Architecture and Ideology

Dr ALEKSANDRA STUPAR, Associate Professor
Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, stupar@afrodita.rcub.bg.ac.rs
IDEOLOGY OR FASHION?
THE CONTEMPORARY CITY AND THE QUEST FOR POWER
Abstract |
The complexity of contemporary global processes and trends has influenced significant changes
in cities. Nowadays, their role, structure and symbolism are shaped by the rules of global
capital and a different kind of organization of production, services and markets. They also have
to follow the imperative of urban growth and to provide and control multilevel development.
Urban spaces, processes and flows have become reflections of multiplying urban needs and a
consequence of the ongoing competition for the leading position in the global network of
power. Exposed to increasing ambitions, expectations and possibilities, cities of the 21st
century manipulate the myths of the new global order simultaneously underlining the
importance of efficiency, connectivity and environmental correctness. However, the program,
extent and success of urban transformations, as well as their themes and applied methods,
transmit multilayered messages of the general (im)balance of power. Considered as an
ideological backup, but also as a matter of fashion, every project of urban transformation
emphasizes the uniqueness of local‐global nexus. Therefore, this paper will present and analyze
recent trends which redefine contemporary cities ‐ focusing on motives of detected urban
changes and decoding symbols and signs applied in the urban space.
Key words |
city, power, urban structure, architecture, globalization, symbols
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