Epilogue: Sites of Questions, Contestations, and Resistance

Epilogue: Sites of Questions, Contestations, and
Resistance
Manish Chalana and Jeffrey Hou
We started this book with the objective of better understanding the urban “messiness”
in Asian cities, recognizing that the conditions of messiness are often either dismissed
or romanticized in both academia and practice. We were particularly interested in
understanding the politics of urban messiness; their place in the city and value to the
community; and the questions they raise concerning the ongoing production of cities,
cityscapes, and citizenship. Several misconceptions, myths, and negative stereotypes
color our view of urban messiness, throughout the region and beyond; the state and
planning apparatus remain unprepared to address it in any meaningful ways.
While we have tried to conceptualize and investigate the phenomena of urban
messiness, it is important to note that we are not the first to coin the term “messy
urbanism.” In an article published in Places, John de Monchaux (1989) puts it simply,
“Cities are messy places, and on the whole they work well because of that messiness.”
He also argues, “The more effective ways of getting things done are more likely to
emerge if we accept and use in a positive way the fact that cities are intrinsically messy
Copyright © 2016. Hong Kong University Press. All rights reserved.
places” (36). In his chapter in Everyday Urbanism (1999), John Kaliski uses the term
“messiness” in reference to the conditions of the present city in contrast to the order
and segregation of uses under the modernist paradigm. Later, James Rojas (2007),
another Angeleno, used “messiness” to convey his impressions of Toronto—“a sort
of less-than-manicured quality to the whole thing, and coupled with a huge diversity
of people.” In his chapter in Now Urbanism, Viren Brahmbhatt (2015, 24) applies the
term “messy urbanism” to characterize the informal urban landscape of Mumbai and
the “vitality that arises from its multitude of contradictions.” Beyond these instances,
one can also search online and find many more casual uses of the term. Although
we don’t claim to have invented the term “messy urbanism,” we do hope that this
volume makes a substantial contribution to better articulating the concept and to
better understanding the phenomenon.
As has been previously noted, urban messiness in form of so-called informal-
ity emerges in “defiance of rules, ordinances, and regulations, out of necessity, or
because of opportunity” (Loukaitou-Sideris and Mukhija 2014, 295). Messy places
are not easily decipherable and can be challenging to study, because of their complex
Messy Urbanism : Understanding the “Other” Cities of Asia, edited by Chalana Manish, and Hou Jeffrey, Hong Kong University
Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/indonesiau-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4592530.
Created from indonesiau-ebooks on 2020-10-18 08:14:58.
Epilogue 239
socio-spatial patterning; their temporal, ephemeral, and tactile qualities; and their
locational and use characteristics. Yet the diversity and complexity of urban messi-
ness remain central to understanding Asian cities. Scholars and practitioners need
to familiarize themselves with the issues and questions concerning the production
of messy places not only because so many hundreds of millions of people live in (or
with) them but also because those populations remain the most vulnerable, as Asian
cities rapidly transform and modernize.
The chapters in this book address and clarify the various forms of urban messi-
ness from different cities in Asia. Collectively, they reveal shared and notable themes
that constitute the main outcomes and contributions of this volume. Each of these
themes suggests a way for untangling and understanding the production of messiness
in Asian cities and for fostering a greater degree of appreciation and critical response.
Urban Messiness Defies Dichotomy
At the most fundamental level, the phenomenon of messiness defies simple categori-
zation. It transcends the binary distinction between order and disorder, formal and
informal, permanent and temporary. As cases from various chapters demonstrate,
messiness can occur in both formal and informal settings where order and disorder
often coexist and are even nested. In addition, what is once formal can become infor-
mal and vice versa. (Not to mention that what is considered as formal or informal is
often in the eyes of the beholder.) Many cities, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Ho
Chi Minh City, and Jakarta, have witnessed formalized spaces being appropriated for
informal uses by different actors to produce different meanings and pursue different
agendas at different times of the day and night. The case of Metro Manila demonstrates
that messiness can exist in all spatial planes, from the informal urban understory to
the advertising signs and billboards of the upper canopies as well as in the interstices
of private- and public-sector urban infrastructure. In China, as Abramson notes in
his chapter, the urban visual disorder is a result of not just the informal cityscape but
also the “constant environmental upheaval of modernizing cities” through actions
by the state. Using a series of observations from Shanghai to Seoul, Hou argues that
tactical actions are often performed to circumvent regulations rather than directly
challenge them, and as such they often coexist with the formal institutions. In the
case of Flower Market Street in Hong Kong, Siu and Zhu argue that such tactics allow
the merchants to increase efficiency while avoiding violations and fines. In all these
instances, messy urbanism defies simple dichotomies of informal/formal, disordered/
ordered, unplanned/planned, spontaneous/scheduled, temporary/permanent. These
binary categories are inadequate in capturing the diversity of urban messiness or elu-
cidating its complexity and fluidity.
240 Manish Chalana and Jeffrey Hou
Messiness Is a Form of Complex Ordering
As the chapters explicate, the apparent disorder of messiness in fact retains multiple
layers of order and meaning that are more readily decipherable to the communities
that create and use them. From the inside-out perspective, then, urban messiness is
rarely considered as messiness per se, particularly not in the way it is viewed from the
outside in—that is, by the affluent class, by planners and policy makers. In her chapter,
Kim poses rhetorical questions pointing to the “tenable varieties of orderliness” in
the Asian context and suggesting that “what has been called disorder or messiness
actually be characterized as misunderstood organization, aspects of which might be
meritorious?” Several aspects of messy urbanism are indeed meritorious and valued
by their communities, as the case of Delhi’s Kathputli Colony demonstrates. Multiple
systems of ordering based on cultural practices and traditional ways of life and liveli-
hoods go into the shaping of the self- and incrementally built dwellings that accom-
modate large families in tight spaces, while making the best use of the minimal urban
infrastructure. Chalana and Rishi’s chapter demonstrates this socio-spatial order in
dwelling and clusters. They argue that this order, which is valued by residents, ought
not to be undervalued in favor of high modernist redevelopment paradigms.
Messiness Is Situated and Contingent
Rather than completely random and spontaneous, messiness is often constructed

within specific social and historical contexts. In the case of Ho Chi Minh City, the
different development patterns and the contrast of visual order and disorder between
the twin cities of Cholon and Saigon under the French colonial rule was part of the
colonial agenda to establish cultural and political superiority over the indigenous
society. Likewise, New Delhi was created in the tradition of the City Beautiful to
showcase the imperial modernity of the British Empire in India, south of but at a
“safe” distance from Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), with its tight spaces and narrow
winding streets (Chalana 2003). In Jakarta, Kusno traces the presence of informal
activities to the incorporation of indigenous quarters into the city in the early twen-
tieth century, as well as the passive, nonintervention strategy of the Dutch colonial
state. In these cases, messiness reflects a historical convergence that give rise to par-
ticular spatial forms, social conditions, and political processes.
Messiness Is Political and Structural
The production of messiness is often political. In Jakarta, Kusno shows us how class
position and racial discourses are implicated in the social and political construction
of messiness. In Chandigarh, the modernist state capital with its formalized order
Epilogue 241
represents a postcolonial political project of a new nation-state. As Prakash notes,

the transnational messiness that produced the ordered city was a messy process and
must be viewed and examined in the colonial and postcolonial contexts. At Sanam
Luang in Bangkok, politics itself contributed to the messy, contested, and contradic-
tory identities of the space, as a site of monarchical rituals, a symbol of state-imposed
order and modernity, a civic space for free speech and political activities, a killing
field for political crackdown, a marketplace, a parking lot, and currently a secured
and gentrified public park. In Quanzhou, China, the fabric of the old city was pre-
served because of a political decision to allow private ownership for fear of alienating
the large number of overseas Chinese who have connections to the city. In the case of
Delhi, the state and the planning establishment, through their policies, help produce
the slums that they then invest considerable resources to eradicate, instead of provid-
ing and improving urban infrastructure and services to these places. In all of these
cases, messiness is politically produced and reflects the role of space as a vehicle for
the representation and exercise of power—messy spaces included.
Messiness Shifts and Evolves
While messiness may be deeply rooted in history, culture, and politics, its expressions,
appearances, and meanings are often not stable. For example, attitudes toward messi-
ness can shift in different historical stages. In the case of Jakarta, Kusno examines how
messiness was seen by the authority first as nuisance, then as a form of self-help under
a different institutional lens, followed by what he calls the “revenge of the underclass”
in the form of motorbikes that roam the city. In Hong Kong, the waves of newcomers
(Chinese mainlanders, migrant workers, etc.) have been reshaping how public spaces
are used or received. Through the cases of a homeless encampment in Shinjuku
Station in Tokyo, Little Manila in Seoul, and street vendors in Taipei, Hou argues
that the ability to shift and transform precisely allows informal, temporary activities
to adapt to the changing circumstances of the city. In their chapter, Siu and Zhu also
argue that these shifting tactics allow stakeholders to solve problems of insufficient
space and social conflicts. In the guerrilla wars performed in everyday spaces, they
argue, “the state of space is never still; its power dynamics are constantly changing.”
Messiness Represents Agency
Messiness represents the ongoing outcomes of individuals and even institutions

acting on their diverse and sometimes conflicting interests and agendas. In Hong
Kong, for instance, while the streets are part of the regulated urban landscapes, their
boundaries, activities, and meanings are constantly redefined by their users. Such
agency can be particularly significant for marginalized social groups in the society.
242 Manish Chalana and Jeffrey Hou
From motorbikers in Jakarta to gatherings of Filipino workers in Central, Hong Kong

to the homeless in Tokyo and street vendors in Taipei, such actions represent the
ability of individuals and groups to shape and reshape the urban environments, often
in defiance of their intended purposes. The agency of individuals and collectives
enables them to carve out a niche within the otherwise hegemonic urban structure.
Messiness in this context provides a space for the consideration of alternative citizen-
ship as defined by the active engagement of urban dwellers with the city regardless of
who came first and who get to stay.
Messiness Can Be Productive and Instrumental
The cases of Delhi, Hong Kong, and elsewhere suggest that messy urbanism is not
only an integral part of the formal city but also contributes greatly to its economic
prosperity and social vitality. As Tam notes, the low-wage-earning migrants of Hong
Kong and the spaces they occupy and create are an integral part of the city’s labor
force and economy. Similarly, in Delhi, the informal sector is host to the majority of
the population in the lower socioeconomic spectrum, who keep the engines of the
city running. More problematically, they also save the city considerable money on
the social services that it is legally obligated to provide but does not. Similar points
can be made of other cities throughout Asia, and, indeed, work by Roy and AlSayyad
(2004) among others highlights the many connections between formal and informal
urban systems, including the economic connections. Furthermore, messiness can
be productive in a different sense, in terms of its instrumentality in challenging the
predominant order and structure in the society and inviting further investigation into
the intertwining social, economic, political, and spatial complexity of the present city.
Conclusion: Contesting and Understanding Messiness
For a book focusing on messiness, we hope our reflections do not come across as too
“clean,” although it has certainly been our aim to bring some clarity to the phenome-
non of messiness and its diverse manifestations and struggles. Through this work, we
have attempted to present the notion of messiness as embodying multiple worldviews
and social and political constructs and processes. When defined and characterized
as disorder, messiness represents a form of “othering,” of stigmatization, and of justi-
fication for neglect and displacement. In this regard, messiness is often a product of
systemic marginalization of a large portion of urban populations that find themselves
trapped in the established structural hierarchy. Yet, when defined as challenges to
the predominant orders and structure, messiness can serve as a site of resistance and
insurgency, particularly by marginalized social actors, against the institutionalized
practices of planning, policy, and social control. In between these two ends of the
Epilogue 243
spectrum, there are also instances of messiness that have been tolerated, accepted,
and even co-opted for and celebrated by those in power, which makes an understand-
ing of messiness even murkier. As a contested notion, then, messiness must serve as a
site of continued questioning and debates.
Messy urbanism implies plurality, multiplicity, and contradictions, a condition
in which urban forms and processes don’t fit into a singular hierarchy, structure, or
meaning. In its role as a site for questioning and resistance against the rigid and stale
structure of city making, perhaps urban messiness can also serve as a site of innova-
tions in the pursuit of new modes of actions, understanding, and collaboration among
citizens, professionals, and institutions. As cracks and fissures in the postpolitical,
homogenous landscapes of contemporary cities, messiness presents opportunities for
a new epistemology of city and city making; a mode of contestation, collaboration,
and composition; and as a site for rethinking and untangling the difficult tasks of
democracy, justice, and resilience.
References
Brahmbhatt, Viren. “Messy Urbanism: Transformation and Transmutation of Cities under
Globalization.” In Now Urbanism: The Future City Is Here, edited by Jeffrey Hou, Ben
Spencer, Thaisa Way, and Ken Yocom, 13–25. London: Routledge, 2015.
Chalana, Manish. “New Delhi.” In Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Architecture, edited by
Stephen Sennott, 919–20. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2003.
De Monchaux, John. “Getting Things Done in Messy Cities,” Places 5, 4 (1989): 36–39.
Kaliski, John. “The Present City and the Practice of City Design.” In Everyday Urbanism, edited
by John Chase, Margaret Crawford, and John Kaliski, 96–109. New York: Monacelli, 1999.
Loukaitou-Sideris, Anastasia, and Vinit Mukhija. “Conclusion: Deepening the Understanding

of Informal Urbanism.” In The Informal American City: Beyond Taco Trucks and Day
Labor, edited by Vinit Mukhija, and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, 295–304. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press, 2014.
Rojas, James. “A Messy, Inspiring Urbanism.” National Post, October 18, 2007. Accessed
September 9, 2014. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=
4e82b4f5-941a-421e-a50c-18bd1d6dbff8&__federated=1.
Roy, Ananya, and Nezar Alsayyad, eds., Urban Informality: Transnational Perspectives from the
Middle East, Latin America, and South Asia. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2004.

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Epilogue: Sites of Questions, Contestations, and

Manish Chalana and Jeffrey Hou

Urban Messiness Defies Dichotomy

Messiness Is a Form of Complex Ordering

Messiness Is Situated and Contingent

Rather than completely random and spontaneous, messiness is often constructed

Messiness Is Political and Structural

represents a postcolonial political project of a new nation-state. As Prakash notes,

Messiness Shifts and Evolves

Messiness Represents Agency

Messiness represents the ongoing outcomes of individuals and even institutions

From motorbikers in Jakarta to gatherings of Filipino workers in Central, Hong Kong

Messiness Can Be Productive and Instrumental

Conclusion: Contesting and Understanding Messiness

Loukaitou-Sideris, Anastasia, and Vinit Mukhija. “Conclusion: Deepening the Understanding

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