No abstract provided. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

From before enclosure, platforms have defined use and purpose within the physical and social world. The demarcation of space through levelling, texture and surface acting together to both enable and restrict use, platforms would later give their name to the socio political construct of the platform as ideological stage. Pier Vittorio Aureli and Martino Tattara write on this at length in the text Platforms: Architecture and the Use of the Ground, where they discuss the relationship between the physical and the public or social aspect of the platform, recognising its ability to both give voice and take it away, and the role they play in creating social asymmetry. The first part of this diploma explores, through novel methods of engagement, this social aspect of public space. By embracing distance and dialogue, it uses correspondence to investigate the physical and social structures that come together to delineate and define the hazy idea of what constitutes public space. This diploma chooses to pose these questions through the lens of cooking and the shared practices that accompany it, manifesting itself in the second part as a meanwhile use of a disused public building that celebrates local food culture, alongside a speculative proposal for an unprogrammed urban terrain that plays on the notion of platforming.
What if such platforms could provide a canvas for a more spontaneous, democratic public life, one where use, access and public rights are less regulated and defined?

Ce travail de recherche analyse comment les autorités locales adaptent les outils mis à leur disposition pour apporter une réponse de proximité à la délinquance dans deux quartiers de Londres, Brixton et Woolwich (Common et Riverside). Il se concentre dans un premier temps sur la composition ethnique et sociale de ces deux quartiers peuplés de ‘communautés noires’ selon la terminologie anglaise (Partie I). Il examine aussi précisément que possible les différentes formes de délinquance et de criminalité qui sévissent à Brixton et Woolwich et l'implication possible des populations ‘noires’ (Partie II). Il se penche ensuite sur les outils dont disposent les pouvoirs publics (Partie II) afin de cerner comment les politiques nationales ou régionales sont appliquées au niveau local. Cette recherche traite principalement des années 2005-08, mais les troubles de l’été 2011, tout comme les premiers résultats du dernier recensement mené en Angleterre (2011), sont évoqués. Il apparaît que Brixton fait preuve d’un esprit d’initiative qui manque à Woolwich et qui s’explique en partie par l’histoire récente du quartier. / This research focuses on the safety policies regarding the black communities in Brixton and Woolwich (Woolwich Riverside and Woolwich Common wards) during the years 2005-08. It explores how the local authorities managed to adjust and adapt the national policies and laws to their own priorities and goals. First, the ethnicity and social background of the population in those two areas are studied (Part I). Then, it focuses on the different kinds of anti-social behaviour and criminality and determines how the black communities are involved, either as victims or perpetrators (Part II). What tools the local authorities have at their disposal, what kind of partnerships they establish to fight against anti-social behaviours, crime and violence are analysed in the last part of this work (Part III). This research is mainly focused on the years 2005-2008, but the riots in August 2011 as well as the last census results (2011) will be discussed. The local safety policies in Brixton prove to be more originals than in Woolwich, which can be partly explained by the recent history of the area.