Nomadic Subcultures of an Urban Environment


Within any urban setting, there are multiple subcultures already dependent on mobility or any variety of the idea of mobility. It is this mobile element that is in opposition to the institution of architecture and its connotations of permanence and stability.

Here in San Diego, there is a large homeless population who navigate the streets daily. Due to the “No Loitering” laws, they must be ready to move at any moment and take their belongings with. Though they may often inhabit the same neighborhoods for long periods of time, they will usually move around during the day and need to be able to store their belongings which can include extra clothing, bedding, and eating utensils in the nooks and voids of the city.

There are other models of mobile architecture in San Diego seen in the farmers’ markets that occur in different locations in the city each day and the Swap Meets that occur in vacant parking lots on the weekends. These markets are constructed, deconstructed, and moved around to different locations everyday. The ease of this type of construction allows not only for the mobility of the architecture, but also its recyclability, an essential element of nomadic life.

Other forms of temporal inhabitation can be seen in the idea of the trailer parks. Although they typically stay in a location for many years, the mobile home is essentially a house that is designed to be moved easily. Because of the simple construction, it is also easily modified to fit future needs.

Many aspects of contemporary youth culture also reflect a desire for mobility from the example of the skateboarder moving through the city, to the people traveling around the world. Raves are also a youth phenomenon with a mobile element. Because of their illegal nature, they must take place in a different location each time. Burning Man, a music festival that takes place in Northeastern California or Nevada where an ephemeral city is constructed in the desert of for a long weekend every year in the fall. Nomadic behavior is not a new or even ancient phenomenon, but an ongoing struggle between the fixed and the unfixed that is always taking place.