The Ego-Alter-Object Relationship in the Lived Environment: The case of the Inhabitant, the Garbage Collector, and the Representation of the Sidewalk Through the Prism of Waste

Résumé

This text is a reflection on the article “The sidewalk, waste and garbage collection: practices and representations of an ‘in-between place’” by Lusson & Breux, seen from the angle of the tripartite ego-alter-object gaze proposed by Moscovici. This framework enables us to explore the relationships between these three elements in understanding the “sidewalk” as a social object. After outlining the aims of the article and the concepts used to achieve them, an analysis is proposed on the role of social representations of the sidewalk in the issues of spatial appropriation and social struggle. This analysis leads us to reconsider this geographical work within the framework of social and environmental psychology, introducing new theoretical perspectives on socio-spatial segregation and socio-cognitive representations.