these spiritual beliefs to more concrete matters regarding race, class and politics within the United States. Miscellanea Libri, Dexter, and his large number of followers represent a homegrown, Market-based counter public. Whenever I stopped at the Miscellanea Libri, Dexter was surrounded by at least five or six people who wanted to talk to him or invite him to events throughout the city. I was never able to sit down and speak to these individuals one-on-one, but when they saw him explaining his ideas to either me or others sitting with him, they would encourage and support him. An (Almost) Ideal Site for Counter Public Interactions The Market is an example of a public “place” linked to its past—there has been no attempt to “sanitize” it by getting rid of old signs, stalls, or tables. The design is welcoming and flexible; it reinforces the interactive environment. The frequency in which people are drawn into conversations attracts subaltern counter publics who wish to reach a wider audience. The Market’s nooks and crannies—which the administration of the Market consciously allows to exist—provide a home for a wide diversity of individuals, who present a broad spectrum of races and classes. Many of those people engage in conversations regarding their political and social viewpoints; they coalesce to form counter publics that have their home within the Market.
The Greyhound Bus Station The Greyhound Bus Terminal in Philadelphia represents a salient example of the “non-place” as defined by Augé. As such, it offered me the unique opportunity to determine whether the physical characteristics of a locale could be so sanitized as to be entirely inhibitory to social interaction, shutting out all opportunities for subaltern counter publics to advance their message.
at a minimum: increase visibility with better lighting, bright signs and tiles; eliminate nooks and improve natural supervision by avoiding walls that obstruct sight, use glass for interior walls, renovate the food court and fill in empty spots with merchants; discourage loitering by installing a public address system, and remove benches (Felson, 1996, 70-71). These methods are supposed to “sanitize” the environment, thus eliminating the undesirable “underclass.” The Philadelphia Greyhound Bus Station was to minimize “chaos” as well. In 1987, Ross Wilson, the head of the renovation of the station at the time, commented that the terminal was designed to “‘eliminate the loiterers usually associated with bus terminals…the only uncontrolled area we have is where a passenger buys his or her ticket’” (Lowe, 1987). Since its move in 1987, the interior of the building was renovated and the current configuration allows for even greater visibility and control of the site. The Greyhound Bus Station can be characterized as an example of Augé’s “non-place.” The station’s design does not relate to any common history, and the place is filled with signs that— unlike the Reading Market—provide no character, only directions. Outside of the station, there are numerous signs that denote “No Loitering” with the threat of police action. When one first walks into the station, he/she is also confronted with numerous signs denoting the station as a place for “Ticket Passengers Only” and reinforcing the rules of behavior. Inside, it is divided into several “zones”—games, café, phone booth—each of which is designated by signs. As Felson et.al. note, such signs and zones allow for maximum control
of the crowd—one can immediately discern if a person is where he is supposed to be, and if he is doing what he “ought.” The seeming lack of interaction in the Station also aligns with Augé’s definition of the “non-place.” Throughout field visits, I observed that the majority of people read a book or watched the constantly-blaring television. Subaltern Counter Public Interaction in the Station Although it was somewhat unexpected, there was evidence of counter-public interaction within the station. It was more difficult to discern “counter public” status in the station because people largely did not come as a representative of anything, like WAR or PETA did in the market. Instead, the conversations between members of “counter publics” began as people chatting because they were in common positions. However, this sometimes led to substantive conversations. For example, while standing in line waiting for a bus to New York City, three young black men struck up a conversation with a white student from Pratt. They subsequently talked about the explosives found in the station in October 2001, which lead to an intensely heated discussion about Guantanamo Bay and detention camps in general. Eventually, they exchanged e-mail addresses prior to boarding the bus. Other examples include conversations about immigration and organic gardening. The best example illustrating this point involved the taping of a promotional video for a young rapper. One Thursday afternoon, a group of three well-dressed, young black individuals
The Design of Philadelphia Greyhound Bus Station and its Identity as a “Non-Place” The most comprehensive study on bus terminal design was completed in 1996. This resulted in several strategies to keep “chaos”
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