Infiltration

“Too many of us think the only things worth looking at in our cities and towns are those safe and sanitized attractions that require an admission fee. It's no wonder people feel unfulfilled as they shuffle through the maze of velvet ropes on their way out through the gift shop. Urban explorers strive to actually earn their experiences, by making discoveries that allow them to get in on the secret workings of cities and structures, and to appreciate fantastic, obscure spaces that might otherwise go completely neglected.” (www.infiltration.org)


Although the majority of this site has been focused on electronic ways of resisting the privation of information, there needed to be a section about how to physically resist some forms of privatization. The privatization of information is tied into the privatization of public spaces. No Trespassing. Authorized Personnel Only. Keep Out. These signs litter our urban landscapes, creating barricades to pockets of our environments, if you let them. There are many individuals who believe that we should have access to these private spaces, to go into places that we are not supposed to go. Infiltration is a zine and online community based around urban exploration, where users of the site can post stories and images of spaces they’ve been. Everything from abandoned mental hospitals to fully operational subway tunnels have been explored. Government organizations push citizens to believe that we are not allowed to enter certain spaces for our own safety, but every citizen should be allowed to explore their environment. Just like hackers get a thrill out of accessing information that is off-limits to them, urban explorers get the same thrill from accessing spaces that are closed off to them. At the heart of it, these are parallel structures of resistance. For most urban explorers, it is usually the presence of a sign, not locked doors or guards, that stand between them and their next endeavor. It is interesting to note the power of signs in creating barricaded spaces. Urban exploration is a form of resistance that allows us to put our bodies out into the world, to risk getting hurt in order to defy the government structures that attempt to coddle their citizens with false notions of safety.