Archives
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2024 Volume XXV
Vol. 25 (2024)The Payment of the Tithes (The Peasant Lawyer-El diezmo).
Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638).
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2022 Volume XXIII
Vol. 23 (2022)Assessing the nexus between the implementation of road infrastructural projects and social fragmentation in peri-urban areas in Accra, Ghana: The case of Accra-Kasoa road infrastructure expansion
Emmanuel Junior Adugbila, Bernard Kissi-Abrokwah and Anontise Isaac-AboyomIntra-Urban Variations in the Prevalence of Self–Reported Common Mental Disorders in a Traditional City
Adeniyi Sunday GbadegesinPublic Works as A Safety Net: Evidence and implementation in South African municipalities
Adrino Mazenda, Koketso Matjane, Moreblessing Simawu and Stella LubingaObstacles to emancipation in neighborhood regeneration: The case study of Dong Gang New Town, Suzhou
D O S S I E R Paulo Freire’s Legacy Urbana: Urban Affairs & Public Policy in this Special 2022 Edition Celebrates Paulo Freire’s 101 Year
Jin Meiling
Prologue
Guest Editor: Ana Maria Klein
Interview with Luis Porter
Ana Maria Klein
Freire’s Dialogic Process as a Means of Facilitating the Teaching of Controversial Public Policy Issues
Robert Dahlgren B O O K R E V I E W Calzada-Mayronne ,J. (Ed.) 2021. The State of Urban Education
Review by Ana Maria Klein
Passetti, E. (2021). Paulo Freire La Voz del Maestro
Review by Ana Maria Klein -
2021 Volume XXII
Vol. 22 (2021)SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS on urban issues
Ana María Klein. Social problems exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020
Tanja Mišlicki Tomić and Vesna Rajcevic. Directions and tendencies of migration of the population into urban areas of the republic of Srpska
Adrino Mazenda, Tinashe Mushayanyama, Tyanai Masiya and Moreblessing Simawu. Cities, Poverty and Food: The role of municipalities in enhancing food security
DOSSIER: Topics on the trajectory of the Post-Socialist City
Ksenija Martinovic – Guest editor. Presentation
Jana Brsakoska. Public space transformation in the case of “Skopje 2014″
Mehdi Belasri. Privatisation of a socialist mall in Sarajevo
Conor O’Dwyer. What is to be Done? Framings of Urban Populism in Prague and Warsaw
Anastasiya Matyushkina. “Force Majeure”: The Transformation of Cultural Strategy as a Result of Urban Shrinkage and Economic Crisis. The Case of Riga, Latvia
Zlatana Bogdanova. Memories and reflections on the “socialist” urban center
Melinda Harlov-Csortán. Transformation of former socialist industrial landscapes in Budapest
A. Romanova. Political Dynamics of Urban Hodonyms: A Case of Chisinau, Moldova
BOOK REVIEW
Moisés Muguerza-Espino. Experiencing Postsocialist Capitalism: Urban Changes and Challenges in Serbia by Jelisaveta Petrović and Vera Backović (2019)
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2019 Volume XX
Vol. 20 (2019)DOSSIER (Sustainability in Southeast Asian Cities)
Guest Editors: George Pomeroy and Amorn Kritsanaphan
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2018 Volume XIX
Vol. 19 (2018)The Latin American City: Special IssueGuest Editor: Cristina de Araújo Lima, Universidade Federal do Paraná – Brasil
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2017 Volume XVIII
Vol. 18 (2017)Concrete mosaic sculpture at the Girl of Ipanema Park in Río de Janeiro. Unknown artist.
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2013 Volume XIV
Vol. 14 (2013)The image for this volume illustrates a proposed painting project by the Favela Painting group (founded
by Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas—also known as Haas&Hahn) for the neighborhood of Villa Cruzeiro
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, this is not merely an outdoor temporary visual spectacle, but a
project to employ local residents and give them a new outlook. The project was funded through
Kickstarter and will start in 2015.
This is not the first time they have been involved in art/community service in Rio de Janeiro. Since 2005,
Favela Painting has been doing various projects in the favelas of Rio. This is just one example: how small
things can make a big difference. We hope that you visit the website of Favela Painting to see their
amazing work in this city and Philadelphia Pennsylvania, U.S.A. -
Fall 2011 Volume XII
Vol. 12 (2011)The image for this issue is a painting by Frida Kahlo, titled “Alla Cuelga Mi Vestido
(My Dress Hangs There)”, initiated in New York City, but finished in México City in 1933. When viewing
this painting, one is drawn to the top half of the painting depicting some of the symbols of New York City
such as factories, skyscrapers, the port, Manhattan Island, and the Statue of Liberty, depicted in the
style of a tourist postcard. As one glances to the lower half, it becomes evident that the painting is not
celebrating New York City as an industrial/commercial power house and touting its tourist ‘wonders’ ,
but portraying a city of decay, depravity, alienation, squalor and destroyed human dignity, beneath the
illusion of the city’s touted industrial and economic prosperity This is indicated by: the overall dark
nature of the painting as seen in: the garbage bins, one with apparent remnants of human body parts;
the toilet and the trophy on the pedestal; and the robot-like silver pipe being part of the factory in the
right upper corner. In the center is Frida’s traditional Mexican dress featured without her, indicating
that her body is in New York, but her anima (her creative soul) is in México, longing for the vibrancy of
México City and México itself; signifying that she also felt personally alienated in New York. Overall, the
painting represents a powerful criticism of the American industrial city; whose characteristics have been
magnified in New York City.
(The painting is physically located at The Hoover Gallery in San Francisco, California. The image was
found on the website of “Museum Syndicate”
(http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=2929 ). Further interpretation of the painting can
be found at on the website of the “Frida Kahlo Fans” (http://www.fridakahlofans.com/c0120.html .) )
Kahlo’s painting clearly transmits the message to its audience that cities have an inherent dichotomous
nature. In her painting, it is one of the one of the modern industrialized city juxtaposed against its
associated depravity. In the same manner, cities can be considered places of excitement, discovery,
creativity, prosperity and enlightenment, but at the same time, they can be places of poverty, crime ,
decay, desperation, alienation, congestion, pollution and societal unrest. These ‘ying and yang’
relationships in cities have been the most apparent since the development of the modern industrial city
in the early 1800s, but were also present in the pre-industrial era cities, but not as pronounced. The
disparities in urban areas do not remain eternally rotating in an intertwined vortex but become the
impetus for new urban policies seeking to ameliorate them. Urban areas represent places where
phenomena emerge as the result of major changes in the meshed forces of technology, politics and
economics which have positive and negative effects. When the negative impacts/externalities of these
emerging phenomena become overwhelmingly apparent (such as poor housing and sanitation problems
among the working population in cities experiencing rapid industrialization and population growth),
there have emerged urban critics (such as Charles Dickens) and subsequently social protest to bring
awareness of these injustices to the public and later specific policies to alleviate the negative effects of
the phenomena. In reaction to the negative effects of industrialization in cities in developed countries
there have emerged child labor laws, minimum wage, housing projects, building codes, institutionalized
urban planning, water/sewer services, public hospitals and myriad other foundations that make up
modern welfare states and their cities, which we now perceive of as necessary to the operation of the
city. This progression of thesis and anti-thesis has been manifested in cities throughout its history and
will continue to be an intergral part of its continuing development.
Clashing dichotomies is again is on ‘the stage of the theater of the city.’ Major ‘world class’ cities and
smaller urbanized areas are becoming the focus of global unrest concerning the increasing disparity in
income distribution, the influence of major multi-national corporations and financial institutions over
local, state and national politics, economic stagnation, corruption, and elitist rule. These inequities are
now at the forefront in the urban population around the world. The center of initiation of these
protests, as in earlier times, is the squares/plazas of cities. The leading and most vocal protests are
occurring in New York City around Wall St and London near St. Paul’s Cathedral, which are the primary
control points for the global economy. The precedents for these protests were those in Tarih Square in
Cairo (Egypt) which is the major gathering place in the city. The results of these self-organized,
leaderless and spontaneous protests in Cairo were responsible for the overthrow of a ruling class in
Egypt which had been in power for over fifty years. In our interconnected and scale-less world, actions
in one city are no longer are restricted to their impact on a specific city or nation, but have transnational influence. This global movement, centered in cities, is causing an international discussion on
how ills of the global political and economic system can be addressed. “On the table” is the
concentration of economic and political power of the multi-national and the ‘economic elite’, income
disparity, participatory democracy, affordable housing, job creation, fair wages, environmental
degradation, sustainable energy and other issues. Despite an effort by some critics to discredit this
emerging movement’s message by proclaiming that it is not universal but has been propagated by the
‘dregs of society’ or from the ‘usual suspects’ (fanatical Communists and Anarchists), it is unlikely that
these issues will dissipate because they are linked with political and economic structural problems, not
with periodic economic fluctuations. -
Spring 2011 Volume XI
Vol. 11 (2011)Spring 2011
Volume XI
(on-line first)*Drawing by Néstor Mora Alvarez, Courtesy of El Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)-National
Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico
The Calendar Stone at Tamtoc and
Spatially Related Symbols of Hegemonic Power in the City
Michael A. McAdams, Co-editor, Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy
About a year ago, I visited the newly opened archeological zone of Tamtoc in the State of San
Luis Potosí in Mexico. I was impressed by many things at this site, but particularly by a carved
stone relief near the spring at the edge of the river, which defines the perimeter of the settlement.
The relief which is known as el monolito de Tamtoc (the monolith of Tamtoc) or la Piedra
Calendárica de Tamtoc--Monumento 32 (the Calendar Stone of Tamtoc, Monument 32—the
official title) which was recently excavated (February 2005) represents a significant find on
multiple levels. The featured “glyph” of this volume is a detailed drawing by Néstor Mora
Alvarez of the relief of the Stone Calendar (Monument 32) which brings more clarity to its
carvings than a photograph of the object. As in previous volumes, the associated „glyph‟ is a
springboard for a broader discussion of various elements of urbanism.
The relief monument is dated from 1150 to 700 B.C.E. and is linked with the Olmec culture
(previously thought to be located exclusively in lower Mexico) and not the Huasteca culture (the
culture associated with much later settlements at Tamtoc); changing dramatically the previous
commonly perceived geographical extent of the Olmec. The central figure represents a
sacrificial priest (woman/man, but predominately female with a jaguar face or mask—probably
indicative of a shaman as an intermediator of the underworld thus the jaguar mask), who is
surrounded on both sides by two decapitated women from which blood or water stream from
them, who appear to be floating or in a transitory state. There are 13 streams from the figures,
representing a 13 month calendar. The figures are standing on skulls, presumed to be a reference
to the cycle of life and death. The birds in the center represent the four corners of the earth. The
symbols found in this relief are archetypical ones of life (blood and water), death, sacrifice,
spiritual intermediation and transcendence, which are found in Mayan religions, ChristianityJudaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, and are potent, but also volatile metaphors which rest
on a hierarchical authority--both spiritual and earthly. The monument being found near a main
spring and related hydraulic works for irrigation at Tamtoc, presumably built by the Olmec, is
not inconsequential but essential to the establishment and maintenance of power by the leaders of
the village. It can be presumed that the leaders were fully aware of the audacious nature of this
relief, its possible impact on the villagers and apparently felt a need to solidify their control over
the populous with a daring statement.
An implied spatial message of the monolith, since it is placed near a spring and associated
irrigation works, by the leaders of the settlement is that “water is the „lifeblood‟ of our settlement
and the reason that the citizens of the settlement can avail themselves to its benefits is related to
our leadership in constructing hydraulics for irrigation and determining the time of planting
through the calendar we developed.” This message‟s vehicle is a collection of powerful spiritual
metaphors that would have been known to the villagers of Tamtoc which would have cemented
or sanctified the role of the leaders/priests as being the providers of one of the basic elements of
city public welfare—water. The monolith also attests to the importance of women in society as
the ultimate source of life and also of importance of female leadership, hence the predominately
female sacrificial priest as the overseer of the process of life including time and its resources (in
this case water.) Ultimately, this monument is one of a symbol of power to remind the citizens of
this settlement who is responsible for agricultural prosperity-which was of prime importance to
settlements in this time period. Thus, it could be similar (but more palpable) to signs in the
Modern Era stating “this building was constructed through the assistance of ______ (government
funding agency, non-profit agency or individual(s).)” There are many examples of water
resources being linked to a particular urban power structure in the symbols of the city. In Greek
and Roman cities, fountains were often constructed by wealthy individuals to link their influence
to the prosperity of the city. In Ottoman times, fountains were built around the capital city of
Istanbul/Constantinople by the Sultans, the Sultan‟s family or wealthy individuals for the benefit
to the local populations, but also to make them aware who was the source of social welfare. The
most prominent example of public works related to water which are considered art work in the
ancient world would be the aqueducts in areas of the former Roman Empire. They „speak‟
dramatically to the importance of the authority of the Romans in providing for the welfare of its
citizens—but not as ethereal or encompassed in mythical symbols as the linkage found in the
relief in Tamtoc. The Romans were not subtle in their message of who is the power in providing
for the public welfare of cities.
In the Pre-Modern city, public art often had a symbolic message to the its populous and to the
outside world. It was used to convey in an urban setting messages of : the authority of a certain
ruler over a city; the wealth and generosity of a wealthy citizen; a shared major event; the
connection between the rulers as spiritual intermediates between the gods or the Christian/Judaic
or Islamic God and earthly life; or the position of the city at larger scales. The overall message
was one of myriad variations of power that the city, its rulers or prominent citizens werebroadcasting to city residents and their known world. In the Modern and Post-Modern city,
public art, while it may be „art for art sake‟, usually transmits a message consciously or subconsciously of power or authority to its inhabitants or visitors (virtual or actual.) Examples
would be: the Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument, Arc de Triumph, Eifel Tower, Big Ben
and the Christ the Redeemer statue (overlooking Rio de Janeiro.) Skyscrapers are a collective
symbol of hegemonic power of the economic sphere of Modern/Post-Modern cities, replacing
those of royalty, religion, and government and blatantly designating them as irrelevant. It is by
design that all buildings in Washington, D.C. are low rise and never higher than the Capitol
Building. However, this may be anachronistic as the „real power behind the throne‟ is reflected
by the skyscrapers that are surrounding the area. Thus, we have come full circle, from an
unearthed slab of carved rock with obscure symbols to our modern symbols in urban areas. The
commonality is all spatially placed symbols in cities are indicators of the power structure of the
particular time period and thus are important to those studying urbanism.
References:
• Antiqvae Terrae (blog of José Luis Santos Fernández), 2006, “Mexico. Monolito hallado en SLP podría rescribir la historia de Mesoamérica”, View article. Last accessed: 17 May 2011.
• Cyphers, Ann, 1999, “From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán” in Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, David C. Grove and Rosemary A. Joyce, Editors. Washington, D.C: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Read PDF. Last accessed: 21 May 2011.
• Escoto, Guillermina, 2010, “Embellecen manantial de ‘La Sacerdotisa’, en Tamtok”. Webpage of El Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Visit page. Last accessed: 17 May 2011. -
Spring-Fall 2008 Volume IX
Vol. 9 (2008)On the Quack’s painting by Gerard Dou“The painter does not really weave tapestries, blow glass, work gold, or bake bread. He feigns all these things in paint. This is a source of pride, but it is also a source of a certain unease.
. . . . [In his painting The Quack, 1652] Gerard Dou [Dutch Baroque Era Painter, 1613-1675]. . . . depicts himself as a painter, palette in hand, standing beside a quack who is hawking his false wares to the crowd. . . . a number of the people and objects assembled around the quack are re-presentations of pictured proverbs or maxims commonly found in Dutch books at the time. Dou culled and assembled a group of pictorial quotations with meanings roughly as follows: the seal hanging from a document on the quack’s table says “what is sealed is true”; the mother wiping her child’s behind, “life is but stinks and shit”; and the mother in her role as pancake-seller, “the seller’s prattle is meaningless, immoral talk’; the child vainly trying to trap a bird parallels the vain search for gold; and the two trees, one bare and one in bloom, the anguish of choice. . . . Each person does, or in the case of the objects is, his own thing, without any acknowledgement of his presence or, one might say, his narrative effect in the world. “People want to be deceived.” . . . Leaning out his window, in the shadow of the quack, Dou catches the viewer’s eye with his own. The picture alerts us not only to the duplicity of the quack but also to the painterly one [and to many other pseudo-professionals nowadays]” (Alpers 116-117 square brackets added).
Svetlana Alpers. 1983 (1984 paperback edition). The Art of Describing. Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century. USA: The University of Chicago Press.
Quack’s paintings from:
- http://www.wga.hu/html/d/dou/2/quack.html
- http://www.st.ewi.tudelft.nl/~hylke/pub/images/Dou_kwakzalver.png
- http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/d/dou/2/index.html
- http://www.fisterra.com/human/3arte/pintura/temas/charlatanes/images/charlatan%20Dou%20Guerrit.jpg
The first links are the most interesting.
Entry by Dr. Jesús A. Treviño.
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Autumn 2006 Volume VIII
Vol. 8 (2006)This is an image taken by Michael A. McAdams during a trip to the Zona Arqueológico Boca de Potrerillos in Mina, Nuevo León, México in the Spring of 2003. This site is located approximately 60 kilometers from Monterrey and about 14 kilometers from Mina. This is one of thousands of petrogylphs in the area The site functioned as a natural Stonehenge and was a major religious site for the nomadic peoples of this area for over 8,000 years. The most definitive book on this this site is by Dr. William Breen Murray of the Universidad de Monterrey and can be ordered through Amazon.com. It is also available at the Museo Bernabé de las Casas in Mina. (A highly recommended museum and should not be missed if you visit the archeological zone.)
I would recommend the following links if you would like more information:
- For an interview with Dr. Murray concerning the site and others in Nuevo León (Monterrey Fórum)
- Photo Album of Jose Oliva (a personal website with a good description of the site and photos)
- Description from Sala de Prensa (a government agency for the promotion of culture and the arts in Mexico)
It was speculated by Lewis Mumford that religious sites were the basis of cites. How did ancient peoples make the leap from well-developed religious sites to cities? How much did the development of agriculture contribute to the establishment of cities? There is no evidence, thus far, of a permanent settlement near the site of Boca de Potrerillos Further to the south, well established cites were established such as Teotihuacán, but much later. Although advanced cultures are generally associated with the development of cities, the findings at Boca de Potrerillos would seem to indicate that they can develop independent of the development of cities. These concepts deserve additional study and investigation. If anyone has addition thoughts about these issues, please post them on the newly established Urbana blog. Articles related to these topics would also be welcome.
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Autumn 2003-2004 Volume VII
Vol. 7 (2003) -
Autumn 2000 Volume V Number 2
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2000)Editors:
Michael A. McAdams and Jesús A. TriviñoKristan S. Gleditsch and Michael D. Ward
Measuring Space: A Minimum Distance Database and Applications to International Studies
(Please contact the editors if you would like a free copy of this article.) -
1994, Volume I, No. 1
Vol. 1 No. 1 (1994)
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