Rhythms, dressage and pacemaking in South Side Chicago : examining the construction site of the Obama Presidential Center

Abstract

This article examines the effects of a major civil project, the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, on the everyday rhythms of this part of the city. In particular, we examine the construction site of this center and its impact on the production of rhythms. We focus on the notion of “dressage” in Lefebvre’s Rhythmanalysis, suggesting a critical reading of this notion through the theory of pacemaker. Theorizing the interrelation between rhythms, dressage and pacemaking, our article investigates the interface of the built environment and everyday rhythms. We employ the chronoanalysis concept of the “pacemaker” to analyze the OPC construction site’s disruption and introduction of new rhythms which transform the park. The discussion provides reflections on how Lefebvre’s concept of dressage can be theoretically advanced through pacemaking and thereby made fruitful for empirical inquiry. The examination of the OPC construction site draws attention to how major infrastructural projects change the rhythms of urban spaces and can provide concrete perspectives on how capitalist urban redevelopment becomes manifest in people’s lived everyday experiences and routines.