Cities, identities, nation-building Flashcards
Why did cities become important sites of nation-building?
-Rapid urbanization
-solidification of global political system around nation-states rather than empires in the 20th C
-industrialization
-The development of planning as a scientific discipline
Why are cities important mediums of nation building?
-Ruling elites designate particular cities or monuments as concrete symbols of a nation
-Industrialization and colonialism gave states unprecedented power to shape urban environments and identities
What was the professionalization of urban planning? Examples?
19th Century was an intense period of european nation building
Early capitals were designed as mnemonic devices and displays of power
Often used classical urban referencing to legitimize state power
ex) Washington, DC, Haussmann’s Paris
What was the reasoning behind broad, straight boulevards being built through medieval streets?
- aid in social control
-public health measure
statement of power
What is Moser and Forest’s Paper about?
Building nations, states, and cities as concrete symbols of identity
What do Moser and Forest disagree on?
They disagree on Haussmann’s Paris’s effect on Global cities
Moser: continuity of ancient imperial cities, the effort of a conservative regime
Forest: sharp break with the past, ultimately a liberating force
Who is Le Corbuiser? What were some features of his planning?
Modernist urban planner, embraced top-down, comprehensive planning as a tool for social engineering and identity construction
No context, no reference to urban history, formal geometric shapes, functional efficiency
What was Corbusier’s plan for Paris?
“A vision for Dante’s inferno” to an “organized, serene, forceful, airy, ordered entity”
When (approx) was the modern planning renaissance? Why did the Renaissance happen?
Post WWII
A way to assert independence from colonial legacies and create a break with the past, construct national identities, potent symbol for newly independent, aspirational states
What are some examples of modernist urban planning new cities?
Brasilia, Brazil
Chandigarh, India
Islamabad, Pakistan
What are the roots of modernist post-independence cities?
Two ideas: Haussmann or planned colonial cities
They use modernism and are designed with modern tech in mind. They are grand attempts to represent and embody state power and national identity in urban form
Can we prove there is any connection to Haussmann’s Paris?
Unsure
Chandigarh, Islamabad, and Brasilia all used a common set of symbols that circulated through professional planning communities. They adopted principles originating in Europe
It seems these cities are better understood as heirs to the colonial grandeur of New Delhi, Singapore, Yangon, and other IMPERIAL CITIES
How is modernism connected to nation-building in new cities?
Modernism carries the promise of progress and a break from the past
It is explicitly forward-looking
What is Statuemania?
In the Haussmann era statues were being built everywhere (Paris, Statue of Liberty, etc)
What are some nation-building strategies?
-Standardization of language
-creation of ‘national’ literary and artistic cultures
- establishment of national museums
-national monuments and memorials
How did the monument style shift in the 20th century?
- Shifted from grand and imposing to small-scale and modest
-less emphasis on memorializing great leaders, more generalized war memorials
-emergence of holocaust memorials
-counter-monumnets (Vietnam Veteran Memorial)
What is strange about the statue in the capital of Senegal?
- depiction of nudity in a 96% muslim country
- extremely expensive, despite half the population living below the poverty line
- President claims 35% of profits from teh monument
- despite the high unemployment rate, the piece was outsourced to North Korea
Why is North Korea exporting monuments to African countries?
North Korea made allies in Africa by donating money, weapons and soldiers.
Mansude, the artistic studio behind all the propaganda in NK, constructed diplomatic gifts for potential allies.
Cheap, easy way to win friends and influence autocrats.
After collapse of Soviet Union, it turned to unconventional gigs
What identities are being created through monuments?
What controversies are these monuments generating?
Many monuments look like Kim Jong Il, which raises eyebrows.
In Zimbabwe, many statues directly fund North Korea. Locals dislike supporting them
How were modernist building approaches used in 20th century?
-urban renewal and public housing projects in the US
-Soviet bloc countries
-Former colonies that now had independence
How are capital cities stages for nation building?
- Military processions
- national ceremonies
-cultural events
How did the memorial change the way the US thought of the war?
Made people proud to be Vietnam veterans, less trying to forget about it
What are the three main categories of new city projects are driven by nation and state building?
1) New capital cities are created to demonstrate the ruling elite’s capacity to marshal labour, resources, and the technical skills to execute a complicated mega-development
2) New Cities play important roles in nation-building when they are created as engines of growth to advance national economic agendas, are used as a national rebranding strategy, a signal that a country welcomes foreign invest,ent
3) In some new city projects, nation and state building are intertwined with geopolitics
