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Why Every City Feels the Same Now
Article

Why Every City Feels the Same Now

Glass-and-steel monoliths replaced local architecture. It’s not too late to go back.

The Atlantic, 2020


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Background
  • Engaging

Recommendation

If you travel for business, you may have noticed that, other than the local language on signs, one modern city often looks like the next…and the next, and the next. While the uniformity of today’s urban centers might feel comforting on some level, Irish writer Darran Anderson suggests that a return to locally-relevant architecture and buiding methods could lead to something more compelling: greater environmental harmony and community-building.

Take-Aways

  • Anthropologist Marc Augé coined the term “non-place” to describe the monotonous uniformity of modern international cities.
  • “Hegemonic architecture” emerges when an occupying power subverts local designs.
  • Conformity to international standards of progress and modernity – or to corporate design dictates – can reduce cities to non-places.

About the Author

Darran Anderson is an Irish writer who covers culture, urbanism, politics and technology. His books include Imaginary Cities, A Hubristic Flea, 33 1/3 study of Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson, and Tesla’s Ghost.


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