The Formation and Expansion of the Concept of Performance in Urban Studies Focusing on Guy Debord’s Concept of “Dérive”

This article discusses the formation of the concept of "performance" and its expansion in urban studies, focusing on the rhetorical field of "city strolling" and the effect of this concept in forming new perceptions of the city and urban practices. The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the impact of the concept of "performance" in urban discourse and introducing its effectiveness in the study of urban phenomena and the design of urban public spaces.

The research method is qualitative. Based on library research, the formation of this concept and its effects in the field of urban studies have been analyzed.

City strolling (especially Debord's "Dérive") due to its internal capacities, has been the origin of the concept of performance, which has not only changed the relationship between the city and its residents, but also has been effective in the emergence of new practices and forms of behavior in the city. "Dérive" imposes elements such as play, show, intervention and situation to the city system and reads the city not based on the previous dominant narrative, but based on the experiences of the activists.

Special attention to daily practices and affairs, fleeting encounters, action processes and social interactions in the context of the city requires an approach that can decipher the functional logic of these activities. Performance, both as a kind of behavior and as a kind of analogy and efficient method, has shown and proved its potential in city studies.