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Cities are constantly changing. They are created, they grow, and they decline. After the Industrial Revolution, numerous cities emerged in Asia and achieved rapid growth. Recently, they have been undergoing another major transformation. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has given us hope that the futuristic cities we imagine could become a reality. The desire of people to move towards better cities is accelerating the pace of these urban changes.

#A city racing to the forefront of innovation

“Neom” Trojena  Source: https://www.neom.com/en-us

The announcement of the construction plans for “Neom,” Saudi Arabia's ambitious eco-friendly futuristic city project for 2030, has sparked our curiosity about its potential to bring our wildest imaginations to life. Neom is a futuristic city that promotes innovation, technology, and sustainability as its main motto.

The name “Neom” is a fusion of the Greek word “neo,” meaning new, and the Arabic word “mustaqbal,” meaning future. This combination embodies the concept of innovation and the potential for future advancements. According to the plan, Neom will include the eco-friendly residential and commercial city called “The Line,” a state-of-the-art industrial city with an octagonal structure called “Oxagon,” and an eco-friendly mountain resort called “Trojena.” Among them, “The Line” is a super city characterized by two massive buildings facing each other, towering at a height of 500 m. The city spans a remarkable length of 170 km.

#Disappearing cities: Urban crisis and alternatives

On one hand, a cutting-edge city of the future is being designed, while on the other hand, it is also facing a crisis. There are many causes that contribute to the crisis of cities, but among them, climate change and environmental pollution have long been identified as significant urban issues. The major cities that were once perceived as the main culprits of environmental issues are now exploring new directions under names such as “sustainable cities,” “low-carbon cities,” and “ecological cities.”

In addition, the relatively recent crisis of COVID-19 has shattered the belief that densely populated cities are competitive and efficient. People have become aware of the fact that being in densely populated areas like major cities increases the likelihood of contracting infectious diseases. These unexpected changes seem to be reshaping our perception of futuristic cities in ways we hadn't considered before.

On the other hand, COVID-19 has prompted a reconsideration of how human beings establish relationships within the urban context. One of the experiments that emerged from this is the reevaluation of the concept of a “sharing city”¹⁾ as a potential model for future cities.

There is another crisis that is somewhat different. Vanishing cities. This is the issue of the city itself potentially vanishing or rather, that it will vanish. Japan and Korea are facing the crisis of such vanishing cities. In fact, Korean media reports that out of 77 small and medium-sized cities in the country, 18 are facing the risk of vanishing, and it has been reported that the next 10 years are a critical time period. In this situation, as an alternative to the decline of local cities, the concept of a resilient and vibrant small city is being proposed, known as the “strong small city.” A "strong small city" is a city that, despite its small size, possesses strong infrastructure and has low barriers of entry due to its interconnected network with other cities.

Efforts to address the crisis of cities have led to the constant proposal of various experimental forms towards the future city. In the same context, numerous artistic practices explore the urban issues we face and imagine future cities. However, I would like to highlight a specific work that vividly captures our current perspective towards the city.

#Kim Kyung-sook: Desire and anxiety towards the city

Kim Kyung-sook's photography work, capturing extreme urban views within a single city, vividly portrays our desire and anxiety towards the urban environment. On one hand, it portrays the human desire to strive for a better place, while on the other hand, it reflects the anxiety that our original cities might disappear.

Left: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Tokyo 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2019
Right: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Singapore 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2020

Left: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Hanoi 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2019
Right: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Bangkok 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2020

Her Asian landscape series is a photographic project undertaken in 11 different spots: Korea, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mongolia. She travels to various capitals in Asia, capturing the iconic skyscrapers that serve as landmarks of each city, as well as the architectural structures that represent the unique identity of the city. In addition, she includes the landscapes of neighborhoods where the working class of the city resides, all within a single frame.

Upon closer inspection of her works, it appears that she constructs towering skyscrapers that seem to ascend towards higher places at the top of the frame, while at the bottom, she combines traditional residential spaces that still form the community of neighborhood residents. She captures the rapidly changing urban landscapes, juxtaposing disparate architectural structures that seem to exist in different times and spaces, and consolidates them into a single frame, depicting the same time and space. This act is an attempt to embrace and unify the diverse aspects of the city into one. The landscapes of each Asian city, though similar yet different, perhaps represent the true essence of what those cities truly are.

Left: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Seoul 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2019
Right: Kim Kyung-sook, Asian Cityscape, Jakarta 1,500 × 1,500 mm, Digital Chromogenic Print, 2020

#Embracing the extremes of the city

Let's take a step back and have another look at the cities once more. On one side, the cities are racing towards the cutting edge, while on the other side, the cities are facing the threat of vanishing. While observing the extreme manifestations of urban phenomena, one ponders whether the rise and decline of cities are natural phenomena or a problem. One aspect of this is that the prosperity of a part of a city often comes at the expense of another.

Countless themed cities. The fusion of hopeful words and “city” reflects the aspirations of humanity and the hope for solving problems. Is the city an eternal utopia for humanity? Is there a way for everyone to coexist?