The Dialectics of Circulation and Congestion in History

Report on a two-day international conference, "Blocked Arteries: Circulation and Congestion in History", held at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, in November 2010. Its purpose was to deconstruct stereotypes, preconceptions and assumptions about circulation and congestion by situating these two notions in specific historical and cultural contexts; and by tracing their genealogies, their diffusion, and their variations of meaning in time and place. The conference addressed the relationship between the transformation of the built environment and the circulation of goods, capital, information, waste and people; and the extent to which congestion is a sign of successful integration between physically distant places in relation to commercial, financial, industrial, tourist and other networks. The bulk of this summary explains how circulation and congestion can be characterised historically and how history can help us to understand their relationship. The majority of the conference papers dealt with the 19C and 20C in largely Western contexts but a fascinating contrast emerged, historically rather than geographically, in papers exploring the ways in which traffic flows were discriminated according to who was to move where and when in Roman imperial cities. This raises the question of what happened in between and elsewhere. Where are the continuities and where are the ruptures, if any? By thinking of the relationship between circulation and congestion in history as dialectics, and by following any of the routes outlined here, we might begin to provide answers. (Quotes from original text)