Paper short abstract:

With this paper I would like to discuss the role of disquieting policies of uncertain spaces through a case-study of the small catalan town of Salt. The aim is to shed light upon processes of space production in the post-fordist economy and context of economic and political crisis.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years efforts have been made to expel all disturbing behaviour from public space as a strategy towards a pacification of spaces in the post-fordist cities with the aim of tourist consumption. But how do you understand these strategies when tourism is not present neither an aim?

In the last two years smaller incidents have drawn attention to the specific ecology of the town where I am doing fieldwork (Salt, Spain). There is a general consent that this town is a kind of social laboratory due to the following facts: 1) there has been an increasing sense of insecurity on the one hand amongst a smaller part of the population, elder people and formerly immigrants from the rest of Spain, 2) simultaneously a perception of despair and distrust reigns amongst young people, mainly children of immigrants from North Africa and South America.

With this paper I attempt to show that Salt is represented as a dangerous place (a paradigmatic disquiet and uncertain space in uncertain times) which calls for domestication through various social policies. The point is that due to a certain negative vision of social conflict, shared by the major political parties, conflict is avoided and even silenced through repressive measures and social policies that are supposed to trigger social cohesion.

This kind of cover-up of latent conflicts produces a greater incomprehension, possibly an even greater annoyance, on part of the "native" population, and furthermore, less interaction between the conflictual parts.