Streets in Motion: The Making of Infrastructure, Property, and Political Culture in Twentieth-century Calcutta

The book "Streets in Motion" explores how the social production of motion in a capitalist urban context creates a fetishized concept of motion, representing energy, positivity, and progress while obstruction is seen as delinquency. It uncovers the social tectonics of spatial mobilization and theorizes the street as an apparatus of city-making and subject formation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The book delves into the intricate web of social processes that shape the production of motion within a capitalist urban landscape. In the bustling city of capital, motion takes on a peculiar significance, evolving into a fetishized concept. The bourgeois order perceives motion as a symbol of vitality, positivity, and progress, representing a societal norm and its antithesis, obstruction. Through its comprehensive exploration, the book unravels the social dynamics of spatial mobilization, unveiling the mysteries behind motion. It seeks to answer the fundamental question: who and what propel spaces into motion? How do different classes of city dwellers engage with, experience, and navigate this ever-evolving landscape? Streets in Motion takes a novel approach to urban history by theorizing and historicizing the street as a powerful apparatus of city-making and subject formation. It operates on two interconnected levels: a local history of Calcutta during colonial and post-colonial periods, and a theoretical exploration of the logistical and political-cultural significance of the street within this framework. The book argues forcefully that the street is inherently political, as politics itself is the process of producing space.

The book delves into the intricate web of social processes that shape the production of motion within a capitalist urban landscape. In the bustling city of capital, motion takes on a peculiar significance, evolving into a fetishized concept. The bourgeois order perceives motion as a symbol of vitality, positivity, and progress, representing a societal norm and its antithesis, obstruction. Through its comprehensive exploration, the book unravels the social dynamics of spatial mobilization, unveiling the mysteries behind motion. It seeks to answer the fundamental question: who and what propel spaces into motion? How do different classes of city dwellers engage with, experience, and navigate this ever-evolving landscape? Streets in Motion takes a novel approach to urban history by theorizing and historicizing the street as a powerful apparatus of city-making and subject formation. It operates on two interconnected levels: a local history of Calcutta during colonial and post-colonial periods, and a theoretical exploration of the logistical and political-cultural significance of the street within this framework. The book argues forcefully that the street is inherently political, as politics itself is the process of producing space.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 236 x 160 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009100113