Abbas suggested invisible cities and generic cities in the reading and I found generic cities relatable.Generic city is a city that keeps changing rapidly and there is no fixation of identity. These cities are usually located in Asia and Hong Kong ,the hometown of mine is one of those generic cities . Hong Kong is colonised by England for almost a decade, it is a hybrid of west and east culture and the architecture in Hong Kong reflects that .As time goes on, with the change in sovereignty , Hong Kong keeps transforming as its history is erased and rewrite again and again. Like the Empire Theatre which is to be demolished soon, combines the element of west and east , round arches for the west element and the relievo on the front door for east). It is a loss of identity and history to me. Yet this shedding of identity is not seen as a loss but as a liberation in Abbas perspective. Generic City is an analytical model of invariant structures, which produces unpredictable variations and differences relevant to specific contexts. Such cities without history provide multiple possibilities and so it is a liberation of city.Personally I understand his point of view but just as what he mentioned , the city would be like a Hollywood studio, this is the city that i would like to visit and travel to but not a city that i would want to live in. The city loses its identity while I lose my identity as well, it is hard for me to build a strong sense of identity.
Li Enid Geo, 3035782023
Abbas explored the idea of the exorbitant city and generic city. Invisible Cities refers to Calvino’s novel which is cited to explain the former.
Good attempt in trying to understand the concept of Generic City through Hong Kong. As you have already mentioned, Hong Kong has no consistent fixation on identity due to its colonial past and perhaps the present attachment to China – do you think Hong Kong or a city can possibly be an embodiment of both exorbitant and generic city with part of its culture preserved but at the same time liberated?