Urban absence: Everyday life versus trauma in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv

The paper discusses specific tensions derived from collective trauma and the effect of this trauma on the production of space. It examines the case of Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and the impact of the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in 1995 on the spatial practices occurring since then. It details the ongoing conflicts over the design of the Square and analyzes how a proposal for new underground parking facilities exacerbates the discrepancies between the temporality and everyday life of the Square (as advocated by the council and citizens), on the one hand, and its role as a democratic and national memorial space (as advocated by other groups), on the other. Specifically, the paper discusses various approaches to a planned change in the place-making process after the trauma. Indications are that, although the national discourse dominates the production of space after the trauma, the design practices of the space deconstruct what in this paper is termed urban absence. Analysis of this conflict suggests that a civic square becomes a democratic locus that rejects national symbolism and challenges the urban absence.