ABSTRACT
The status quo implies a state resistant to change by its nature but living in the status quo is often about a continuous desire for change. Such desire demands critical positions to interrogate the role of power structures in shaping territories and subjectivities. Situated in the postcolonial Cypriot context, this chapter aims at unpacking the Cypriot status quo by approaching its ethnically homogenous regions as processes of territorialization. I trace the consequences of hegemonic territorial appropriation through the urbanism of exceptions as experienced in the divided city of Famagusta, my hometown. Approaching territorial exclusions as socio-spatial processes, I conclude by reflecting on my experience of co-initiating the Hands-on Famagusta project as a cross-border spatial practice and introduce the counter-mapping method and practice that we employed for dismantling the urban enclosures in the city.
