A Chronotopic Evaluation of Autonomous Rog: The Spatiotemporalities of a “Quasi-Public” Urban Squat

Abstract

The paper explores an urban squat in Ljubljana, Slovenia, following a chronotopic narrative approach. Urban squats often represent a manifestation of alternative notions of who belongs where, when, and why, questions that matter when issues pertaining to their legal status are raised. We examine the case of Autonomous Rog, a formerly squatted bike factory area in the city centre of Ljubljana that the Supreme Court of Slovenia described as “quasi-public.” The paper welcomes the Slovenian Supreme Court's ability to appreciate the social, spatiotemporal, and material elements that make up this idiotropic type of urban space, moving beyond the confines of human-centred legal analysis. We present the journey of Autonomous Rog through three distinctive chronotopic viewpoints, in order to accentuate the subversive human and material properties that found their way into the Slovenian legal system, as we reflect on the law's ability to embrace spatiotemporal representations in an urban context.