The Application of Henri Lefebvre’s Rhythmanalysis in the Study of Urban Daily Life

Abstract

The paper deals with the issues of methodology and methods of research of the urban daily life. Modern urban sociology is represented by the tradition of New Urbanism that assumes study of a city as a place of mobility, flows and repeated daily samples. However, the city is not only the concentration of daily practices, but represents a complex entity where the human life-world sets and is set by architectural and natural environment and the infrastructure of the city. Rhythmanalysis of Henri Lefebvre stands out in comparison to the other theories of new urbanism as it allows capturing the complex relationship between the internal and external factors contributing to the daily life of the city. Space, time and energy expenditure are connected in rhythm. Rhythm is the localized time or space framed with respect to time ("a localized time", "a demoralized space").