Volume 66, January 01, 2016, Pages 92-99
Department of Geography, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. East, Guelph, ON, Canada
Abstract
Based on our study of
informal recyclers' experiences of well-being, we draw on "geographies
of survival" to understand the challenges that these informal workers
experience in a context of urban change in Vancouver, BC. This concept
explains that impoverished city residents construct pathways through the
urban landscape that provide shelter, access to food, spaces of safety,
and community. Informal recyclers' geographies of survival are
connected with urban inequality and are exacerbated by neoliberal
trends in the governance of Vancouver's physical, social, and political
spaces. We observe that certain users and uses of public space are
defined as disorderly or illegitimate, the poor are pushed to the
margins of society, and rhetorical urban revitalization and "greening"
agendas are prioritized over the needs of the poor in policy making.
However, neoliberal trends are
inherently contradictory and can change based on local contestation and
opposition. Geographies of survival are therefore an important mechanism
through which informal recyclers can reclaim city spaces as they resist
spatial restrictions and work to maintain their access to necessary
resources. We conclude that the geographies of survival lens provides an
important perspective on urban power relationships and their spatial
dynamics in contemporary Vancouver. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
