Fragments of the city : making and remaking urban worlds

Cities are becoming increasingly fragmented materially, socially, and spatially. From broken toilets and everyday things, to art and forms of writing, fragments are signatures of urban worlds and provocations for change. In __Fragments of the City,__ Colin McFarlane examines such fragments, what they are and how they come to matter in the experience, politics, and expression of cities. How does the city appear when we look at it through its fragments? For those living on the economic margins, the city is often experienced as a set of fragments. Much of what low-income residents deal with on a daily basis is fragments of stuff, made and remade with and through urban density, social infrastructure, and political practice. In this book__,__ McFarlane exploresinfrastructure in Mumbai, Kampala, and Cape Town; artistic montages in Los Angeles and Dakar; refugee struggles in Berlin; and the repurposing of fragments in Hong Kong and New York. Fragments surface as material things, as forms of knowledge, as writing strategies. They are used in efforts to politicize the city and in urban writing to capture life and change in the world's major cities. __Fragments of the City__ surveys the role of fragments in how urban worlds are understood, revealed, written, and changed. Cities are becoming increasingly fragmented materially, socially, and spatially. From broken toilets and everyday things, to art and forms of writing, fragments are signatures of urban worlds and provocations for change. In Fragments of the City, Colin McFarlane examines such fragments, what they are and how they come to matter in the experience, politics, and expression of cities. How does the city appear when we look at it through its fragments? For those living on the economic margins, the city is often experienced as a set of fragments. Much of what low-income residents deal with on a daily basis is fragments of stuff, made and remade with and through urban density, social infrastructure, and political practice. In this book, McFarlane explores infrastructure in Mumbai, Kampala, and Cape Town; artistic montages in Los Angeles and Dakar; refugee struggles in Berlin; and the repurposing of fragments in Hong Kong and New York. Fragments surface as material things, as forms of knowledge, as writing strategies. They are used in efforts to politicize the city and in urban writing to capture life and change in the world's major cities. Fragments of the City surveys the role of fragments in how urban worlds are understood, revealed, written, and changed. Cities are becoming increasingly fragmented materially, socially, and spatially. From broken toilets and everyday things, to art and forms of writing, fragments are signatures of urban worlds and provocations for change. In Fragments of the City, Colin McFarlane examines such fragments, what they are and how they come to matter in the experience, politics, and expression of cities. How does the city appear when we look at it through its fragments? For those living on the economic margins, the city is often experienced as a set of fragments. Much of what low-income residents deal with on a daily basis is fragments of stuff, made and remade with and through urban density, social infrastructure, and political practice. In this book , McFarlane explores infrastructure in Mumbai, Kampala, and Cape Town; artistic montages in Los Angeles and Dakar; refugee struggles in Berlin; and the repurposing of fragments in Hong Kong and New York. Fragments surface as material things, as forms of knowledge, as writing strategies. They are used in efforts to politicize the city and in urban writing to capture life and change in the world's major cities. Fragments of the City surveys the role of fragments in how urban worlds are understood, revealed, written, and changed. "Cities are becoming increasingly fragmented materially, socially, and spatially. Fragments of the City examines the fragments themselves, what they are and how they come to matter in the experience, politics, and expression of cities. How does the city appear when we look at it through its fragments? For those living on the economic margins, the city is often known as a set of fragments. Much of what low-income residents deal with on a daily basis is fragments of stuff, made and remade with and through urban density, social infrastructure, and political practice. From broken toilets to artistic output and forms, fragments are signatures of urban worlds and provocations for change. Fragments of the City considers infrastructure in Mumbai, Kampala, and Cape Town; artistic montages in Los Angeles and Dakar; refugee struggles in Berlin; and the repurposing of fragments in Hong Kong and New York. Fragments surface as material things, as forms of knowledge, as writing strategies. They are used in efforts to politicize the city and in urban writing to capture life and change in the world's major cities. Fragments of the City examines the role of fragments in how urban worlds are understood, revealed, and changed"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Fragments of the City 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 10 Prologue 12 Reading Fragments 18 PURSUING FRAGMENTS 22 Routes 24 On the Margins 32 An Urban World 35 PULLING TOGETHER, FALLING APART 42 Materializing the City 44 Urban Life Support 47 Volumetric Urbanism 57 Fragmenting Cities 61 Social Infrastructure 71 Care and Consolidation 74 KNOWING FRAGMENTS 82 In the Relation 84 Presence-Absence 90 The Gap 96 Knowledge Fragments 99 WRITING IN FRAGMENTS 106 Montaging Urban Modernity 108 Without Closure 115 Points of Departure 119 Fragments and Possibility 127 POLITICAL FRAMINGS 132 Attending to Fragments 134 Maintaining 134 In-Between 137 Generative Translation 143 Reformation 149 Junk Art 149 Relocating 154 Surveying Wholes 161 Political Becoming 165 Occupation 168 Being Present 168 Provisioning 172 Value 183 Exhibiting Stories 185 WALKING CITIES 194 Encountering the City 196 Intersecting Writings 199 Routes and Their Limits 207 Remnants 227 Space and Time 232 IN COMPLETION 234 An Exploded View 236 Experimenting 240 Connective Devices 242 Excursions 248 Notes 252 Bibliography 290 Index 318