Public and Private in Digger Subculture

This research studies the subculture of diggers through the prism of the dichotomy “public - private” and the impact on the functioning of digger practice in urban space. The subject of the research is the dichotomy of “public-private”, concluded in the practice of diggering. The theoretical and methodological foundation of the study is the theory of Jeff Weintraub, which reveals through a dichotomy the practice of interaction of diggers with public space and the features of internal communications in the subculture. Based on theoretical analysis, diggery is defined as a subculture with its special characteristics, values and norms that are transformed over time, which are accepted by members of the subculture. The study identifies social barriers and difficulties in the development of digger as a practice. The barriers of the public space for diggers are the government, law enforcement agencies, public opinion, designed about the practice of diggery. The author conducted an empirical study in the form of interviews and a content analysis of the representation of the practice of diggering in the media. Were collected 10 interviews with diggers and 155 articles on the digger phenomenon were processed using the Medialogy system. According to the results of empirical and theoretical research, a simultaneous desire of the subculture to popularize and maintain the status of a closed community with elements of exclusivity was revealed. Diggers can identify themselves in the following categories: guides to an abandoned urban space; violators of law and spatial boundaries; activists interested in solving urban and social problems. The study concluded that the diggery subculture is influenced by the public space, which determines the principles of anonymity and secrecy of the subculture.