Scientific Quarterly Journal

Democratic Actions in Everyday Life: Rethinking the Urbanscape Using a Bakhtinian Approach

Volume 18, Issue 74
Spring 2026
Pages 6-19

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Modern cities are typically characterized by three features: place, interactions, and people. However, a distinct issue of crucial significance is the organization of power, that is, the degree to which a space is authoritarian or open. This research, therefore, seeks to explicate how the experience of a democratic space is realized in the perception of urban spaces. In this context, the theories of Mikhail Bakhtin can provide a critical framework for rethinking the relationship among space, social action, and the urbanscape, understood as the citizens’ perception of urban space. Carnivals, by temporarily disrupting established orders, facilitate dialogue among pluralistic ideas; this dialogue unfolds within a specific time-space setting, and the linkage of these two forms the structure of the chronotope. The central question of this study is: What is the urban equivalent of Bakhtinian freedom, and how can his theories on carnival space, dialogue, and the chronotope serve as a basis for explaining the democratic urbanscape? The objective of this research is to redefine the urbanscape as a polyphonic space where carnivalistic moments allow for a rupture from the established order and enable the emergence of creative and democratic actions. This study employed a qualitative approach using a critical discourse analysis (CDA). Initially, conceptual analysis was utilized to critically re-read the key concepts in the thought of Mikhail Bakhtin. These concepts were subsequently redefined in relation to urban space and everyday life. Following this, discursive interpretation was applied to examine the linkage between Bakhtin’s theory and the urbanscape. The findings of this research indicate that the carnival is not an exceptional event, but rather a dynamic capacity that is inherent and ongoing in the fabric of everyday urban life. Micro-carnivals, by generating temporary ruptures in the established order, provide citizens with the opportunity for spatial recreation, self-expression, democratic action, and polyphonic dialogue. Within this framework, the urbanscape is understood as a narrative field that is unfinished and open to events, offering the capacity to host creative and emancipatory experiences at the heart of the city.

Keywords

Subjects
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