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Color as an urban discourse

Burdett, Ricky and Kaasa, A. (2011) Color as an urban discourse. In: Doherty, G., (ed.) Urbanisms of Color. New geographies series (3). Harvard University Press, Cambridge, USA. ISBN 9781934510261

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Abstract

Color is a ubiquitous yet essential part of the city, creating and shaping urban form. Who can forget the whites of modernist Brasilia? The greens of historic Cairo? The rosy reds of Petra? The terracottas of South America’s shantytowns? The color cacophonies of Times Square and Shinjuku? Colors have a presence over and beyond the objects—buildings, spaces, billboards, artifacts, and people—that make up the city. Not only does color give meaning to cities, cities give meaning to color. Whether carefully coordinated, clashing, or an expression of materials, color is a powerful cultural, economic, and political force in cities. Yet discussions on the city do not usually focus much on color, perhaps because urban colors are too often understood as being beyond any one authority or taste, or are simply dismissed as cosmetic, naïve, or intangible. Volume 3 of New Geographies brings together artists and designers, anthropologists, geographers, historians, and philosophers with the aim of challenging the status quo and exploring the potency, the interaction, and the neglected design possibilities of color at the scale of the city.

Item Type: Book Section
Official URL: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/
Additional Information: © 2011 Harvard University Press
Divisions: Sociology
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date Deposited: 14 Dec 2012 15:57
Last Modified: 15 Sep 2023 09:44
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/47692

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