Mikheil Svanidze: Playgrounds as a Political Narrative

Lecture by Georgian sociologist MIKHEIL SVANIDZE, who focuses in his work on public space in relation to the current political situation.
Walks through the city can easily be compared to archaeology revealing various layers of history. This is particularly true in the countries of post-Soviet capitalism with a turbulent political life that has seen many governments with very different political visions (or non-visions) and governing philosophies.
Attempting to understand these philosophies can be done in the spatially limited area of children's playgrounds. They are universally present and ubiquitous places. They are usually maintained by municipal parts - and in the absence of funding, by the residents themselves. Playgrounds are vulnerable structures. The costs of replacing them are relatively low, and the political points are quite high - every politician looks good when posing at a brand new playground. Therefore, they are subject to constant changes and renovations.
Those in power do not perceive playgrounds explicitly as political arenas, however, implicitly and intuitively they act upon them with the help of various kinds of urban furniture, use of social space, and allocation of resources. Each layer thus represents the contemporary understanding of political aesthetics and ideology, and the playground becomes an archaeological site. Consequently, these urban spaces can contribute to the analysis of current political narratives.