The urban staffroom. Imagining infrastructures of care and solidarity in Melbourne

Abstract

For food delivery riders in Melbourne, a lack of space evidences a broader lack of care. As both a space and a provocation, the staffroom offers workers a locus around which to build commonality and to care for one another. The following text addresses why delivery riders are without such spaces, and what the prospect of dedicated space might allow in terms of solidarity and care. Spaces of congregation are here understood as vital amenities for fostering agency and care amongst any precarious group. The experiences of riders in Melbourne, as outlined here through a set of interviews, make explicit the importance of labour in establishing a right to the city for marginalised peoples.