Aestheticizing the beautiful city: democratic politics and design review

Gassner, Günter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5891-6228 2023. Aestheticizing the beautiful city: democratic politics and design review. Urban Geography 44 (6) , pp. 1098-1116. 10.1080/02723638.2021.1874742

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Abstract

This article explores design debates through a radical political lens. Examining ways in which architects, urban historians and townscape consultants view speculative office developments and profit-driven building height in the City of London, I argue for the democratization of the cityscape. I contest the prevalence of the consensual city-image in which towers are framed as structures that visual enhance historic landmarks and buildings of 'civic importance' in order to emphasize the importance of critically engaging with consensual pro-market governing processes and the role of tradition therein. Distinguishing between radical aestheticization and conservative beautification, I show how the Royal Fine Art Commission cultivated the latter and prepared the ground for today’s city-image. I suggest that design review can contribute to democratic urbanization processes if a radical conceptualization of aesthetics is being developed.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	0272-3638
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 February 2021
Date of Acceptance:	6 February 2021
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2024 17:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/138489

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