Ethics of the Urban
The City and the Spaces of the Political
Is democracy spatial? How are the physical aspects of our cities, houses, streets, and public spaces – the borders, the neighborhoods, the monuments – bearers of our values? In a world of intensifying geo-economic integration, extreme financial and geopolitical volatility, deepening environmental crises, and a dramatic new wave of popular protest against both authoritarian government and capitalist speculation, cities have become leading sites for new claims on state power and new formations of political subjectivity. This volume brings together perspectives from history, sociology, art, political theory, planning, law, and design practice to explore the urban spaces of the political. A selection of contemporary photography from around the world offers a visual refl ection of this timely investigation.
Contributors include: Michael Arad, Diane Davis, Keller Easterling, Gerald Frug, Mohsen Mostafavi, Chantal Mouffe, Erika Naginski, Saskia Sassen, Richard Sennett, Loic Wacquant, Krzysztof Wodiczko.
About the Author
Mohsen Mostafavi is Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design. He has served on the steering committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the juries of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Contruction and the RIBA Gold Medal.
