2006/02/28
restructuring the industrial capitalist city
Arjen Mulder:
You said that the changes in the last 30 years are more dramatic than before, and that there`s definitely something going on different from we`ve seen before. In what sense is it more dramatic or different.
Edward Soja:
I don`t mean ever before. What I said was that the recent period of change may prove to be the most dramatic in the history of the industrial capitalist city, dating back to the 18th century and the beginning of the industrial revolution. Whats happening now seems to be a fundamental breakdown and rebuilding of the industrial capitalist city as we have known it. The instability that you see is particular to the modern metropolis that became the dominant form of the industrial city throughout most of the 20th century. Over the last 30 years, nearly everything about the modern metropolis has been changing, from its built environment, architectural styles, and urban morphologies to many other aspects -social, economic, political, cultural - of urbanism as a way of life. and at the same time, the way we conceptualize and study the city is also beginning to be rethought, because what was relatively clear and understandable from the traditional perspectives and language of architecture, geography, and urban studies 30 years ago is no longer as stable and as clear today.
Edward Soja interviewed by Arjen Mulder, Transurbanism, V2_Publishing, 2002, Page 91
You said that the changes in the last 30 years are more dramatic than before, and that there`s definitely something going on different from we`ve seen before. In what sense is it more dramatic or different.
Edward Soja:
I don`t mean ever before. What I said was that the recent period of change may prove to be the most dramatic in the history of the industrial capitalist city, dating back to the 18th century and the beginning of the industrial revolution. Whats happening now seems to be a fundamental breakdown and rebuilding of the industrial capitalist city as we have known it. The instability that you see is particular to the modern metropolis that became the dominant form of the industrial city throughout most of the 20th century. Over the last 30 years, nearly everything about the modern metropolis has been changing, from its built environment, architectural styles, and urban morphologies to many other aspects -social, economic, political, cultural - of urbanism as a way of life. and at the same time, the way we conceptualize and study the city is also beginning to be rethought, because what was relatively clear and understandable from the traditional perspectives and language of architecture, geography, and urban studies 30 years ago is no longer as stable and as clear today.
Edward Soja interviewed by Arjen Mulder, Transurbanism, V2_Publishing, 2002, Page 91
