Down With Utopia

[architectureofdoom]

Tour de l'Échangeur, Kinshasa, Olivier-Clément Cacoub, 1967-74

[gorskivijenac]

Ljubica, a young Serbian girl from Prizren, Metohija, Serbia, 1913. Auguste Leon, Albert Kahn Museum

[legrandcirque]

Biskra, Algeria, 1899

[l-altra]

La Sorbonne, Paris, Mai 1968

[timelesslylostgenesis]

The Sepulveda Dam

[mona-l1sa]

[downwithutopia]

Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, United States, 1907

[demons]

The inside of a heavily mined church during the retreat from Verdun, 1918

[installator]

“An ancient Italian bronze statue is examined after being discovered in the ruins of a Roman bathhouse.” (Artnews)

[archiveofaffinities]

Timgad

[downwithutopia]

Amanuel Tsegaye

[downwithutopia]

Kerala, India

[downwithutopia]

Harvey gives a Marxist perspective on how spaces like these reflect the deeper tensions inherent in capitalist systems, where urban design is increasingly shaped by financial interests rather than the wellbeing of communities. He suggests that, by changing how we value space – treating land not as a commodity but as part of a shared civic life – we could begin to imagine cities that prioritise people, not profit. Directed by the Canadian filmmaker Brett Story, the short documentary serves as both an accessible introduction to radical geography and a compelling invitation to rethink the modern city.

A tour of New York’s gaudiest neighbourhood with the Marxist geographer David Harvey

[downwithutopia]

Victor Cheng

[steroge]

Varanasi (Benares), India 2007 by Jean-Luc Weber

(Au fil de l'ombre)

[mychicitalianlife-deactivated20]

[hersuavevoice]

"The distinction between Firenze and Florence that I mentioned seems inspiring. These are two realities, built on top of each other, which overlap geographically like different levels of reality, although they are impenetrable [...]. As for other important Italian cities, we can also talk about a similar split between the world in which the locals live, increasingly dependent on newcomers, and the world of tourists, mentally and materially far from the first one. Venice continues the long-standing tradition of a spectacle performed for tender souls, onlookers and newly married couples; For centuries, losing its financial and political importance, it became a hotbed of entertainment. Rome is called the Eternal City for a reason and combines many functions: religious, aesthetic, sightseeing; this has been the case since the early Middle Ages. The old European passion for travel and the pursuit of wonders of the world could be realized there, especially since there was enough material for many categories of travelers - from pilgrims to scientists. The history of Rome seen through someone else's eyes creates a huge library; few places on our planet have been described and admired to such an extent."

— Ewa Bieńkowska, Historie Florenckie. Sztuka i polityka (translation mine)