Yangon Stories

Summary, in English

Since the colonial period spatial violence has been a regular occurrence for people throughout Yangon (Rangoon). These acts, led by successive state powers have only increased. Since 2021, the scale of these violences are unprecedented and country wide displaying raw brutality exerted by the junta.

Yangon Stories is a collaborative research project aimed at documenting and bearing witness to the spatial violence in the city. The project attempts to mobilise action against further spatial violence and provide a basis of inquiry to the extent of which spatial violence impacts urban development and everyday life.

This website aims to leverage the power of maps, spatial data and stories in supporting researchers, international and local rights-based organisations advocating for human rights protection and the right to the city. The website also aims to reach the general public and the media whose engagement is critical in ensuring peace and justice within Myanmar.

The content of the website draws attention to the history, context, and mechanisms behind the use of spatial violence in Yangon’s past and present. The website additionally, provides the stories of the community resistance to such forms of spatial violence and exclusion through , place making, community mobilisation, and livelihood practices.