scholarly journals From Cyberpunk to Cramped Dweller: The Peculiar History of Hong Kong ‘Heterotopias’

Author(s):  
Daniel McCoy

75.6% of land comprising Hong Kong remains undeveloped according to the special administrative region’s planning department. In turn, Hong Kong’s constricted real estate, now estimated to be the world’s costliest, has created eye-popping living arrangements historically and contemporarily. Denizens’ colorful reputation and imagination for flouting city ordinances, zoning laws, and spatial management stand emblematic of tenacious self-sufficiency and a free-spirited brand of runaway capitalist initiative. Why is this conspicuous trademark of Hong Kong’s societal fabric very much alive in the 21st Century? Why does this matter in a rapidly urbanizing world witnessing the ascension of mega-urban centers alongside ever-widening socioeconomic chasms? This paper intends to illuminate the peculiar origins and longevity of the Kowloon Walled City, an urban monolith of notoriety and autonomy that blossomed in a semi-legal grey zone unencumbered under British protectorate rule for nearly a century. Parallels will connect the linear trajectory between Kowloon’s hardnosed living to today’s comparable Chungking Mansions and the hundreds of thousands of cage homes appearing in all corners of the city. This paper aims to answer why these residential paradoxes continue to function with efficiency and relevancy, posing solutions for indigent housing while exacerbating the stigma of social and economic ostracism.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel McCoy

75.6% of land comprising Hong Kong remains undeveloped according to the special administrative region’s planning department. In turn, Hong Kong’s constricted real estate, now estimated to be the world’s costliest, has created eye-popping living arrangements historically and contemporarily. Denizens’ colorful reputation and imagination for flouting city ordinances, zoning laws, and spatial management stand emblematic of tenacious self-sufficiency and a free-spirited brand of runaway capitalist initiative. Why is this conspicuous trademark of Hong Kong’s societal fabric very much alive in the 21st Century? Why does this matter in a rapidly urbanizing world witnessing the ascension of mega-urban centers alongside ever-widening socioeconomic chasms? This paper intends to illuminate the peculiar origins and longevity of the Kowloon Walled City, an urban monolith of notoriety and autonomy that blossomed in a semi-legal grey zone unencumbered under British protectorate rule for nearly a century. Parallels will connect the linear trajectory between Kowloon’s hardnosed living to today’s comparable Chungking Mansions and the hundreds of thousands of cage homes appearing in all corners of the city. This paper aims to answer why these residential paradoxes continue to function with efficiency and relevancy, posing solutions for indigent housing while exacerbating the stigma of social and economic ostracism.


Histories ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
Daniel McCoy

75.6% of land comprising Hong Kong remains undeveloped according to the special administrative region’s planning department. In turn, Hong Kong’s constricted real estate, now estimated to be the world’s costliest, has created eye-popping living arrangements historically and contemporarily. Denizens’ colorful reputation and imagination for flouting city ordinances, zoning laws, and spatial management stand emblematic of tenacious self-sufficiency and a free-spirited brand of runaway capitalist initiative. Why is this conspicuous trademark of Hong Kong’s societal fabric very much alive in the 21st Century? Why does this matter in a rapidly urbanizing world witnessing the ascension of mega-urban centers alongside ever-widening socioeconomic chasms? This paper intends to illuminate the peculiar origins and longevity of the Kowloon Walled City, an urban monolith of notoriety and autonomy that blossomed in a semi-legal grey zone unencumbered under British protectorate rule for nearly a century. Parallels will connect the linear trajectory between Kowloon’s hardnosed living to today’s comparable Chungking Mansions and the hundreds of thousands of cage homes appearing in all corners of the city. This paper aims to answer why these residential paradoxes continue to function with efficiency and relevancy, posing solutions for indigent housing while exacerbating the stigma of social and economic ostracism.


Author(s):  
Alexandra Wilson

La bohème is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. But how did it come to be so adored? Drawing on an extremely broad range of sources, Alexandra Wilson traces the opera’s rise to global fame. Although the work has been subjected to many hostile critiques, it swiftly achieved popular success through stage performances, recordings, and filmed versions. Wilson demonstrates how La bohème acquired even greater cultural influence as its music and dramatic themes began to be incorporated into pop songs, film soundtracks, musicals, and more. In this cultural history of Puccini’s opera, Wilson offers a fresh reading of a familiar work. La bohème was strikingly modern for the 1890s, she argues, in its approach to musical and dramatic realism and in flouting many of the conventions of the Italian operatic tradition. Considering the work within the context of the aesthetic, social, and political debates of its time, Wilson explores Puccini’s treatment of themes including gender, poverty, and nostalgia. She pays particular attention to La bohème’s representation of Paris, arguing that the opera was not only influenced by romantic mythologies surrounding the city but also helped shape them. Wilson concludes with a consideration of the many and varied approaches directors have taken to the staging of Puccini’s opera, including some that have reinvented the opera for a new age. This book is essential reading for anyone who has seen La bohème and wants to know more about its music, drama, and cultural contexts.


2020 ◽  
pp. 104-139
Author(s):  
Sharon Zukin

Profiling New York–based venture capitalists and VC firms that have been established in the city since the early 2000s, the chapter examines their risky but privileged perch between Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Interviews with VCs are juxtaposed with the post–World War II history of venture capital as a distinctive form of investment and management. The VCs’ equally distinctive commitment to New York is then contrasted with the increasing geographical dispersal of their investment funds to other regions of the world. Meanwhile, the integration of some corporate and VC members of the tech “community” into New York’s business establishment suggests the formation of a local tech-financial elite, updating C. Wright Mills’s critique of the institutional bases of power.


Archaeologia ◽  
1858 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 316-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Ashpitel

There is scarcely a district in the world endowed with such singular beauty, and possessing such deep points of interest, as that extending about ten or twelve miles westward from Naples. A sky of such brilliancy as only Italy can shew; a sea of colours like the transparent hues of the sapphire and emerald; mountains on land and mountainous islands rising from the sea twice and thrice the height of those in Wales, and crowned with snow for a third of the year. The air of extraordinary clearness and purity, and redolent with the odours of the myrtle, orange, and citron. The earth covered with rich crops of maize, the vine hanging in a cordage of festoons from tree to tree, huge groves of figs and olives twisted in every fantastic form, and interspersed with the feathery palm, forests of pine, leccio, and cypress, all form a scene of beauty difficult to describe. But how is the interest heightened when we reflect on the history of the spot! We are in the scene so exquisitely described by Virgil in the Æneid. Here are the Isles of the Sirens and of Circe, the Tomb of Misenus, the Grotto of the Sibyl, the mysterious River Cocytus, the Lake Avernus, and the Elysian Fields. Here, too, the great poet is supposed to have been interred. The heights are crowned with the remains of sumptuous villas, where Caesar, Crassus, Pompey, Lucullus, and Augustus feasted, and where Cicero penned his best philosophical works.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (26) ◽  
pp. 98-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
MONICA LIMA

O artigo trata sobre aspectos que definem a importá¢ncia do sá­tio histórico e arqueológico Cais do Valongo, situado na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, para a história da escravização de africanos e seus descendentes nas Américas e, em especial, no Brasil. Além de ressaltar a relevá¢ncia desse bem, reconhecido em 2017 como Patrimônio Mundial pela UNESCO, também aborda o seu significado como sá­tio histórico de memória sensá­vel e lugar de memória do tráfico atlá¢ntico de africanos escravizados. Ao longo do texto, são abordadas ideias-chave, tais como passados sensá­veis, violência, dor e sofrimento em perspectiva histórica, indicando possibilidades de comparação com outros espaços no mundo, considerando tragédias humanas e conceitos utilizados nos estudos sobre esses processos. Finalmente, o texto analisa elementos em torno da história da região do Cais do Valongo como espaço de resistência e de afirmação das populações negras.Palavras-chave: Cais do Valongo. História da Escravidão. Passados Sensá­veis. Patrimônio Mundial. História dos africanos no Brasil.HISTORY, PATRIMONY AND SENSITIVE MEMORY:  the Pier of Valongo in Rio de JaneiroAbstract: The article deals with aspects that define the importance of the historical and archaelogical site of Valongo Wharf, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, for the history of enslavement of Africans and their descendants in the Americas and especially in Brazil. In addition to highlighting the relevance of this property, recognized in 2017 as a Worl Heritage Site by UNESCO, it also addresses its significance as a historical site of sensitive memory and a place of memory for the Atlantic traffic of enslaved Africans. Throughout the text, key ideas such as sensitive past, violence, pain and suffering are discussed in historical perspective, which indicates possibilities of comparison with other spaces in the world, considering human tragedies and concepts used in the studies on these processes. Finally, the text analyzes other elements around the history of the Valongo Wharf region as space of resistance and affirmation of the black populations.Keywords: Valongo Wharf. History of Slavery. Sensitive Pasts. World Heritage. History of Africans in Brazil.HISTORIA, PATRIMONIO Y MEMORIA SENSIBLE:  el Cais do Valongo en Rá­o de JaneiroResumen: El artá­culo trata sobre aspectos que definen la importancia del sitio histórico y arqueológico Cais do Valongo, situado en la ciudad de Rá­o de Janeiro, para la historia de la esclavización de africanos y sus descendientes en las Américas y, en especial, en Brasil. Además de resaltar la relevancia de ese bien, reconocido en 2017 como Patrimonio Mundial por la UNESCO, también aborda su significado como sitio histórico de memoria sensible y lugar de memoria de la trata atlántica de africanos esclavizados. A lo largo del texto, se abordan ideas clave, tales como pasados sensibles, violencia, dolor y sufrimiento en perspectiva histórica, indicando posibilidades de comparación con otros espacios en el mundo y considerando tragedias humanas y conceptos utilizados en los estudios sobre esos procesos. Finalmente, el texto analiza elementos en torno a la historia de la región del Cais do Valongo como espacio de resistencia y de afirmación de las poblaciones negras.Palabras clave:  Muelle de Valongo. Historia de la Esclavitud. Pasados Sensibles. Patrimonio Mundial. Historia de los africanos en Brasil.


10.12737/6572 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 20-33
Author(s):  
Наталья Гаршина ◽  
Natalya Garshina

Having a look at the tourist space as a cultural specialist, the author drew attention to the fact that the closest to the modern man is a city environment he contacts and sometimes encounters in everyday life and on holidays. And every time whether he wants it or not, it opens in a dif erent way. One way of getting to know the world has long been a walking tour. It’s not just a walk hand in hand with a pleasant man or hasty movement to the right place, but namely the tour, in which a knowledgeable person with a soulful voice will speak about the past and present of the city and its surroundings, as if it is about your life and the people close to you. Turning to the beginning of the twentieth century, the experience of scientists-excursion specialists we today can learn a lot to improve the process of building up a tour, and most importantly the transmission of knowledge about the world in which we live. Well-known names of the excursion theory founders to professionals are I. Grevs, N. Antsiferov, N. Geynike and others. They are given in the context of ref ection on the historical development of walking tours, which haven’t lost their value and attract both creators and consumers of tour services.


Author(s):  
C. Dijk ◽  
M.C. Ricklefs ◽  
L.A. Hoedemaker ◽  
S.C. Graaf van Randwijck ◽  
G.J. Knaap ◽  
...  

- C. van Dijk, M.C. Ricklefs, A history of modern Indonesia. C. 1300 to the present, London and Basingstoke, The MacMillan Press Ltd., 1981. xii + 335 pp. MacMillan Asian Histories Series. - L.A. Hoedemaker, S.C. Graaf van Randwijck, Handelen en denken in dienst der zending (Oestgeest 1897-1942), 2 delen, Den Haag Boekencentrum, 1981. - G.J. Knaap, Hubert Jacobs SJ, Documenta Malucensia II (1577-1606), annotated by Hubert Jacobs SJ, Monumenta Missionum Societatis Iesu volumen XXXIX, Missiones Orientalis, Rome, Jesuit Historical Institute; 1980, XXXI + 65* + 794 blz. - David S. Moyer, H. Sutherland, The making of a bureaucratic elite; The colonial transformation of the Javanese Priyayi, Asian studies association of Australia, Southeast Asia publication series no. 2, Heinemann educational books (Asia), Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, 1979, xx + 182 pp. - S.A. Niessen, Garrett Solyom, The world of the Javanese Keris, 1978, East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii., Bronwen Solyom (eds.) - S.A. Niessen, Anne Leonard, Patterns of Paradise; The styles and significance of bark cloth around the world, 1980, Field museum of natural history., John Terrell (eds.) - S.A. Niessen, Kirk Endicott, Batek Negrito Religion, 1979, Oxford Clarendon Press. - J. Noorduyn, Olivier Carré, L’Islam et l’état dans le monde d’aujourd’hui, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1982. 270 p. - H.A. Poeze, Joop Morriën, Indonesië los van Holland. De CPN en de PKI in hun strijd tegen het Nederlands kolonialisme, Pegasus Amsterdam, 1982, 272 pp.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-301
Author(s):  
N. I. Levchenko

The article is devoted to the newspaper «Priishimye», published in 1913–1919 in the city of Petropavlovsk, Akmola region (the territory of Kazakhstan now). It was in this newspaper that the first publication of Vsevolod Ivanov took place (the poem “Winter”, 1915). In 1915– 1916, the newspaper published stories by Vsevolod Ivanov, Anton Sorokin, Kondraty Tupikov and other Siberian writers. The editor of the newspaper since 1914 was Leonid Stepanovich Ushakov (1886 – after 1957). There are published three of his letters to Kondrati Nikiforovich Urmanov (real family Tupikov; 1894–1976), stored in the City Center for the History of the Novosibirsk Book named after N. P. Litvinov (Novosibirsk). The letters were written and sent to the writer in 1957. After the 1920s – early 1930s, Ushakov was not associated with the world of literature; he worked in the system of the State Planning Committee of the USSR and dealt with issues of economy and national economy. The letters to Urmanov contain valuable information about the literary life of Siberia at the beginning of the 20 th century, as well as about the biography and personality of L. S. Ushakov.


Author(s):  
Н. Н. Грибов ◽  
Т. А. Марьенкина ◽  
Н. В. Иванова

В статье представлены предварительные результаты первых масштабных археологических исследований в нижней части Нижегородского кремля. Раскоп, заложенный в зоне воссоздания храма Святого Симеона Столпника, вскрыл культурные отложения двух периодов - XIII - начала XV в. и XVI - середины XVIII в. Впервые средневековая усадебная застройка Нижнего Новгорода зафиксирована на таком элементе волжской долины, как береговой склон. Выдающееся значение для нижегородской археологии имеют обнаружение стратифицированных культурных напластований XIII - начала XV в. и зафиксированный на стратиграфических разрезах перерыв в активном освоении городской территории, соответствующий большей части XV в. Предложена реконструкция истории освоения раскопанного участка. Выяснилось, что связанный с храмом малоизвестный нижегородский Симеоновский монастырь вряд ли существовал до строительства Нижегородского кремля. Наиболее раннее, предположительно, монастырское сооружение, возникшее после исчезновения усадебной застройки XIII - начала XV в., датировано концом XV - серединой XVI в. С этим периодом связано строительство деревянного моста, обеспечивавшего транспортное сообщение между «нагорным» и приречным районами города. Обнаружение остатков этого свайного сооружения существенно корректирует известную реконструкцию застройки кремлевской территории начала XVII в., выполненную по письменным источникам. Дано обоснование времени функционирования обнаруженного некрополя Симеоновского монастыря в пределах середины XVI - начала XVIII в., приведена общая характеристика изученных погребений. В общеисторическом контексте материалы исследований представляют интерес для изучения процессов, сопровождающих превращение удельных городских центров в города Московской Руси. The article presents preliminary results of the first large-scale archaeological research in the lower part of the Nizhniy Novgorod Kremlin. The excavation, laid in the area of the reconstruction of the Church of St. Simeon the Stylite, uncovered cultural layer of two periods - the XIII - early XV centuries and the XVI - mid XVIII centuries. For the first time, the medieval estate development of Nizhniy Novgorod was recorded on such an element of the Volga valley as the coastal slope. The discovery of stratified cultural strata of the XIII - early XV centuries and the break in the active development of urban territory recorded on stratigraphic sections, corresponding to most of the XV century, are of outstanding significance for Nizhniy Novgorod archeology. The reconstruction of the history of development of the excavated site is proposed. It turned out that the little-known Nizhniy Novgorod Simeon monastery associated with the temple hardly existed before the construction of the Nizhniy Novgorod Kremlin. The earliest, presumably, monastic structure that arose after the disappearance of the manor buildings of the XIII -early XV centuries., dated to the end of the XV - mid XVI centuries. This period is associated with the construction of a wooden bridge that provided transport links between the «Nagorny» and riverine districts of the city. The discovery of the remains of this pile structure significantly corrects the well-known reconstruction of the Kremlin territory of the beginning of the XVII century, made according to written sources. The justification for the functioning of the necropolis discovered Simeon monastery in the middle of the XVI century - beginning of the XVIII centuries, the general characteristics of the studied burials. In the general historical context, the research materials are of interest for studying the processes that accompany the transformation of specific urban centers into cities of Muscovite Russia.


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