Urban Appropriation: Creativity in Marginalization

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the subtle dialog, or possibly interaction, between the duality of the “formal” and the “informal” in high-density environment. Marginalized people are continuously reinventing their understanding of space and territory in the public domain. Resiliency and creativity emerged to commodify every possible inch of available space. The result is appropriation of urban space. Although the basis of such appropriation is economy (and survival), the action is capable of generating new economic activities in the city. Such condition developed intricate types of spatial intelligence, “marginal space intelligence” that characterized by negotiation, flexibility & adaptability, collaboration, and collectivity. Such arguments will be illustrated by various case studies from Jakarta and Hong Kong as examples of high-density environment. In high-density Asian context, the existence of both the formal and the informal is necessary to sustain the city at large.