ABSTRACT
Counter-spaces are prime locations for the study of ‘becoming irregular’, ‘throwing out of order’ and ‘crisis’, which Henri Lefebvre points to as an important part of the analysis of rhythms. Mainstream public space often invites dissatisfaction since attempts to participate often prove futile and since it is associated with norms that are felt to be discriminatory against homeless people and that limit the radicalness of demands and conduct. Unlike no-man’s lands, they bathe in public light, provocatively unfurling rhythms meant to clash with those of the surrounding world. A distinction often made in research on homelessness is between prime and marginal space. Activists in the homeless movement are seldom preoccupied solely with the publicly visible aspects of activism – the campaigns or protests through which social movements are usually thought to participate in the public sphere. Discussions of space and time have a long pedigree in Marxism.
