Cities and Markets

The city was once a reflection of civic institutions. In the last 20 years it has became a mirror for the economy. The collapse of markets and the part-nationalization of banks has made this view less attractive. Recent events are a reminder that while cities may go up in bull markets, they are founded on innumerable habits evolved from a multitude of experiments - on what journalists call the real economy. As the recession settles in, some architects will no doubt want to return to familiar civic values. But the more interesting experiments are likely to take place in the newly visible microeconomic landscape.

Irénée Scalbert is an architecture critic based in London. He has contributed essays to most European magazines on both historical and contemporary issues. He taught at the Architectural Association from 1989 to 2006. In 2006 and 2007, he was Visiting Professor at Harvard University. He is the author of A Right to Difference: The Architecture of Jean Renaudie (2004).