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The Violence of Infrastructural Connectivity: Jerusalem’s Light Rail as a Means of Normalisation

Baumann, H; (2018) The Violence of Infrastructural Connectivity: Jerusalem’s Light Rail as a Means of Normalisation. Middle East : Topics & Arguments , 10 pp. 30-38. 10.17192/meta.2018.10.7593. Green open access

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Abstract

It is commonly claimed that infrastructures are so banal and taken-for-granted that they only become visible when they collapse or cease to function. Indeed, the exclusion or disconnection of certain areas from infrastructural services has been termed ‘infrastructural violence’. In East Jerusalem, where infrastructure has long been underfunded and Palestinian Jerusalemites are excluded from access to many urban services, infrastructure also became apparent as a political question when it appeared in the form of a new light rail connection – and even more so when this ostensibly useful public service was attacked by residents. The violent disruption of the light rail, the piece argues, called attention to the manner in which Jerusalem’s light rail serves to normalise both Palestinian urban space and movements, thus feeding into an agenda of annexation. The expansion of infrastructural networks, and the resulting connectivity of previously marginalised areas, then, can also act as a form of violence rather than ‘atonement’ for past neglect.

Type: Article
Title: The Violence of Infrastructural Connectivity: Jerusalem’s Light Rail as a Means of Normalisation
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.17192/meta.2018.10.7593
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.17192/meta.2018.10.7593
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright (©) 2018 Middle East - Topics & Arguments. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Except where otherwise noted, all content on the META website and its metadata are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (human-readable summary).
Keywords: Jerusalem, infrastructure, mobility, transport, occupation, light rail
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > UCL Institute for Global Prosperity
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10050825
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