Humans are social beings, who are said to have produced their own lives, own consciousness and their own world since the beginning of time. Everything in history or in society needed to be produced. Even ‘nature’ itself has been altered and in a sense also produced. (Lefebvre 1991, 68) The same goes for cities; Cities are mankind’s social construction, which serve as drivers for modern-day capitalism. The social production of cities or urban spaces is a necessity to the reproduction of society, in other words, a necessity for the reproduction of capitalism. One is so fascinated by the visualities produced by films to the extent that one becomes blind to the reality that lies beneath the magnificent urbanity of the cities. This essay will firstly elaborate on how space is a complex social construction that is a driver for contemporary capitalism. Subsequently, it will explain the difference between “space” and “place” and proceed to demonstrate with Lefebvre’s concept of the production of …show more content…
That interconnectivity can be observed in the 2010 movie “Biutiful” as the events of the film all take place on the gray side of the city that is far from the ideal touristic Barcelona we are all familiar with and the contrast between the “spaces” can be clearly
The 1960’s were a period of social turmoil. The cold war had been brewing and was a contest of nationalistic interests between the US and Soviet Union to compete for militaristic, economic, social, and technological might. As the cold war culminated and became increasingly competitive, the United States and Soviets competed in the phenomenon called the Space Race, a competition between the two countries for supremacy in the frontier that is space. Although the Soviets reached space itself before the Americans, The United States took the advantage by landing the first people on the moon using the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The Apollo 11 moon landing influenced American nationalism in the late 1960s and early 70s by inciting a positive public reaction
The ideal city requires lying in order to reach the ideal point of a city. The ideal city must keep its people just. It is argued in The Republic that “each one must practice one of the functions in the city, that one for which his nature made him naturally fit.” (4, 433 a).
A suburb’s Culture of Place is expressed in its architecture, streetscape, heritage architecture, noise, colour, street life, energy, vitality and lifestyle. Pre-urban renewal, Pyrmont’s culture of place was highly reflective around its low-income blue-collar workers and primary and secondary industries. As the blue-collar workers moved out of the inner-city areas with the decentralisation of industry, Pyrmont’s culture of place directly correlated with its devastating urban decay, such as abandoned and vandalised buildings, boarded-up shops, unused port and transport infrastructure, and overgrown, rubble strewn lots where factories had been bulldozed. Following Pyrmont’s urban renewal, the culture of place has been significantly transformed and is now characterized by its heritage and gentrified architecture, lively streetscape with cafes and restaurants, vibrant colours, and very relaxed and cultured lifestyle. The suburb is scattered with green, open public space, which makes Pyrmont a somewhat green suburb.
Throughout this weeks reading on Chapter 4, we focus in on the Progressive Era and the establishment of urban America. The industrial revolution was at its peak and the United States was developing rapidly. Immigration, manufacturing output, and urban development grew faster than any other time in the nation’s history. Not only that, but scientific developments changed lives and revolutionary theories challenged traditional beliefs. As Rury suggests, “ . . .
He encourages the reader to free oneself from official or commercial architecture which are influenced by the prejudice towards the late phases in architecture which are only concerned with a few selected cultures and turn a blind eye to underdeveloped countries and their alien architecture. He praises primitive architecture for its timelessness and its ability to serve its purpose to perfection with no room for improvement and regrets that the origin of these indigenous building forms and construction methods is lost in the past. Rudofsky then introduces Communal Architecture, ‘ art not produced by a few intellectuals or specialists but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a whole people with a common heritage, acting under a community experience.’ The beauty of primitive architecture is often dismissed as accidental, but today we should recognize it as an art that developed from human intellect that was applied to handling practical issues and our problems are rooted in our tendency to accredit specialists who may have exceptional insight but are largely concerned with business and prestige. He challenges his readers on a fundamental level and exposes alternate and endangered forms of urban development, lifestyle, social spaces and practicality which we have not learnt from.
Conclusion In conclusion, the “Parable of the Sower” portrays cities as places to avoid rather than being sanctuaries due to the lack of safety and the adverse influences of corporations. However, the novel does provide some hope by proving that if we start realizing problems and planning ahead, then, cities could change and become more livable in the future. As more people move to urban areas, the way we plan, manage and develop our cities will be fundamental in creating a fair, safe, healthy and sustainable
There is the idea of a city, and the city itself, too great to be held in the mind. And it is in this gap (between the conceptual and the real) that aggression begins” is central to Saunders’ essay, due to the fact that this quote illustrates Saunders’ message that people tend to have misconceptions generated from their own limited experience and misconceptions can easily lead to conflicts and aggression if handled
Public Space Observation Rachael Blouw Doctor Henderson World Urban Sociology For this project, I went to the University Center main lobby to observe people’s behavior. In this space, there are many people who were walking around, sitting at tables, and going to classes. This public area can be accessed by anyone for most of the day, except at night. I decided to sit toward the back of the lobby area, so I could watch everyone while they went about their business. I noticed several different behaviors between people.
Davis describes the urbanization process as occurring along an S curve, beginning slow, becoming fast, and then slowing down again. Based on this idea of S curve, he predicts an end to urbanization. The next essay “The Urban Revolution” was by arguably the single most influential archaeologist of twentieth century, V. Gordon Childe. In this writing, he redefines the major eras of human development.
In each of these case studies she investigates several urban projects. For example, in the New York chapter, she analyzes three development projects of Battery Park and Yankee Stadium mostly by considering the contribution of these projects to affordable housing and provision of inclusive public space. She then concludes that New York is diverse, but its policy and planning has led to inequity and a lack of democracy. This problem city is contrasted in her book by framing Amsterdam,as a Utopia where where her criteria of a just city are all met. When reading these chapters it can be inferred that Fainstein believes if a city has a egalitarian political culture, adequate welfare for all, and inhabitants can live in harmony and tolerance that the city will be just and successful.
The term “safe space”, a supposed haven where students of minority and marginalization can feel free to express their ideas and be themselves has started a movement across college campuses nationwide. The newfangled movement is driven largely by students who wish to scrub campuses clean of offensive or discomforting topics. Safe spaces emerged during the post-Civil Rights era where women, LGBTQ, and racial minorities grew in presence on campuses; however, today they serve as refuges for like-minded people who don’t feel the need to explain or defend their personal beliefs. Recently, the safe space debate has taken a controversial turn: arguments and cases have been created over whether safe spaces provide a supportive environment or cultivate
Perspective is a chosen approach that can be used to study any subject in the field of sociology. These perspectives highlight the diverse methods an individual selects to analyze a theme and how they perceive the society in general. Three sociological perspectives include functionalist, conflict and interactionist perspectives (Thompson, Hickey, & Thompson, 2016, p. 2). Throughout this paper, I examine how we analyze the role of television from the functional, conflict, and interactionist approaches. Functionalist perspective on a macro-sociological level places far more emphasis on “the collective life or communal existence than on the individual” (Thompson, Hickey, & Thompson, 2016).
Tectonics is defined as the science or art of construction, both in relation to use and artistic design. It refers not just to the activity of making the materially requisite construction that answers certain needs but rather to the activity that raises this construction as an art form. It is concerned with the modeling of material to bring the material into presence - from the physical into the meta-physical world (Maulden, 1986). Since tectonics is primarily concerned with the making of architecture in a modern world, its value is seen as being a partial strategy for an architecture rooted in time and place therefore beginning to bring poetry in construction. Tectonics, however, has the capacity to create depth-ness of context resulting in the implicit story being told by the tectonic expression.
As much as we may want to know what lies beyond our earth, there are bigger issues that our government must address. More people are affected by poverty than by space. The government must focus their resources and efforts to one problem at a time, and with a third of the UK living under the ‘poverty line’ more money should be spent helping the poor, rather than on space research. If the government doesn 't handle the economic crisis with care, we will all end up poor – but to treat the situation properly requires more funding.
Throughout the 20th century, our views of space have changed. We started thinking about space, with the same way we started thinking about Pythagoras’s theory of how the world is round. Curiosity and rivalry have ignited the space race, but rivalry between United States and Soviet Union has boosted the development of the space race. The Cold War was ongoing so neither of country wanted to lose to each other. Also, this race determined which country was more advanced compared to another.