Colonial spatial order fragments daily life into discrete function-specific locations

Evidence

Within these containers, items can then be isolated, enumerated, and kept: three large animals and three small per courtyard; two beds end to end (and hence two persons) per room; even the positioning of pots, water jars and food supplies was specified in the French plans. The dividing up of such items is also the breaking down of life into a series of discrete functions – sleeping, eating, cooking, and so on – each with a specific location. The order of the reconstructed village was to be achieved by reducing its life to this system of locations and the objects and functions contained there, of a framework and what was enframed. The apparent neutrality of space, as the dimension of order, is an effect of building and distributing according to the strict distinction between container and contained. — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 162 (#expands, via linked claim)

Before we begin to unravel the small part of this complex chain that is of concern here, two comments are in order. First, in attempting to account for the change to the dominance of spatial ordering in the public space of the modern city, it is important to bear in mind that the key word is dominance. As we have seen, some elements of the spatial order already existed in the preindustrial city (just as, as we shall see, some elements of the appearential order remain in the modern city). — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 304 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Such relationships tend to work both for and against the dominant spatial order of the modern city. This paradox is even more apparent relative to residents, particularly resident colonizers. On the one hand, the establishment of home territories contributes greatly to the spatial segregation of persons. This bar is taken over by homosexuals, that cafeteria by elderly ladies, this hot dog stand by motorcycle buffs, that section of the park by mothers with small children, and so forth. Through the unplanned, uncoordinated actions of all these individuals and groups, the pervasive ethic of the modern city that there is a place for everyone (and everything) and that everyone (and everything) should be in its place is strengthened. … On the other hand, however, colonization at the same time works against the spatial order and adds even more complexity to an already complex environment. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 774 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Colonial maps enabled wealth extraction by exploiting resource-access differentials — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 919; Spatial order operates by presenting space as neutral containers that can be filled; Colonial town planning imposed order by reducing life to discrete spatial functions — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 162 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Colonial town planning imposed order by reducing life to discrete spatial functions #expands (0.95) — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 162
• Neither spatial nor appearential ordering wholly replaces the other across eras #complicates (0.82) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 304
• Territorial colonization both reinforces and destabilizes urban spatial order #complicates (0.78) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 774
• European colonial families sustained identity across continents through regular correspondence networks #complicates (0.73) — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1312