ABC Research in Progress Seminars (ABC-RIPS)

Lured to cities for employment and relief from rural deprivation, nearly two billion urban inhabitants across the globe struggle to sustain an existence in environs where space is scarce, exorbitant, and often ghastly. With institutional voids, incomplete markets, and ineffectual policies conspiring to marginalize this quarter of humanity, market-based responses become an intriguing alternative. Bringing entrepreneurship scholarship into dialogue with the spatial theories of Lefebvre, Foucault, and Soja, we propose the concept of “entrepreneurial production of space,” in which space is treated as the target, substance, and product of entrepreneurial action. We then ask: How does the “entrepreneurial production of space” bring about alternative social arrangements that deliver reproducible benefits to society? Through a research design comprising two urban ethnographies in China— one of a rooftop migrant enclave and the other of a junkyard village —  and the use of sketching as a process of spatial reflection, we identify novel mechanisms through which entrepreneurs actively engage socio-spatial relations to create and capture value and, in doing so, unlock alternative social possibilities for marginalized populations. Our study thus responds to recent calls to employ diverse perspectives and methods, particularly for the sake of spotlighting the lived experiences of historically marginalized individuals.

For further information or access to full text, please contact presenter Adam Frost: af [dot] bhl [at] cbs [dot] dk (af[dot]bhl[at]cbs[dot]dk)