PERSPECTA 39: RE-URBANISM - TRANSFORMING CAPITALS - THE YALE ARCHITECTURAL JOURNAL

This edition of Perspecta, the oldest and most distinguished student-edited architectural journal in America, investigates the transformation of capital cities in the era of globalization. This redevelopment, renewal, and recycling of the urban landscape--termed by the editors as "Re_Urbanism"--takes place as capital cities try both to cater to an influx of global capital and to reassert their roles as symbols of national sovereignty. Re_Urbanism investigates this process from an architectural perspective. The contributors explore the various ways capital cities struggle to assert their vitality and continuing relevance, examining capitals that compete internally with their own global counterparts (Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai), capitals that must be rebuilt after periods of destruction (Belgrade and Baghdad), and capital cities that are responding to hyperbolic development (Beijing, New Delhi, Kuwait City). Some cities are examined for their impact on border politics (Washington D.C.) while others reveal mythologies parallel to their modernist origins (Brasilia).