Mapping heterotopia:Enjoyment as practice in two alternative spaces

Heterotopias are spaces at the margins that disturb the system from within. They offer a vantage point to explore the affective practices which animate projects existing to challenge the dominant order. In this paper, we are interested in the relationship between heterotopia and enjoyment, specifically the ways in which heterotopias can be sources of enjoyment, while relying on enjoyment as a driving force. Our discussion draws on an immersive ethnography of two alternative projects – the first against urban inequalities and the second against technological dystopia. Data collection involved more than 800 hours of observation, attending dozens of meetings and events, conducting 29 formal interviews and collecting emails and online exchanges. Through our empirical accounts, we identify three types of heterotopic processes that are linked to specific practices of enjoyment; experimenting, articulating and seizing. Placing these in the context of theories of heterotopia, we show how enjoyment acts as a source of strength and potential in the development of alternative imaginaries.