Venice is different from London and in Mumbai we will expect to have radically other experiences than in Paris. The simple mentioning of city names calls up mental images in us, positive or negative, exotic or banal. Cities appear to be dynamic or progressive, cosmopolitan or sentimental, but what is the origin of such images and associations?
The question of the international conference “The Distinctiveness of Cities. Modes of Re-Production”[1] is the intrinsic logic of cities. Six thematic fields (Body[2] | Space[3] | Power[4] | Infrastructure[5] | Knowledge[6] | Heritage[7]) will serve to structure the approach taken to these questions at the conference on “The Distinctiveness of Cities. Modes of Reproduction”. The conference welcomes keynote speakers Helmuth Berking, Friedrich Lenger, Sujata Patel and Kurt W. Foster.
Illustration : DoctorWho, « New York Times Square», 26.05.2007, Flickr[8], (licence Creative Commons[9]).
- “The Distinctiveness of Cities. Modes of Re-Production”: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/index.en.jsp
- Body: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/body/index.en.jsp
- Space: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/space/index.en.jsp
- Power: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/power/index.en.jsp
- Infrastructure: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/infrastructure/index.en.jsp
- Knowledge: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/knowledge/index.en.jsp
- Heritage: http://www.distinctiveness-of-cities.tu-darmstadt.de/distinctivenessofcities/panels/heritage/index.en.jsp
- Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/86931652@N00/523858669/
- Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
