Does The Promise Of Paradise Produce Hell - 1134 Words

Does the promise of paradise produce hell? The modern reality of the cities is defined by complex urban, social and environmental problems. The era of intense urbanisation is associated with the phenomenon of the unregulated urban sprawl, globalisation and consumerism. Especially for the metropolis, for both, the developed and developing countries, there is overconcentration of the population in confined spaces, which leads to insufficient-available infrastructures of common utility, accommodation and transportation. This has become a fact that is causing problems with the living conditions, and enhances the negative environmental effects. Due to those problems, humanity tried to create a theoretical concept of the ‘ideal’ and an†¦show more content†¦Based on Karl Popper’s theory of ‘‘those who promise us paradise on Earth never produce anything but hell’’, in the following text, problems that originate from the attempt to physically create utopia will be discussed as wel l as their impacts on fulfilling this attempt. Architecture is fully interwoven with society. Most of the theorists of utopian ideas and social reforms of the 19th and 20th century attributed bigger value in social structure, religion, ethos and public administration of cities. We come to a conclusion that their proposals are largely based on the desire of organising social life, which commonly is carried out in an autocratic way. However this is a static social system of a city, which was created based on the visionary viewpoint of the utopian-designer, is not providing the opportunity to its inhabitants, to improve their social skills and diversity, leaving little room of expression of individual values. A more brutal form of this phenomenon is shown when the idea of the utopian space is clearly referring to the separation of the social classes, emphasizing to the upper class and using/exploiting the working classes in order to implement this produced ‘heaven’. Some of the most recognised examples of this policy, a re these of Burj Dubai (2010) and the artificial islands which include the ‘Palm Developments’ and apply in their 100% to the elite. For the embodiment of these earthly paradises for the rich, a number