The Temporality Within Temporary Urbanism: Listening to Rhythms and Timespace

This chapter advocates the need to focus on temporality within Geography and Urban Studies. Temporary urbanism literature can be extended by focusing on time and the temporal rather than just the spatial, which is common in this field. ‘Temporary’ or short-term uses of urban space can be analysed in their entirety if we include temporality in this discussion and focus on the everyday scale of cities and urban actors. The chapter uses Crang’s ‘timespace’ as a concept, which asserts the equal importance of time and space. Often the spatial is prioritised over the temporal in geography, but through paying attention to the rhythms of different people and projects in the city, scholars can learn more about the multiple temporalities that co-exist in urban space. The chapter tracks the historical use of time in the discipline of Geography up to the more recent approach of timespace. An examination of the timespace of the Dublin Biennial reveals the nuances of the project, which may be overlooked if only the spatial details are focused upon. Introducing temporality into Geography will recognise that the separation of time and space is no longer useful, and acknowledge the value of both the temporal and the spatial.