City of consumption/city as goods the morphology of the city as a center of consumption and as an object of consumption

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of changes in the morphology of the city as a result of the influence of certain aspects of the phenomenon of consumerism. The focus of the analysis is a modern city in a cultural context that is understood as a consumer society. Morphological changes of the city are concerning the consequences of building of large consumption structures that are becoming new centers in the urban fabric, and also the changes that occur in the scenography of the city as a space for advertising. The first part of the paper describes the city as the context of the predominance of the symbolic value over usefulness of the goods, where city itself becomes a commodity that provides profit - the city as a center of consumption becomes the object of consumption. Special attention is directed to the inevitability of shopping as the most dominant consumption activity in creating urbanity, and to its informal nature and tendency to ocupy every available space. The second part describes the changes in the morphology of the city. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of the analyzed problem with regard to the scale of the changes that affect the city under the influence of consumption/shopping, as well as the possibility and the need for action in the direction of its controlled development in the city.