Today, people of all generations can see the history of social and economic relations in our own communities and how they have changed our modern urban landscapes globally. To come to the realities of today, social landscapes had begun to majorly evolve during the uprising of many new forces of production after WWII. "The automobile industry successfully converted back to producing cars, and new industries such as aviation and electronics grew by leaps and bounds (cite)". At the same time, the jump in postwar births, known as the "baby boom," increased the number of consumers (cite). More and more Americans joined the middle class and began to embrace all of the new and exciting changes that were happening everywhere. It was at this point that American society forever sought the phantasmagoria surrounding them; driving consumerism faster than ever before. In the cities people were most concerned about building the tallest skyscraper humanly possible; big glass structures that protruded out of their landscapes with masses of concrete creating a high contrast between past, present as well as providing a glimpse for the future. American society had begun to change the way they built structures and sites along with the materials.
Historical Materialism is a study of society, economics, and history and provides fundamental ideas to help us understand how we were left with the modern city of today. "The system determines that there is always a division of labour into social classes based on property ownership where some people live from the labour of others (cite)." This class division is dependent on the forces of production at that moment in time and more than ever consumerism was a driving force in all decision making. Post WWII left the cities overpopulated with industries booming. Soon after, the people affected most by these industrial changes were the people who had lived in these social landscapes prior to the city, building their cultural heritage in these environments. It was then the "indigent" people of the city had to succumb to the changing economic and social status', leaving many displaced. These "indignent" residents were now able to see social problems unfold in the urban area including-gentrification, polarization, segregation, urban conflict, the use of public space, urban politics, and the role of finance and crisis in shaping urban landscapes (cite)".
We can see historical materialism truths in Seoul during its Yongsan tragedy of 2009. Seoul's population has nearly doubled since 1970 and is currently the eighth-most populated city in the world. With their booming economy and high demand for public housing Seoul is finding it very hard to provide for these needs. In response to these dire circumstances Seoul started redeveloping huge areas to meet housing demands for middle and upper-class inhabitants. But as true for American society, this has left lower-income residents and small-business owners helpless. Seoul's redevelopment plan created a social unrest among many communities and disgruntled people everywhere started to demonstrate. On January 9th, 2009, during a demonstration by upset civilians, Seoul police decided to take matters in their own hands and became violent with demonstrators. The result was the death of 5 demonstrators and 1 police office. This is an extreme example of how dependent society is on preservation in urban geography. Overall, one could say gentrification of these rice fields is inevitable, but how can you revitalize and preserve one's cultural heritage and social landscape while creating an economic uprising? Maybe the question will never be answered but we can look at the instance of gentrification in Seoul as a representation of societies value on social and cultural landscapes.
No comments:
Post a Comment