started in 2008, that have been changing our conceptualization of space. I will take a close look at the situation in Spain, where first, the recession of the economy, and later, the arising of the figure of the Preparado, the consistent protests and camps on the city centres, and now, massive migratory movements, are changing the organization of space and, therefore, new politics of space are demanded.
The defence of the right to the city, the exaltation of spontaneity on the streets and the desire of a noncapitalist static city that the Situationist International formulated are still vital and I will use their train of thought, spatial reflections, and collection of ideas, proposals and specific vocabulary in my attempt to re-think and conceptualize the spatial crisis of today.
The cultural arena has been very sensitive to all of these convulsions; not only activists, but artists, writers, film-makers, theoreticians, architects, etc. are using different means of protests and exploring alternatives to the existing capitalist system. I will rely on the practices of two groups based in Madrid whose work is based in spatial practices, elii and Paisaje Transversal, and the thoughts and concerns of their co-directors, Uriel Fogué and Jon Aguirre Such, about the crisis, the situationist heritage, the balance between theory and practice, and the means of urbanism to produce knowledge.