Capitalism's Place in Architecture

 

In David Harvey's, The Right to the City, Harvey invokes the connection of capitalism and the growth of cities, particularly in the disparity that seems to be driven when the city develops. While reading this, I noticed his example of Hausmann developing Paris into more of a tourist attraction. It seems he takes the important features of Paris, like the wide city streets, and amplifies it to make it more impactful. As if he wanted to exaggerate the wideness for a "wow factor". Harvey then adds that Hausmann integrated specifically cafes and shops to enhance the consumerism within Paris. I found this interesting as it connected to the articles earlier by Rem Koolhaas, particularly Junkspace.

 Junkspace explains architecture designed only for consumerist notions, like the shopping mall prototype. It appears that capitalist architecture is geared toward distraction in society rather than something that could benefit society. It can benefit the big corporations, but not the lower class.