Marchandiser l’utopie : trois outils de représentation du rêve urbain chinois

Filippo Fiandanese, Silvia Lanteri, Monica Naso

2019

Fiandanese Filippo, Silvia Lanteri and Monica Naso. 2019. “Marchandiser l’utopie: trois outils de représentation du rêve urbain chinois.” Paris: Chantiers politiques 15. pp 64-72.

ISSN 1771-8627

The dramatic urban transformations in China are accompanied by the construction of a Chinese urban dream, a promise of a better future in cities.
This article aims to demystify such narrative by analysing the instruments adopted to promote and to spread it. Therefore, the devices that represent and vehiculate the new urban ideology in China are debated: discursive or iconographic documents produced by different actors: architects, real estate developers or the political power. By exploring slogans, images and maquettes presented in the exhibition centres, the contribution discusses the “festivalisation” of the city, its “spectacularisation” and how utopian characters may turn into dystopic results, pushing for a reflection on our concept of authenticity.