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'Sleep occupies no space': the use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa

Kristien Geenen (UGent)
(2009) AFRICA. 79(3). p.347-368
Author
Organization
Abstract
This article deals with issues of territoriality, public space, the microphysics of power and street gang life in the current urban context of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this city, a growing number of street children invade the public places. They team up in gangs and scour the streets in search of a location to settle (for a while). Along with their appropriation of public space, these gangs encounter several actors such as the city authorities, shop owners, tenants or rival street gangs. Before any settlement, deals have to be closed since every inch of the city is negotiable. All participants get involved in these negotiations, for no one is considered marginal, certainly not the street youth who are inextricably bound up with Congolese society. This contribution considers this dynamic field of negotiations through a focus on space and analyses it from a Foucauldian angle. It explores how gang members develop particular ways to control their territories and exercise power in them. Additionally, it examines how street youths manage to construct a home in the streets and make sense of their urban environment in the process.
Keywords
Kinshasa, street gangs, DRC, streetchildren, public space, urban anthropology

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Geenen, Kristien. “‘Sleep Occupies No Space’: The Use of Public Space by Street Gangs in Kinshasa.” AFRICA, vol. 79, no. 3, 2009, pp. 347–68, doi:10.3366/E0001972009000850.
APA
Geenen, K. (2009). “Sleep occupies no space”: the use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa. AFRICA, 79(3), 347–368. https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009000850
Chicago author-date
Geenen, Kristien. 2009. “‘Sleep Occupies No Space’: The Use of Public Space by Street Gangs in Kinshasa.” AFRICA 79 (3): 347–68. https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009000850.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Geenen, Kristien. 2009. “‘Sleep Occupies No Space’: The Use of Public Space by Street Gangs in Kinshasa.” AFRICA 79 (3): 347–368. doi:10.3366/E0001972009000850.
Vancouver
1.
Geenen K. “Sleep occupies no space”: the use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa. AFRICA. 2009;79(3):347–68.
IEEE
[1]
K. Geenen, “‘Sleep occupies no space’: the use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa,” AFRICA, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 347–368, 2009.
@article{3824408,
  abstract     = {{This article deals with issues of territoriality, public space, the microphysics of power and street gang life in the current urban context of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In this city, a growing number of street children invade the public places. They team up in gangs and scour the streets in search of a location to settle (for a while). Along with their appropriation of public space, these gangs encounter several actors such as the city authorities, shop owners, tenants or rival street gangs. Before any settlement, deals have to be closed since every inch of the city is negotiable. All participants get involved in these negotiations, for no one is considered marginal, certainly not the street youth who are inextricably bound up with Congolese society. This contribution considers this dynamic field of negotiations through a focus on space and analyses it from a Foucauldian angle. It explores how gang members develop particular ways to control their territories and exercise power in them. Additionally, it examines how street youths manage to construct a home in the streets and make sense of their urban environment in the process.}},
  author       = {{Geenen, Kristien}},
  issn         = {{0001-9720}},
  journal      = {{AFRICA}},
  keywords     = {{Kinshasa,street gangs,DRC,streetchildren,public space,urban anthropology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{347--368}},
  title        = {{'Sleep occupies no space': the use of public space by street gangs in Kinshasa}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972009000850}},
  volume       = {{79}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}
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