Local narratives - unending cities

A local narrative
Originally uploaded by The Salaryman

Camilo Jose Vergara is a major influence on my own amateurish photography efforts and the link above to his Invincible Cities project is a wonderful way to explore what he’s doing. It links anthropology, social history, architectural theory and anything else relevant into an evolving chronicle of the spaces and places in America’s cities that evolve through decay into some kind of new stasis – as no particular configuration seems to be stable enough to sustain itself for long. Barber shops become liquor stores then bookies before being knocked down or else devolving into bookies. Camilo has the patience to chronicle this process of decay, rebirth and sometimes death over decades and the results are a stark lesson to anyone who thinks that gentrification and urban renewal are swift or simple processes. Urban decay is a US specialty (with some cities depopulating by half or more over a few decades – like Detroit) but has made an appearance in the UK as well. Over here, it often is a kind of donut shaped rot where the inner bits stay rich and healthy to some degree, as do some of the outer suburban belt while the in-between parts die. Our part of London is kind of in between the phenomena and needs just a bit of a push to get better, but is subject to neglect as it is not quite awful enough to merit means-tested attention.