Photo Blog: Wem Gehoert Die Stadt?
In English, the phrase "Wem Gehoert Die Stadt" translates into "Who owns the city?" That's a trick question: no one does. Bored brand managers and property speculators are keen to have us believe otherwise. Since the early 1980s, they've been busy repackaging the urban metropolis as the ultimate consumer product, a source of revenue that can never been owned, only sampled for a limited time by the right people, at the right price. They've turned our high streets into a high concept designer gallery, where everything from the coffee that we drink to the experience of stroking a cat is elevated to the level of status symbol, removed from us behind cool glass walls. Separating the haves from the have nots, the admired from the admirers, the people who can afford to live, from those who can only afford to exist. But returning the streets to the people can be done for free and without breaking a single window... just make it look more interesting tha...