BRINGING PEOPLE TO THE PARK: EXCLUSIONARY REPRESENTATIONS IN THE MAKING OF GALT GARDENS

Abstract

In 2003 the Rotary Club of Lethbridge, Alberta proposed a revitalization of Galt Gardens, a historic ten-acre park in Lethbridge’s downtown. The proposal was accepted and the revitalization was completed in 2008. During these years the park changed significantly – public washrooms and a water feature were installed, and private security guards were employed to patrol the area. According to the local newspaper, developments have transformed Galt Gardens from a “hangout for the city’s street population” to “an idyllic scene of children splashing and playing, families picnicking and people strolling” (The Lethbridge Herald July 9, 2008). My paper asserts that space is always social and political – it is always imbued with power (Lefebvre, 1991). I explore the production of space as a complex social process, part of which is representational. Employing discourse analysis I look at newspaper articles, showing how these representations articulate who uses the space – who has, and who no longer has, the right to Galt Gardens park (Mitchell, 2003). Through the “revitalization” process, Galt Gardens is seemingly made a place where “families,” and “people of all ages” can participate in recreational activities. However, newspaper representations also work to exclude, producing “the city’s homeless” as unwelcome, as other-than “the public,” as other-than people.