How do cultural traditions shape the concrete spaces of cities? How are cities imagined by the communities that gather together to inhabit them, by the artists that represent them, by architects and planners that design them? Focusing on the modern design elements of distinct North American cities, this panel investigates the intertwined political, economic and aesthetic image-making processes of modern cities, considering how cities are mythically “stylized” and marketed through the complex mediation of cultural, literary, cinematic, and architectural traditions.
Moderator: Susan Ingram, York University
Gentrification by Adobe: Design Traditions of Santa Fe's Urban Imaginary Markus Reisenleitner, York University
Stan Douglas’s Virtual Redesigning of Vancouver Circa 1948 Susan Ingram, York University
Creative Spaces, Creative Design: Toronto Libraries Natallia Barykina, University of Toronto
City-Writing: Community and Pursuit in Post-war American Crime Fiction Arthur Redding, York University