Being Comfortable in the Uncomfortable: Superkilen “Diversity” Park

This sit spot was actually discovered during my class’s field study in Nørrebro, Denmark! It’s called Superkilen, also known as the “Diversity Park” in the middle of the bustling city. This park was intended to be an accessible area for the public to interact with international aspects of its citizens. For instance, the bench I am sitting on to the very trash cans near me were all taken from different places in the world to represent the diversity of the Danish immigrants who live there. However, it was quite controversial as there were many instances of gentrification (most famously known as the “ghetto” law) nearby the park that targeted these very minority groups this park supposedly represented. As I sat in my sit spot, I felt what I learned in this class prior, called the “Panopticon” effect, which can be activated to how people associate open spaces with a feeling of being watched or perceived. As I felt this sinking feeling as a perpetual foreigner, a sun ray slowly hit my notebook. A sense of calm settled in as I let this familiar yet rare occurrence of natural light slowly reach my eyes. I felt my eyes close as I began to breathe in the damp air around me, as it rained the day before. I listened to the faraway car honking and bikes breaking, and opened my eyes to the sounds of pigeons flapping and seagulls squawking at the floor beside me. I felt alright again. As I was feeling this weird sense of peace, I was reminded of the reasons why I studied abroad in the first place. I wanted to break away from the monotonous routine of everyday life and truly experience life outside of Wellesley before I graduated. I felt like I reclaimed this place–that I otherwise felt like an outsider to minutes before–and let out a sigh of relief.

I will just end with this quote from Julia Margaret Bennett on the association of place and belonging defined by her as “ontological belonging” which is the