Mazie lielpilsētas naratīvi: Rīgas telpiskās pieredzes lucavsalinieces Zelmas Indriksones dienasgrāmatā
The Small Narratives of a Big City: Riga’s Spatial Experiences in the Diary of Zelma Indriksone from Lucavsala

Summary/Abstract: The author analyzes the everyday spatial experiences of Riga as depicted in the diary of Zelma Indriksone (1906–1990). She was a resident of Lucavsala, an island situated four kilometers from the city center. Zelma wrote the diary spanning from the 1950s to the 1980s, a period marked by significant urbanization changes on the island. Her individual urban functions and trajectories are examined through the lens of the proximity concept of emotional geography. The study explores the potential of diaries for researching urban spatial experiences. In Zelma’s experience, the island serves as a proximity zone for her social life, work, sense of beauty, and memories. Cemeteries also emerge as significant proximity areas, serving as connections with loved ones, social interaction spaces, and expressions of emotions and relationships through the aesthetic language of plants. The Riga center and the neighborhoods of Pārdaugava are depicted as trading and transit zones. During the Soviet era, shopping entailed unpredictable and time-consuming roaming in search of deficit goods, so this was a zone of urban anxiety. Zelma’s entries regarding the historical center of the city are scarce, with only three instances where she explores it through the eyes of a leisurely visitor. The article reveals a Riga experience that does not align with the capital’s public representation.

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