Description
Languages are constantly transforming as humans interact, change habits and ways of doing things. This is not a radical observation. More intriguing to ponder is whether languages also transform us and the world in which we exist. Does it matter what words we use about the world? Could we, by shaping a language, also shape the world? Would the world look different if other words had been used?This work is about the urban environment, and how it is transformed by people interacting with the world that surrounds them by evoking more just living conditions. It is also an effort to demonstrate how the urban environment could be imagined in ways that differ from the neoliberalist view. Other imaginations, arising from different perspectives on and incentives for development, such as equity and inclusiveness, might produce another city entirely. From urban practices in four different contexts in Sweden, South Africa, India and Brazil, this book investigates four dynamics of change: conflicts, commons, networks and hybridity. From this framing, new concepts and radical imaginaries emerge, presented here as a Language of the Becoming City.
Read More
Languages are constantly transforming as humans interact, change habits and ways of doing things. This is not a radical observation. More intriguing to ponder is whether languages also transform us and the world in which we exist. Does it matter what words we use about the world? Could we, by shaping a language, also shape the world? Would the world look different if other words had been used?This work is about the urban environment, and how it is transformed by people interacting with the world that surrounds them by evoking more just living conditions. It is also an effort to demonstrate how the urban environment could be imagined in ways that differ from the neoliberalist view. Other imaginations, arising from different perspectives on and incentives for development, such as equity and inclusiveness, might produce another city entirely. From urban practices in four different contexts in Sweden, South Africa, India and Brazil, this book investigates four dynamics of change: conflicts, commons, networks and hybridity. From this framing, new concepts and radical imaginaries emerge, presented here as a Language of the Becoming City. Sprache ist ständig im Wandel begriffen, wird sie doch geformt vom Menschen, der interagiert, seine Gewohnheiten und Handlungsweisen im Laufe der Zeit verändert. Dies allein ist keine außergewöhnliche Feststellung. Inwiefern aber beeinflusst Sprache den Menschen und die Welt, in der er lebt? Spielt es eine Rolle, mit welchen Worten wir die Welt beschreiben? Ist es möglich, durch die Gestaltung der Sprache auch die Welt zu gestalten? Würde die Welt anders aussehen, wenn wir andere Worte für sie gewählt hätten?Im Zentrum dieses Buches steht die Frage, wie der urbane Raum sich dadurch verändert, dass Menschen mit ihm interagieren, um gerechtere Lebensbedingungen zu schaffen. Wie könnte eine Stadt aussehen, die nicht von neoliberalistischen Ideen geprägt ist? Alternative Vorstellungen von Entwicklung, etwa geprägt von Gleichberechtigung und Inklusion, könnten eine ganz andere Stadt hervorbringen. Ausgehend von urbanen Praktiken aus Schweden, Südafrika, Indien und Brasilien werden vier Dynamiken des Wandels untersucht: Konflikte, Commons, Netzwerke und Hybridität. In diesem Rahmen eröffnen sich radikal neue Konzepte und Vorstellungen – eine Sprache der werdenden Stadt.
Read Less