Kowloon Walled City: Heterotopia in a Space of Disappearance (2013)(mascontext.com)
mascontext.com
Kowloon Walled City: Heterotopia in a Space of Disappearance (2013)
https://mascontext.com/issues/trace/kowloon-walled-city-heterotopia-in-a-space-of-disappearance
104 comments
That drawing is from a Japanese book on the subject. I bought it a while ago and although expensive, gave a really good glimpse into life in Kowloon. edit: should add a link to said book :https://www.amazon.com/Kowloon-large-illustrated-ISBN-400008...
Wow, coolest thing I’ve seen while doom scrolling this week. I wonder how accurate that is. It must be an especially dense cross section, because it doesn’t leave much room for hallways or other non living space.
Also was hoping to see more of the structural elements… that drawing really makes it feel like the entire thing is made of cardboard, hopes and dreams.
Also was hoping to see more of the structural elements… that drawing really makes it feel like the entire thing is made of cardboard, hopes and dreams.
> that drawing really makes it feel like the entire thing is made of cardboard, hopes and dreams.
In the same way that corrugation gives strength to cardboard, it's possible that the city could have been so dense that it may have been relatively resistant to collapsing.
In the same way that corrugation gives strength to cardboard, it's possible that the city could have been so dense that it may have been relatively resistant to collapsing.
Very very sad about cohost closing btw. It was really the only "post twitter acquisition" social network that spoke to me. It felt very late 2000' in the best ways.
well, they "hate the software industry" so it can't be too surprising that they ran out of money. If you're allergic to revenue you can only last as long as the charity lasts.
I understand why people are unhappy with the tech industry and industry more generally but until the revolutionaries accept that their ventures have to create enough value to self sustain they will continue to be defeated by traditional companies
I understand why people are unhappy with the tech industry and industry more generally but until the revolutionaries accept that their ventures have to create enough value to self sustain they will continue to be defeated by traditional companies
Anyone found anything cool in there? I saw someone holding a rifle, aimed at another person’s back as they crouched down in fear.
searched and grabbed it at https://imgur.com/a/kowloon-walled-city-holdup-txskztK
I love this illustration it, gives me the same vibe I got from Richard Scarry books when I was 5.
I love this illustration it, gives me the same vibe I got from Richard Scarry books when I was 5.
Reminds me of Geoff Darrow’s artwork on Frank Miller’s HardBoiled, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Boiled_(comics)
I feel like Kowloon is a decent metaphor for software design at most typical large SaaS companies: small changes accreted over time that lead to an impenetrable, wandering structure that only the residents (developers) truly understand.
“We build our computers the way we build our cities — over time, without a plan, on top of ruins.”
― Ellen Ullman, Life in Code: A Personal History of Technology
― Ellen Ullman, Life in Code: A Personal History of Technology
Nicholas Negroponte's The Architecture Machine goes deep into analogizing software and housing along the dimension of "improvised / iterated on by the users" to "waterfall designed by committee"
(free with archive account, fascinating book, dedicated to "the first machine that can appreciate the gesture" https://archive.org/details/architecturemach00negr/page/n15/...)
(free with archive account, fascinating book, dedicated to "the first machine that can appreciate the gesture" https://archive.org/details/architecturemach00negr/page/n15/...)
It's a fascinating comparison—I've seen this happen at companies too. Makes you wonder if imposing something akin to building codes for software development could prevent this kind of sprawling complexity.
i've never seen coding standards properly enforced on any large project, nobody has time to read through and scrutinize 30 files of code every time somebody creates a new feature when everybody has their own work to be doing too. at my last job we had mandatory code reviews and some days half of the entire day was just doing that. it didn't long before reading turned into skimming and skimming just turned into clicking approve.
I was thinking less about self-imposed code reviews and more about regulatory frameworks—principles borrowed from architecture and construction, like mandated documentation, reviews, and inspections.
There's some precedent for this: software in medical devices face strict regulations after incidents like Therac-25.
While most software might not carry the same life-or-death risks, data breaches are increasing in frequency and impact. We should at least be thinking about how we can improve our processes as an industry.
There's some precedent for this: software in medical devices face strict regulations after incidents like Therac-25.
While most software might not carry the same life-or-death risks, data breaches are increasing in frequency and impact. We should at least be thinking about how we can improve our processes as an industry.
> I was thinking less about self-imposed code reviews and more about regulatory frameworks—principles borrowed from architecture and construction, like mandated documentation, reviews, and inspections.
This exists in automotive, cf. ASPICE. And even more extensively in aviation.
And no, it doesn't help fight sprawl much sadly.
The HN crowd is mostly web and mobile and unaware how broad the software field is, even though software in safety-critical applications of course predates both.
This exists in automotive, cf. ASPICE. And even more extensively in aviation.
And no, it doesn't help fight sprawl much sadly.
The HN crowd is mostly web and mobile and unaware how broad the software field is, even though software in safety-critical applications of course predates both.
given that it takes medical devices billions of dollars in testing to get to market this is a great way to just crush technology entirely. and even so the FDA is recognizing the error of some of its ways and lowering the barriers to entry for things like hearing aids.
Sadly I have to agree. It has to be mechanically enforced or it doesn't actually last, even with good intentions. (Or a BDFL, but those have scaling limits and Life™ stuff)
Which is a shame because I'm pretty convinced that slowing down and having time to do those reviews is net-good in the (not-very-)long run. Much of the space (and bugs) in even a very well run large project are from accumulating gaps until nobody knows how things truly work - it takes time to eliminate them and end up in a simpler, smaller, more sustainable state.
Which is a shame because I'm pretty convinced that slowing down and having time to do those reviews is net-good in the (not-very-)long run. Much of the space (and bugs) in even a very well run large project are from accumulating gaps until nobody knows how things truly work - it takes time to eliminate them and end up in a simpler, smaller, more sustainable state.
Business moves faster than clean software architecture.
If there was 'code', arguably, nothing would be built in the first place.
If there was 'code', arguably, nothing would be built in the first place.
Other industries innovate despite having to follow codes and industry standards. They just innovate slower.
Engineering standards are built on piles of corpses. We’re lucky that most of the growth of our industry has been in non-life-critical areas.
But regulation and standards are coming eventually - shoddy code will just have to kill a few thousand people first.
Engineering standards are built on piles of corpses. We’re lucky that most of the growth of our industry has been in non-life-critical areas.
But regulation and standards are coming eventually - shoddy code will just have to kill a few thousand people first.
The problem isn't that we fail to apply the same rules for software development in safety-critical and non-safety-critical contexts. The problem is that we do apply the same software in both contexts.
Gatekeeping the entire industry isn't the answer unless you want to cripple it... but if someone wanted to issue regulations along the lines of "Don't steer your nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a Windows app," I wouldn't object to that.
Gatekeeping the entire industry isn't the answer unless you want to cripple it... but if someone wanted to issue regulations along the lines of "Don't steer your nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a Windows app," I wouldn't object to that.
Better Windows 95 than JavaScript
A ton of businesses also die or crater in slow-mo after they have loaded up on tech debt and grown. Its less likely in pure software, as the exponential curve outruns the need for exponential devs, but it happens..
Yes, it certainly would have prevented a lot of things, including the creation of the OS and software you used to suggest it.
I feel like like that recently. Just examining an app that was largely written in isolation and ... I just discovered a new auth endpoint / service that nobody knew we had, and it does not behave logically. It has all sorts of limits that impedes testing / troubleshooting.
Pain ...
For the record I am going to eventually direct this app to the "normal" auth service and fix it all up, but man why is it this way???
Pain ...
For the record I am going to eventually direct this app to the "normal" auth service and fix it all up, but man why is it this way???
Is this a reference to the “I divorced my wife and this is what it taught me about B2B sales” joke?
Maybe... that's why I've been fascinated by it. :|
I think this applies to anything that is created over more than a single generation. Basically anything the government touches eventually goes this way too.
> What remains unclear is why there was such little protest over its demolition
Why would there be? This seems like one of those "people living in squalor is their right!" statements by people on the outside that want to visit a human zoo. I suspect no one that was living there would choose to go back if it still existed. My friends from there certainly don't. They might have a few fond memories but so do war veterans.
Why would there be? This seems like one of those "people living in squalor is their right!" statements by people on the outside that want to visit a human zoo. I suspect no one that was living there would choose to go back if it still existed. My friends from there certainly don't. They might have a few fond memories but so do war veterans.
That's actually not true at all. According to interviews a lot of people actually miss it. I believe it was a German documentary that I first heard it in. I'm kind of obsessed with this place and even created a game around the premise of a walled city.
Certainly I've heard the same from a coworker reporting on her grandmother's perspective (her grandmother lived there in the 60s/70s).
At the same time, the grandmother did leave when she could, long before the final demolition, despite her later views on that time.
At the same time, the grandmother did leave when she could, long before the final demolition, despite her later views on that time.
From another comment, said documentary: https://youtu.be/S-rj8m7Ssow
Metro but set in Kowloon would be shockingly good to play.
Stray?
Some people actually refused to move out and had to be evicted.
People form emotional attachment to their home, even if the living conditions are bad.
People form emotional attachment to their home, even if the living conditions are bad.
Especially if they are older. I'm in a suburban / rural border area and there are lots of older folks who just want to spend their days at home. But the area is changing, people around them are selling and that means change.
The interesting dynamic is that most have enough land to sell for a very pretty penny and they could build a great place further out, far better than they have now, but rather they value the comfort and familiarity of home, and I get that too.
The interesting dynamic is that most have enough land to sell for a very pretty penny and they could build a great place further out, far better than they have now, but rather they value the comfort and familiarity of home, and I get that too.
There must have been reasons why those people chose to live there. They must have felt it was their best option. If they were mistaken then they should be provided with more information until they are not mistaken. If they were not mistaken then the government barged in and removed these people's best living option because the government felt it was ugly. That's not very good.
> There must have been reasons why those people chose to live there
Undocumented status.
HK was not part of the PRC until 1997, and even today you require authorization to live there.
Back before reunification, lots of undocumented Chinese nationals would sneak across the fence in the New Territories and then live in the Walled City as it was technically still Chinese territory that was not absorbed by the British during the 99 year lease.
Undocumented status.
HK was not part of the PRC until 1997, and even today you require authorization to live there.
Back before reunification, lots of undocumented Chinese nationals would sneak across the fence in the New Territories and then live in the Walled City as it was technically still Chinese territory that was not absorbed by the British during the 99 year lease.
So did they give those people permanent residency in Hong Kong, or did they just demolish their homes and tell them to fuck off back to the totalitarian dictatorship they escaped?
[deleted]
Consider the plight of the dentists and doctors:
>There were some 90 dentists and around 30 doctors operating in the City, for the most part trained in China but unable to operate in Hong Kong without taking more exams. The City provided a handy alternative and they were allowed to operate there without oversight from the authorities. Many were actually very good at their job and attracted patients from a wide area – including a number of policemen to our knowledge – the best of them with smart premises along Tung Tau Tsuen Road that ran along the north side of the City.
>There were some 90 dentists and around 30 doctors operating in the City, for the most part trained in China but unable to operate in Hong Kong without taking more exams. The City provided a handy alternative and they were allowed to operate there without oversight from the authorities. Many were actually very good at their job and attracted patients from a wide area – including a number of policemen to our knowledge – the best of them with smart premises along Tung Tau Tsuen Road that ran along the north side of the City.
>"people living in squalor is their right!"
For many, a big part of the appeal was the low costs of living. Surely choosing relative squalor with low prices should be an option?
For many, a big part of the appeal was the low costs of living. Surely choosing relative squalor with low prices should be an option?
A bit unrelated, but since people with Hong Kong knowledge may be reading: How are the Chungking Mansions doing? The atmosphere there was sometimes compared to Kowloon Walled City, and I remember when my roommate stayed there in the 90s he reported that from his window that faced the inner courtyard he could not see the ground, just darkness. Also, it was reported to have rats as big as cats and cockroaches as big as rats (I hope jokingly).
How is it doing now? Still as dystopian?
How is it doing now? Still as dystopian?
I have stayed there for 2 weeks last month. It is indeed a distinctive experience. I managed to rent the smallest apartment I have ever been to. When I entered the room I burst out laughing at its size. There was basically nothing but a small bed and a toilet/bathroom where you could have showering while sitting on a toilet. It was definitely a memorable feeling to stay there. Every time you enter the building many (mainly Indian looking) man approach and try to sell you drugs, stolen stuff or prostitutes. I wandered quite a bit around because you always had to wait a lot for the elevator so I used the stairs to go to the 8th floor. There was piss and trash all over the stairs. At first day I was really close to changing my location but I eventually got used to the place. I have witnessed at least 3 fights during the 2 weeks staying there. On the last morning at 6 am when I arrived to the first floor after checking out I heard loud noises and when the elevator opened two guys fell inside fighting each other, accompanied by several woman shouting. I managed to step over them out of the elevator and left the building safely. It was chaotic to be honest. But at least I saw no bugs and rats. Overall I think it might have some resemblance to how it must have felt staying in the Walled City.
[deleted]
What brought you there?
Not him, but I've also visited. If you ever go to Hong Kong, Chungking Mansion is basically unavoidable. You're almost guaranteed to walk by it at least once if you're going a proper trip around the city. It's right on a major street right near major tourist areas and has cheap places to stay inside.
long exposure I took right out in front the last time I was there:
https://imgur.com/a/p2h6T
if you want to go deep on it this was a great read (Ghetto at the Center of the World):
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo112348...
https://imgur.com/a/p2h6T
if you want to go deep on it this was a great read (Ghetto at the Center of the World):
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo112348...
I've stayed there about half a year ago. [0] Pretty interesting place, although not nearly as dystopian as you describe it! No cockroaches or anything, but ground level is very noisy, and elevator queues are pretty bad.
[0]: If you want to give it a try, open up any hotel booking website and sort by price – pretty much anything under $25 is in the Mansions.
[0]: If you want to give it a try, open up any hotel booking website and sort by price – pretty much anything under $25 is in the Mansions.
I've visited it earlier this year and it seems pretty unchanged ("cheap watches", "need tailor",...). I've stayed in one of the budget hostels there a few years ago, its was interesting but I'd probably not do it again. Waiting 15 minutes for one of the cramped elevators every time you go home gets old quickly.
I stayed there about a year ago, and wrote a bit about it with some photos. Just search this page for "Chungking":
https://dabreegster.github.io/prose/dec2023/pt1_hk.html
Great photos, thanks. The one with the "negative space" must be what my roommate talked about when he could not see the ground from his room window during the day. Btw, back in the 90s they still had some market alleys in Akihabara/Tokyo that looked like the one in the next photo. And it was amazing.
A slightly more sanitized variety is two buildings away - Mirador Mansion. I still expect to see a fleeing android to come running down the halls when I stay there, a la Zhora chase scene in Blade Runner (less glass though).
A few months ago I had a long layover in Hong Kong, so I did a quick visit - it looked a bit emptyish, though there was still a bunch of budget hostels, food joints and some touting going on. The rats are pretty gigantic though.
good (and cheap) Indian restaurants there.
https://youtu.be/S-rj8m7Ssow
This is one of the better documentaries out there about Kowloon. It's in German but you can turn on English subtitles. They got a camera inside and you get a decent taste of what life was like there.
This is one of the better documentaries out there about Kowloon. It's in German but you can turn on English subtitles. They got a camera inside and you get a decent taste of what life was like there.
Kowloon Walled City was very neat. If you want to get a feel for what it was like, there's a German language documentary from 1988 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9PZ05NLDww) that was filmed inside of it. This essay, however is pompous word salad of the worst type.
Anyone remotely interested in Hong Kong should read the novel Tai-Pan. That’s some great historical fiction. No idea which parts are accurate, but it’s a fun read.
I finished the sequel of that book (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_House_(novel)) this year, can also highly recommend it. The TV show looks cheap...but it actually aged really well and it has Pierce Brosnan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_House_(miniseries)). Can recommend it as well!
FX made what I thought was a pretty good adaptation of Shōgun. Am hoping they might turn their eyes to the rest of the "series", too.
I've watched the FX adaptation and the original from 1980, and I have to say I like the original a bit more. Neither one of them cannot match the book, which I rank in the same level with Lord of the Rings: thick books you cannot stop reading. The television adaptations are passable, but a bit disappointing if you are a fan of the book.
The recent Shōgun series was surprisingly good, I really enjoyed it.
Clavell famously has no idea how to end a book - they pretty much _all_ have a deus ex machina in the form of a natural disaster - but they are excellent & fun reads of the days & weeks leading up to it.
ayeeya, cow chillo
Clavell famously has no idea how to end a book - they pretty much _all_ have a deus ex machina in the form of a natural disaster - but they are excellent & fun reads of the days & weeks leading up to it.
ayeeya, cow chillo
Hah, yes! I just realized this! (Well, Whirlwind uses a revolution). I'd never connected that between all the books.
There is also a history book «Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age» by Stephen R. Platt who goes into events preceding the First Opium War (Macartney's mission to Qing's China in 1793) eventually leading up to the cession of Hong Kong island and the fall of the Qing. Whilst it is a history book, the way the events are narrated and how the story is presented make the book read as it were a fiction story (it is not). A great read all around.
The pictures give you a Blade Runner feel
It's other way around - most of Cyberpunk aesthetic heavily inspired by Kowloon
Kowloon Walled City is a classic, almost trope-y, touchstone for cyberpunk aesthetics.
And rock music aesthetics.
https://theperpetualmotionmachine.bandcamp.com/album/gamblin...
https://theperpetualmotionmachine.bandcamp.com/album/gamblin...
William Gibson, Idoru. Heroine Chia Pet ends up (after some adventures, in cyberspace and meat) with place in the walled city. It's a good book.
Nice book on Kowloon with plenty of pictures: https://archive.org/details/city-of-darkness-life-in-kowloon...
I can understand why people are getting angry at the Internet Archive if they are offering one click downloads of books you can still buy on the (independent) artists website: https://cityofdarkness.co.uk/order-book/
Saying that as a donor to the Internet Archive as I support their "public web archiving" goal. This misleading "opensource" collection is full of software, books that are neither open source nor out of copyright: https://archive.org/details/opensource and their reporting tool doesn't even include "copyright infringement" as a reason.
Saying that as a donor to the Internet Archive as I support their "public web archiving" goal. This misleading "opensource" collection is full of software, books that are neither open source nor out of copyright: https://archive.org/details/opensource and their reporting tool doesn't even include "copyright infringement" as a reason.
"This is the cleaned up version of the original scan, both found in TPB" you ain't kidding!
Sorry, just to repeat, Kowloon != Kowloon Walled City.
Kowloon itself is home to 2 million people and is a much larger geographical area. Walled City was strictly an enclave area around an old Chinese fort within Kowloon proper.
A comparison might be referring to Washington Square Park, Manhattan, New York City as simply "Manhattan".
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
Kowloon itself is home to 2 million people and is a much larger geographical area. Walled City was strictly an enclave area around an old Chinese fort within Kowloon proper.
A comparison might be referring to Washington Square Park, Manhattan, New York City as simply "Manhattan".
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City
In the aerial view image (the 3rd image on the page) you can see the walled city next to a park in the foreground). The park is still there today (and now the remnants of the walled city are absorbed into the park).
Here is an aerial view that has a similar orientation [1].
The park is a cycling park, which explains the curvy paths.
[1] - https://www.google.com/maps/search/kowloon+walled+city/@22.3...
Here is an aerial view that has a similar orientation [1].
The park is a cycling park, which explains the curvy paths.
[1] - https://www.google.com/maps/search/kowloon+walled+city/@22.3...
Somewhat related there is a recent Hong Kong movie based on Kowloon Walled City [1] that is old fashion Hong Kong Kung Fu with background sets in Kowloon Walled City in 80s.
Unfortunately most of the Neon and Sign Post are mostly gone in Hong Kong. I think people should go and visit Hong Kong to see the last bit of it before it became something else.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_of_the_Warriors:_Wall...
Unfortunately most of the Neon and Sign Post are mostly gone in Hong Kong. I think people should go and visit Hong Kong to see the last bit of it before it became something else.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_of_the_Warriors:_Wall...
I think this title might be just a little on the pretentious side.
If you're interested in Kowloon, check out https://cityofdarkness.co.uk/
There are Heterotopias in the US too. Some of the border regions in Southwest Texas intermittently occupied by cartels or smugglers come to mind.
I really wish the walled city would have been preserved somehow. I never got a chance to see it but it has had so much influence on pop culture. It was one of the big influences of cyberpunk for example. It could have been an open air museum.
Skip the text, take time to look closely at each photograph. Linger and observe each for some time.
Unbelievable that the place wasn't consumed by fire at some point.
It burnt down in its early days when it was a shack town, before the cluster of multistory buildings were erected.
KWC is a pretty fascinating place, but all I've ever seen about it is from people on the outside looking in. Are there any accounts from the people who lived there?
A few interviews in this video
https://youtu.be/g1wSj9X2igA?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/g1wSj9X2igA?feature=shared
There's this Reddit AMA from a while back: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/13muo9/i_grew_up_in_t...
It's really too bad this isn't around today. We'd have so many videos about every nook and cranny of this place, so many videos exploring the lives of the people who live there. But now all I can find are a handful of documentaries, the same interview with some residents and the same recycled 1 minute clips everywhere.
sorta mind blowing to look at what's there now
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City_Park#/medi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City_Park#/medi...
I never understood why it's called a walled city. It doesn't have walls protecting it.
Before it was a settlement it was a military base. It did have walls protecting until 1940, where under WW2 Japanese occupation they were demolished. The name stuck even after.
The south gate of the wall remains as part of Kowloon Walled City Park
You can see an illustration of the wall in the infographic here http://archive.today/2omPT
You can see an illustration of the wall in the infographic here http://archive.today/2omPT
Looks like that component that somehow works and nobody dares touch it.
I wish the people romanticizing or fetishizing Kowloon Walled City could have been forced to live there.
They remind me of the urban planners of the 50s and 60s who designed dense barren concrete monstrosities for the proles to live in as part of various urban renewal projects, from the comfort of their suburban garden estates.
They remind me of the urban planners of the 50s and 60s who designed dense barren concrete monstrosities for the proles to live in as part of various urban renewal projects, from the comfort of their suburban garden estates.
People aren't romanticizing it in a positive way, they are mostly fascinated by the bleakness of it- and shocked that something they thought was relegated to fiction actually existed in real life. Much of HN grew up as nerdy kids on cyberpunk SciFi like Blade Runner, Johnny Mnemonic, and the Matrix and this looks exactly like that, which is no coincidence, because that aesthetic was largely based on Kowloon Walled City itself, unknowingly to the people consuming it.
The cyberpunk author William Gibson was aware of and inspired by Kowloon Walled City. Cyberpunk is characterized by "high tech low life" - it is seen as awful and dehumanizing, something people might want to read a book or watch a movie about, but not live themselves.
In hindsight, the whole Cyberpunk aesthetic being based on real world inhumane living conditions that actually already existed might be inappropriate by modern standards. It is making an amusing fantasy or spectacle out of other peoples suffering- however Gibson, etc. were using this setting mostly because they had a negative view about the impacts of technology on humanity, and were writing fiction to express and warn people about these concerns.
The cyberpunk author William Gibson was aware of and inspired by Kowloon Walled City. Cyberpunk is characterized by "high tech low life" - it is seen as awful and dehumanizing, something people might want to read a book or watch a movie about, but not live themselves.
In hindsight, the whole Cyberpunk aesthetic being based on real world inhumane living conditions that actually already existed might be inappropriate by modern standards. It is making an amusing fantasy or spectacle out of other peoples suffering- however Gibson, etc. were using this setting mostly because they had a negative view about the impacts of technology on humanity, and were writing fiction to express and warn people about these concerns.
> I wish the people romanticizing or fetishizing Kowloon Walled City could have been forced to live there.
In 1987, I would have found KWC a step up from my homelessness.
> They remind me of the urban planners of the 50s and 60s who designed dense barren concrete monstrosities
US 2021: People were forced out of long-term rentals and found there was nowhere to go. People with money in the bank became homeless. Concrete monstrosities would have improved their poor options.
Before eliminating an awful thing, we might want to eliminate the need for it.
In 1987, I would have found KWC a step up from my homelessness.
> They remind me of the urban planners of the 50s and 60s who designed dense barren concrete monstrosities
US 2021: People were forced out of long-term rentals and found there was nowhere to go. People with money in the bank became homeless. Concrete monstrosities would have improved their poor options.
Before eliminating an awful thing, we might want to eliminate the need for it.
Are people really romanticizing it out there?
I find it really draws my attention in a morbid sense associated to looking at what was a very alien way of living, but I would hate to live in those conditions.
I find it really draws my attention in a morbid sense associated to looking at what was a very alien way of living, but I would hate to live in those conditions.
My first awareness of KWC was reading one of the SPCs, apparently this one.
https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-184
https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-184
I wish you could have been forced to live there.
"the communist reforms from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s" is a little generous; for better and for worse the article seems very aligned to the politics of the current leadership of the "New China"
Not entirely - Tiananmen Square is mentioned along with its outcome. I'd assume the author is aiming for objectivity.
fascinating. It represents every failed public housing project in the U.S. as well, like the one in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi#Filming and in NYC
I don't see much similarity. The KWC was an anarchic self-assembling place; that's about as libertarian as it gets.
https://cohost.org/belarius/post/6677850-architectural-cross
(I am not the author of the blog, nor the original poster, but I just want to share the link because I found this incredibly cool)