The Evolving Spatial Form of Cities in a Globalising World Economy pot

The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀
in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy฀
Johannesburg฀and฀São฀Paulo
Martin฀J฀Murray
HSRC฀
Publishers
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III
Democracy฀and฀Governance฀Research฀Programme,฀Occasional฀Paper฀฀5
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Research฀Council
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III
Preface
The฀ Democracy฀ and฀ Governance฀ Research฀ Programme฀ of฀ the฀ Human฀ Sciences฀
Research฀ Council฀ publishes฀ an฀ Occasional฀ Paper฀ series฀ which฀ is฀ designed฀ to฀ offer฀
timely฀contributions฀to฀debates,฀disseminate฀research฀findings฀and฀otherwise฀engage฀
with฀the฀broader฀research฀community.฀Authors฀invite฀comments฀and฀responses฀from฀
readers.
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About฀the฀Author
Martin฀J฀Murray฀is฀Professor฀of฀Sociology฀at฀the฀State฀University฀of฀New฀York฀in฀
Binghamton.฀ He฀ is฀ the฀ author฀ of฀ numerous฀ books,฀ including฀ The฀ development฀ of฀
capitalism฀in฀colonial฀Indochina฀(Berkeley฀and฀Los฀Angeles:฀University฀of฀California฀
Press฀ 1980),฀ South฀ Africa:฀ time฀ of฀ agony,฀ time฀ of฀ destiny฀ (London฀ and฀ New฀ York:฀
Verso฀1987),฀and฀Revolution฀deferred:฀the฀painful฀birth฀of฀post-apartheid฀South฀Africa฀
(London฀and฀New฀York:฀Verso฀1995).฀He฀is฀currently฀interested฀in฀questions฀of฀urban฀
space,฀ including฀ modernist฀ (and฀ post-modernist)฀ city฀ building,฀ the฀ contradictory฀
impulses฀of฀real฀estate฀capitalism,฀the฀exclusionary฀effects฀of฀bunker฀architecture,฀and฀
place฀making฀as฀boundary฀marking.
IV
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The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀
in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy฀
Johannesburg฀and฀São฀Paulo
Introduction
The฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ paradigm฀ has฀ drawn฀ our฀ attention฀ to฀ the฀ pivotal฀ role฀ of฀ large฀

metropolises฀as฀key฀command฀and฀control฀centres฀within฀the฀capitalist฀world฀economy.฀
A฀central฀axiom฀of฀this฀innovative฀theoretical฀framework฀is฀the฀claim฀that฀the฀spatial฀
dispersal฀of฀giant฀‘multi-national’฀corporations฀over฀considerable฀distances฀requires฀a฀
parallel฀territorial฀concentration฀of฀‘command฀and฀control’฀functions฀at฀the฀apex฀of฀
the฀global฀urban฀hierarchy.฀Yet฀by฀privileging฀the฀functional฀specialisations฀of฀large฀
metropolitan฀regions฀within฀the฀world฀economy,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀restricts฀
the฀kinds฀of฀questions฀that฀can฀be฀legitimately฀addressed฀within฀its฀conceptual฀frame฀
of฀reference.฀In฀particular,฀by฀narrowing฀the฀scope฀of฀research฀to฀the฀functional฀roles฀
of฀cities฀within฀the฀world฀economy,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀paradigm฀tends฀to฀downplay฀
the฀evolving฀spatial฀form฀of฀ cities฀that฀aspire฀to฀‘world-class’฀ status.฀In฀contrast,฀a฀
growing฀ number฀ of฀ scholars฀ have฀ focused฀ instead฀ on฀ the฀ changing฀ morphological฀
characteristics฀of฀urban฀landscapes,฀and,฀in฀particular,฀on฀the฀use,฀management,฀and฀
regulation฀of฀urban฀space.฀By฀emphasising฀such฀spatial฀features฀as฀unfettered฀urban฀
sprawl,฀the฀urbanisation฀of฀the฀periphery,฀the฀proliferation฀of฀‘edge฀cities’,฀and฀the฀
emergence฀of฀a฀new฀‘fortification฀aesthetic’฀that฀has฀accompanied฀the฀construction฀
of฀such฀post-public฀places฀as฀festival฀marketplaces,฀citadel฀office฀complexes,฀enclosed฀
shopping฀malls,฀and฀gated฀residential฀communities,฀these฀theorists฀of฀urban฀life฀have฀
drawn฀attention฀to฀the฀evolving฀patterns฀of฀spatial฀restructuring฀association฀with฀a฀
1
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Martin฀J฀Murray
2
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
3
distinctive฀kind฀of฀polynucleated฀and฀fragmented฀city-form,฀one฀which฀some฀scholars฀
have฀called฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’.฀
At฀the฀risk฀of฀oversimplification,฀it฀is฀possible฀to฀identity฀five฀features฀associated฀
with฀‘post-modern฀urbanism’.฀While฀these฀do฀not฀exhaust฀the฀possible฀characteristics฀
of฀ this฀ particular฀ kind฀ of฀ urbanity,฀ they฀ do฀ constitute฀ its฀ central฀ elements.฀
Concentrating฀ on฀ the฀ extent฀ to฀ which฀ these฀ characteristic฀ features฀ of฀ postmodern฀

urbanism฀can฀be฀found฀in฀two฀aspirant฀‘world-class’฀cities฀–฀Johannesburg฀and฀São฀
Paulo฀–฀enables฀us฀to฀highlight฀the฀global฀dispersal฀of฀a฀new฀kind฀of฀urban฀form฀that฀
has฀developed฀around฀the฀world.฀One฀of฀the฀deficiencies฀in฀existing฀urban฀scholarship฀
is฀the฀great฀gap฀between฀the฀grand,฀totalising฀theories฀like฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀paradigm฀
or฀the฀‘post-modern฀urbanism’฀ideas฀associated฀with฀the฀so-called฀Los฀Angeles฀(LA)฀
School฀and฀empirical฀studies฀of฀cities฀that฀are,฀so฀to฀speak,฀‘off฀the฀map’.฀Looking฀
at฀ these฀ ‘ordinary฀ cities’฀ that฀ fall฀ outside฀ the฀ glare฀ of฀ the฀ core฀ zones฀ of฀ the฀ world฀
economy฀provides฀us฀with฀an฀unusual฀opportunity฀to฀investigate฀in฀some฀detail฀how฀
the฀globalising฀tendencies฀of฀ city-building฀trickle฀down฀to฀aspiring฀ to฀‘world-class’฀
status฀but฀those฀which฀are฀located฀well฀below฀the฀top฀of฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀hierarchy.
The฀pioneering฀work฀of฀urban฀theorists฀such฀as฀John฀Friedmann฀and฀Goetz฀Wolff,฀
Saskia฀ Sassen,฀ Manuel฀ Castells,฀ Peter฀ Taylor,฀ Anthony฀ King,฀ and฀ Neil฀ Bremner,฀
among฀many฀others,฀has฀drawn฀attention฀to฀the฀pivotal฀role฀of฀the฀current฀wave฀of฀
globalisation฀ in฀ fostering฀ intensified฀ competition฀ amongst฀ and฀ between฀ cities฀ that฀
aspire฀to฀‘world-class’฀status.
1
฀In฀the฀main,฀much฀of฀this฀scholarly฀writing฀about฀urban฀
rivalries฀has฀crystallised฀around฀a฀research฀agenda฀that฀has฀come฀to฀be฀known฀as฀the฀
‘global฀ cities’฀ paradigm.฀ Scholars฀ operating฀ within฀ this฀ framework฀ have฀ sought฀ to฀
reassess฀the฀importance฀of฀large฀ metropolises฀as฀key฀command฀and฀ control฀centres฀
within฀the฀interlocking฀globalising฀dynamics฀of฀financial฀markets,฀high-level฀producer฀
services฀ industries,฀ corporate฀ headquarters฀ and฀ other฀ associated฀ business-services฀
industries฀ (telecommunications,฀ business฀ conferences,฀ media,฀ design฀ and฀ cultural฀
industries,฀transport,฀and฀property฀developments).฀A฀central฀tenet฀of฀this฀innovative฀
theoretical฀ framework฀ is฀ the฀ contention฀ that฀ the฀ spatial฀ dispersal฀ of฀ transnational฀
corporations฀(TNCs)฀over฀increasingly฀global฀distances฀requires฀a฀parallel฀territorial฀
concentration฀ of฀ ‘command’฀ functions฀ at฀ the฀ apex฀ of฀ the฀ global฀ urban฀ hierarchy฀
(Amin฀&฀Graham฀1997).฀
In฀short,฀the฀global฀integration฀of฀high-level฀headquarter฀functions฀has฀ created฀‘a฀
new฀strategic฀role฀for฀major฀cities’.฀Beyond฀their฀conventional฀historical฀role฀as฀central฀

sites฀for฀managing฀worldwide฀trade฀and฀international฀banking฀and฀finance,฀emergent฀
‘global฀cities’฀now฀function฀as฀‘highly฀concentrated฀command฀[and฀control]฀points฀in฀
the฀organisation฀of฀the฀world฀economy’฀and฀as฀key฀locations฀for฀transnational฀corporate฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
2
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
3
head฀ offices.
2
฀ While฀ globalisation฀ has฀ affected฀ all฀ kinds฀ of฀ geographical฀ localities฀
in฀ a฀ variety฀ of฀ ways,฀ it฀ assumes฀ particular฀ significance฀ in฀ those฀ key฀ urban฀ centres฀
that฀scholars฀ have฀labelled฀‘global’฀ or฀‘world฀cities’.฀In฀short,฀globalisation฀precedes฀
and฀ largely฀ determines฀ urban฀ spatial฀ and฀ sociocultural฀ restructuring,฀ inexorably฀
transforming฀emergent฀global฀cities฀by฀disconnecting฀them฀from฀their฀local฀ties.
3
In฀ its฀ original฀ formulation,฀ the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀ thesis฀ laid฀ particular฀ stress฀ on฀ the฀
historically฀ specific฀ functions฀ of฀ London,฀ New฀ York฀ and฀ Tokyo฀ at฀ the฀ apex฀ of฀
the฀ world-scale฀ urban฀ hierarchy.฀ At฀ the฀ outset,฀ discussion฀ focused฀ on฀ clarifying฀
terminological฀ disputes฀ (‘world’฀ versus฀ ‘global’฀ cities),฀ refining฀ initial฀ definitions,฀
and฀ postulating฀ about฀ which฀ cities฀ might฀ be฀ included฀ under฀ the฀ rubric฀ of฀ ‘global฀
cities’฀and฀what฀criteria฀might฀be฀used฀to฀determine฀their฀rank฀order.฀Over฀time,฀the฀
‘global฀cities’฀debate฀has฀moved฀away฀from฀its฀relatively฀narrow฀focus฀on฀a฀few฀leading฀
urban฀centres฀to฀a฀much฀more฀nuanced,฀sophisticated฀and฀broader฀theorisation฀of฀the฀
changing฀functions฀of฀cities฀in฀a฀globalising฀world฀economy฀increasingly฀dominated฀
by฀informationalised฀economic฀activities฀(Castells฀1996;฀Lo฀&฀Yeung฀1998;฀Marcuse฀
&฀Van฀Kempen฀2000a;฀Sassen฀2000a,฀2000c).฀Taken฀as฀a฀whole,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀
model฀ –฀with฀its฀ particular฀ stress฀on฀the฀evolving฀ network฀of฀ interconnected฀urban฀
centres฀–฀has฀sparked฀a฀great฀deal฀of฀substantive฀research฀that฀has฀greatly฀advanced฀our฀
understanding฀of฀the฀place฀and฀function฀of฀certain฀strategically฀located฀cities฀in฀the฀

spatial฀geography฀of฀the฀contemporary฀world฀economy.฀By฀situating฀large฀metropolitan฀
regions฀ within฀ a฀ common฀ ‘globalising’฀ framework,฀ this฀ approach฀ has฀ opened฀ up฀
unique฀possibilities฀for฀fruitful฀comparisons฀that฀promise฀to฀yield฀new฀insights฀into฀the฀
changing฀roles฀of฀cities฀in฀the฀contemporary฀world฀economy฀(Abu-Lughod฀1999;฀Abu-
Lughod฀2001;฀Nijman฀1997;฀Portes฀&฀Stepick฀1993;฀Sassen฀&฀Portes฀1993).
Nevertheless,฀ despite฀ its฀ considerable฀ strengths฀ as฀ an฀ orienting฀ framework฀
for฀empirically฀ grounded฀research,฀the฀ ‘global฀ cities’฀approach฀ is฀ not฀ without฀ its฀
theoretical฀ limitations฀ as฀ an฀ overarching฀ paradigm฀ for฀ studying฀ contemporary฀
cities.
4
฀By฀identifying฀certain฀key฀urban฀centres฀as฀material฀manifestations฀of฀the฀
structural฀processes฀of฀globalisation,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀has฀incorporated฀a฀
certain฀functionalist฀and฀economistic฀bias฀into฀its฀theoretical฀reasoning.
5
฀This฀way฀
of฀thinking฀has฀inadvertently฀contributed฀to฀a฀narrowing฀of฀the฀field฀of฀vision฀for฀
urban฀studies.฀By฀analytically฀privileging฀the฀functional฀roles฀and฀specialisations฀of฀
large฀metropolitan฀centres฀in฀the฀global฀marketplace,฀and฀by฀categorising฀cities฀into฀
a฀ranked฀hierarchy฀roughly฀in฀accordance฀with฀the฀economic฀power฀they฀command,฀
the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀limits,฀in฀an฀a฀priori฀way,฀the฀kinds฀of฀questions฀that฀
can฀ be฀ legitimately฀ addressed฀ within฀ its฀ theoretical฀ framework฀ (Robinson฀ 2002;฀
Smith฀1998).
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By฀ directing฀ attention฀ primarily฀ to฀ transnational฀ business฀ and฀ financial฀ networks฀
that฀link฀leading฀metropolitan฀centres฀in฀a฀global฀hierarchy฀defined฀primarily฀by฀market฀
relations,฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀literature฀tends฀to฀downplay฀or฀overlook฀the฀evolving฀spatial฀
dynamics฀of฀large฀cities฀ that฀aspire฀ to฀ ‘world-class’฀ status.฀ In฀ contrast,฀urban฀theorists฀
such฀as฀David฀Harvey,฀John฀Hannigan,฀Nan฀Ellin,฀Michael฀Dear,฀Steven฀Flusty,฀Diane฀
Ghirado,฀Michael฀Sorkin,฀ Mike฀Davis,฀ Christine฀ Boyer,฀Sharon฀Zukin,฀Edward฀Soja,฀
Christopher฀Jencks฀and฀many฀others฀have฀focused฀instead฀on฀the฀changing฀morphological฀

characteristics฀ of฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ and,฀ in฀ particular,฀ on฀ the฀ use,฀ management฀ and฀
regulation฀of฀city฀space฀(Boyer฀1998;฀Davis฀1985;฀Dear฀2000;฀Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1998;฀Ellin฀
1996;฀Ghirado฀1991;฀Harvey฀1989;฀Hannigan฀1998;฀Jencks฀1993;฀Soja฀1989;฀Soja฀1992;฀
Sorkin฀1992;฀Zukin฀1998).฀In฀looking฀at฀the฀fragmentation฀of฀the฀urban฀realm฀into฀what฀
David฀Harvey฀calls฀‘a฀patchwork฀quilt฀of฀islands฀of฀relative฀affluence฀struggling฀to฀secure฀
themselves฀in฀a฀sea฀of฀spreading฀decay’฀(Harvey฀2000:฀152),฀these฀scholars฀have฀drawn฀our฀
attention฀to฀the฀spatiality฀of฀contemporary฀cities.฀By฀highlighting฀such฀spatial฀features฀as฀
‘edge฀cities’,฀gated฀residential฀communities฀and฀other฀privatopias,฀fortified฀office฀citadels,฀
downtown฀ renaissance฀ zones,฀festival฀ marketplaces฀ and฀ other฀ enclosed฀ shopping฀ mall฀
extravaganzas฀as฀they฀appear฀in฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀these฀urban฀theorists฀have฀drawn฀
our฀attention฀to฀the฀evolving฀patterns฀of฀spatial฀restructuring฀associated฀with฀a฀distinctive฀
kind฀of฀polynucleated฀and฀fragmented฀city฀form,฀one฀which฀some฀scholars฀have฀called฀
‘postmodern฀urbanism’.
6฀
Unlike฀the฀ ‘global฀cities’฀paradigm฀that฀ takes฀ urban฀ political฀
economy฀as฀its฀point฀of฀departure,฀the฀theorists฀of฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’฀look฀upon฀
the฀cityscape฀as฀a฀contested฀terrain,฀where฀spatial฀politics฀involve฀struggles฀over฀the฀use฀
of฀urban฀space,฀particularly฀in฀regard฀to฀who฀belongs฀where฀and฀with฀what฀entitlements฀
or฀citizenship฀rights฀(Borden,฀Kerr,฀Rendell฀&฀Pivaro฀2001;฀Dovey฀1999;฀Harvey฀2000;฀
Holston฀1999;฀Leach฀2002;฀Sandercock฀1998;฀Westwood฀&฀Williams฀1997).
As฀ a฀ distinct฀ urban฀ form,฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ expresses฀ the฀ confluence฀ of฀ a฀
multiplicity฀ of฀ macrosocial฀ trends,฀ including฀ deindustrialisation฀ of฀ the฀ metropolis฀
(where฀post-Fordist฀‘flexible฀specialisation’฀has฀replaced฀Fordist฀mass฀production฀as฀
the฀ main฀engine฀of฀economic฀growth),฀the฀widespread฀middle-class฀abandonment฀
of฀urban฀residence฀ coupled฀with฀rapid฀suburban฀sprawl,฀the฀devaluation฀of฀public฀
space฀(parks,฀plazas,฀streetscapes,฀sidewalks,฀collective฀modes฀of฀transport฀and฀easily฀
accessible฀ places฀ of฀ entertainment),฀ and฀ an฀ awestruck฀ love฀ affair฀ with฀ an฀ ‘inward-
looking’฀ architectural฀ style฀ that฀ ‘turns฀ its฀ back฀ on’฀ the฀ surrounding฀ cityscape.฀
Driven฀by฀the฀relentless฀pressures฀of฀global฀competition฀in฀all฀its฀guises,฀postmodern฀
urbanism฀ conforms฀ to฀ an฀ inner฀ logic฀ of฀ spatial฀ partitioning฀ that฀ privileges฀ and฀

rewards฀cityscapes฀that฀insinuate฀themselves฀within฀transnational฀circuits฀of฀finance฀
capital.฀In฀aspiring฀to฀achieve฀‘world-class’฀status,฀‘city฀boosters’฀foster฀the฀kinds฀of฀
4
Martin฀J฀Murray
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5
business-friendly,฀ urban฀ regeneration฀ strategies฀ that฀ curry฀ favour฀ with฀ large-scale฀
global฀ corporations฀ by฀ creating฀ cocooned฀ sites฀ of฀ luxury฀ entertainment,฀ shopping฀
and฀ leisure,฀ while฀ simultaneously฀ leaving฀ poor฀ and฀ working-class฀ urban฀ residents฀
to฀fend฀for฀themselves฀in฀competing฀for฀access฀to฀affordable฀housing,฀to฀dwindling฀
public฀space฀and฀to฀privatised฀(‘pay-as-you-go’)฀municipal฀services฀(Connell฀1999;฀
Fitzsimons฀1995;฀Kenny฀1995;฀Loukaitou-Sideris฀&฀Banerjee฀1998).฀
Postmodern฀ urbanism฀ represents฀ a฀ distinct฀ phase฀ of฀ urban฀ growth฀ and฀
development,฀ one฀ characterised฀ by฀ the฀ shift฀ from฀ what฀ Christine฀ Boyer฀ calls฀ the฀
(modernist-inspired)฀ ‘city฀ as฀ panorama’฀ to฀ the฀ ‘city฀ as฀ spectacle’฀ (Boyer฀ 1998).฀ It฀
reflects฀ the฀ collapse฀ of฀ confidence฀ in฀ the฀ holistic฀ design฀ of฀ the฀ urban฀ landscape,฀
a฀ declining฀ faith฀ in฀ comprehensive฀ urban฀ planning฀ as฀ a฀ panacea฀ for฀ social฀ ills,฀ a฀
nostalgic฀fascination฀with฀‘small฀is฀beautiful’,฀a฀turn฀ to฀decorative฀pastiche฀(or฀the฀
free฀play฀of฀styles฀and฀historicist฀allusions)฀and฀a฀growing฀moral฀panic฀associated฀with฀
the฀ fear฀ of฀ crime฀ (Huxtable฀ 1997;฀ Jameson฀ 1991;฀ Judd฀ &฀ Fainstein฀ 1999).฀ New฀
kinds฀of฀segregation฀–฀whether฀social฀or฀spatial,฀semiotic฀or฀symbolic฀–฀have฀become฀
the฀ visible฀ signs฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism.฀ The฀ main฀ instrument฀ through฀ which฀
social฀ and฀ spatial฀ segregation฀ is฀ organised฀ is฀ what฀ Teresa฀ Caldeira฀ calls฀ ‘fortified฀
enclaves’,฀and฀the฀principal฀rhetoric฀that฀legitimates฀them฀is฀the฀fear฀of฀crime.฀The฀
new฀patterns฀of฀urban฀segregation฀have฀created฀novel฀kinds฀of฀‘social฀space’฀–฀neither฀
fully฀public฀nor฀completely฀private฀–฀in฀contemporary฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀and฀
these฀ congregating฀ spaces฀ no฀ longer฀ relate฀ to฀ the฀ modern฀ ideals฀ of฀ commonality฀
and฀universality.฀Instead,฀this฀new฀kind฀of฀social฀space฀operates฀on฀the฀principle฀of฀
separateness฀and฀assumes฀that฀social฀groups฀should฀live,฀work฀and฀spend฀their฀leisure฀
time฀in฀homogenous฀enclaves,฀physically฀isolated฀from฀those฀persons฀perceived฀(and฀

stigmatised)฀as฀different,฀threatening฀and฀unwanted฀(Caldeira฀1996b;฀Caldeira฀2000;฀
Davis฀1992;฀Merrifield฀&฀Swyngedouw฀1997).฀
Space฀matters:฀post-modern฀urbanism฀and฀
the฀฀‘Los฀Angeles฀school’
The฀urban฀theorist฀Jan฀Nijman฀has฀proposed฀the฀notion฀of฀‘paradigmatic฀city’฀as฀a฀
heuristic฀device฀that฀can฀assist฀us฀in฀divining฀future฀trends฀in฀urban฀restructuring.฀
The฀ ‘paradigmatic฀city’฀may฀be฀defined฀as฀the฀exemplary฀metropolis฀that฀displays฀
more฀clearly฀than฀other฀urban฀sites฀the฀distinguishing฀features฀and฀general฀trends฀that฀
are฀symptomatic฀of฀broader฀sociogeographical฀transformations฀of฀cities฀taking฀place฀
on฀a฀world฀scale.฀In฀short,฀it฀anticipates,฀in฀a฀genuinely฀prescient฀way,฀evolving฀and฀
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
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Martin฀J฀Murray
6
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
7
unfolding฀patterns฀of฀global฀urbanisation.฀Understood฀in฀this฀way,฀the฀‘paradigmatic฀
city’฀serves฀as฀an฀ideal-typical฀model,฀a฀living฀laboratory฀for฀analysis฀and฀a฀prototype฀
for฀investigating฀trends฀that฀are฀not฀as฀yet฀easily฀discernible฀ in฀other฀cities.฀ In฀the฀
1920s฀and฀1930s,฀the฀so-called฀‘Chicago฀School’฀of฀urban฀studies฀(under฀the฀guiding฀
hand฀ of฀ Robert฀ Park,฀ Ernest฀ Burgess฀ and฀ Louis฀ Wirth,฀ in฀ particular)฀ defined฀ an฀
agenda฀for฀scholarly฀research฀on฀metropolitan฀areas฀that฀achieved฀undeniable฀success฀
as฀a฀workable฀paradigm.฀Taking฀a฀human฀ecology฀approach฀as฀their฀analytic฀point฀of฀
departure,฀the฀‘Chicago฀School’฀urbanists฀used฀the฀model฀of฀concentric฀rings฀to฀direct฀
attention฀to฀such฀problem฀areas฀as฀land฀use฀patterns,฀urban฀lifestyles,฀ethnic฀rivalries฀
and฀the฀effects฀of฀urban฀environment฀on฀human฀behaviour.฀Despite฀challenges฀from฀
alternative฀perspectives,฀the฀Chicago฀School฀dominated฀the฀field฀of฀urban฀studies฀for฀
most฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century฀(Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1997;฀Nijman฀2000).
Beginning฀ in฀ the฀ 1980s,฀ a฀ group฀ of฀ urban฀ scholars฀ began฀ to฀ challenge฀ the฀
conventional฀wisdom฀that฀the฀evolving฀urban฀landscape฀of฀the฀greater฀Los฀Angeles฀

metropolitan฀ region฀ was฀ a฀ notable฀ exception฀ to฀ the฀ rules฀ governing฀ process฀ of฀
urbanisation฀in฀the฀contemporary฀United฀States.฀They฀argued฀instead฀that฀this฀vast,฀
sprawling฀ urban฀ polyglot฀ was฀ not฀ only฀ symptomatic฀ of฀ wider฀ sociogeographical฀
transformations฀ of฀ metropolitan฀ regions฀ throughout฀ the฀ United฀ States,฀ but฀ also฀
a฀ ‘prototype฀ of฀ our฀ urban฀ future’.
7
฀ Despite฀ their฀ loose฀ affiliations฀ and฀ somewhat฀
differing฀ orientations,฀ these฀ urban฀ theorists฀ became฀ known฀ as฀ the฀ ‘Los฀ Angeles฀
School’฀ (LA฀ School),฀ primarily฀ because฀ the฀ vast฀ urbanising฀ sprawl฀ of฀ southern฀
California฀was฀not฀only฀the฀site฀of฀much฀of฀their฀research฀but฀also฀the฀source฀of฀their฀
inspiration.฀ The฀ scholarly฀ literature฀ clustered฀ around฀ the฀ LA฀ School฀ is฀ filled฀ with฀
allusions฀ to,฀ and฀ suggestions฀ about,฀ the฀ paradigmatic฀ qualities฀ of฀ the฀ Los฀ Angeles฀
megalopolis.
8
฀ The฀ focal฀ point฀ of฀ the฀ LA฀ School฀ is฀ the฀ two-sided฀ claim฀ that฀ the฀
greater฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ metropolitan฀ region฀ not฀ only฀ is฀ emblematic฀ of฀ more฀ general฀
urban฀dynamics฀that฀are฀currently฀reshaping฀prominent฀cities฀around฀the฀world,฀but฀
also฀ represents฀ the฀ quintessential฀ exemplar฀ of฀ a฀ ‘“mature”฀ postmodern฀ landscape’฀
(Dear฀ 2000;฀ Dear฀ 2001;฀ Scott฀ 2000;฀ Scott฀ &฀ Soja฀ 1996;฀ Soja฀ 1989;฀ Soja฀ 1996;฀
Soja฀ 1999;฀ Soja฀2000).฀By฀making฀a฀strong฀‘case฀for฀moving฀Los฀Angeles฀from฀a฀
conceptual฀location฀as฀marginal฀aberration฀to฀one฀of฀explanatory฀centrality’฀(Crang฀
2001:฀666),฀leading฀LA฀School฀figures฀such฀as฀Michael฀Dear,฀Steven฀Flusty,฀Edward฀
Soja,฀Allen฀Scott,฀Michael฀Storper฀and฀others฀have฀self-consciously฀sought฀to฀define฀
an฀alternative฀theoretical฀orientation฀for฀urban฀studies,฀arguing฀that฀the฀new฀kinds฀of฀
urbanity฀that฀have฀evolved฀out฀of฀the฀greater฀Los฀Angeles฀metropolitan฀region฀have฀
rendered฀the฀research฀agenda฀of฀the฀Chicago฀School฀obsolete฀and฀outdated฀(Cenzatti฀
1993;฀Coquery-Vidrovitch฀2000;฀Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1997;฀Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1998;฀Dear฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
6

The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
7
2000;฀Dymski฀&฀Veitch฀1996;฀Flusty฀1994;฀Flusty฀1997;฀Jencks฀1996;฀Keil฀1990;฀
Keil฀1994;฀Keil฀1998;฀Krim฀1992;฀Scott฀&฀Soja฀1996;฀Soja฀1996;฀Soja฀1999;฀Soja฀
2000;฀Storper฀1999).
The฀dangers฀of฀facile฀generalisations฀
Just฀like฀the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach฀(with฀its฀focus฀on฀global฀urban฀hierarchies),฀the฀
LA฀School฀–฀with฀its฀stress฀on฀fragmentation฀and฀peripheral฀urbanisation,฀cultural฀
hybridisation฀and฀decentred฀suburban฀sprawl฀–฀has฀significantly฀reshaped฀the฀field฀
of฀urban฀studies.฀Nevertheless,฀whether฀or฀not฀the฀LA฀School฀offers฀a฀new฀kind฀of฀
path฀breaking฀analysis฀for฀studying฀urban฀developments฀around฀the฀world฀has฀been฀
the฀subject฀of฀intense฀debate.
9
฀To฀be฀sure,฀uncritically฀applying฀the฀insights฀derived฀
from฀the฀LA฀School฀and฀postmodern฀urbanism฀to฀all฀cities฀around฀the฀world฀may฀be฀
not฀only฀overextending฀what฀this฀conceptual฀framework฀can฀reasonably฀be฀expected฀
to฀account฀for,฀but฀also฀unnecessarily฀conflating฀divergent฀processes฀of฀‘city฀building’฀
linked฀to฀historically฀specific฀social฀and฀material฀circumstances,฀and฀flattening฀out฀the฀
rich฀diversity฀of฀what฀constitutes฀the฀urban฀experience.฀Indeed,฀the฀term฀‘postmodern฀
urbanism’฀ has฀ been฀ invoked฀ in฀ analyses฀ of฀ cities฀ that฀ are฀ as฀ radically฀ different฀ as฀
Kuala฀Lumpur,฀Las฀Vegas,฀Los฀Angeles,฀Phoenix฀and฀Buenos฀Aires.฀To฀avoid฀such฀
homogenising฀tendencies฀that฀collapse฀a฀variety฀of฀heterogeneous฀experiences฀arising฀
from฀very฀different฀historical฀processes,฀it฀is฀necessary฀to฀begin฀with฀understanding฀
that฀the฀revanchist฀features฀of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀are฀never฀simply฀imposed,฀as฀
part-and-parcel฀of฀the฀current฀phase฀ of฀globalisation,฀on฀unsuspecting฀cities฀ ‘from฀
above’฀ and฀ ‘from฀ outside’฀ without฀ the฀ active฀ participation฀ of฀ local฀ agents฀ on฀ the฀
ground.฀What฀postmodern฀urbanism฀really฀means฀(i.e.฀the฀historically฀specific฀form฀
that฀it฀takes฀in฀particular฀cities)฀must฀be฀teased฀out฀on฀the฀basis฀of฀the฀analysis฀of฀
specific฀ historical฀ and฀ social฀ circumstances,฀ for฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ is฀ everywhere฀ the฀
product฀ of฀ the฀ historically฀ specific฀ intersection฀ of฀ global฀ processes,฀ trends฀ and฀

relations฀that฀come฀together฀in฀local฀settings.
10
In฀response฀to฀the฀aggrandising,฀universalising฀claims฀that฀the฀urban฀form฀of฀Los฀
Angeles฀ is฀ the฀ paradigmatic฀ exemplar฀ of฀ current฀ urban฀ developments฀ around฀ the฀
world,฀ numerous฀ urban฀ theorists฀ have฀ cautioned฀ against฀ ‘the฀ dangers฀ of฀ common฀
generalisations’฀ or,฀ more฀ precisely,฀ the฀ alluring฀ temptation฀ to฀ adopt฀ uncritically฀
the฀model฀of฀‘postmodern฀urbanism’฀as฀the฀template฀with฀which฀to฀assess฀critically฀
evolving฀spatial฀forms฀of฀contemporary฀cities฀around฀the฀world.฀These฀scholars฀argue฀
persuasively฀ that฀the฀causes฀and฀spatial฀consequences฀of฀growing฀urban฀inequality฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
8
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
9
‘run฀deeper฀than฀the฀overarching฀process฀of฀globalisation’.฀Alternatively,฀they฀suggest฀
that฀political฀meditations,฀local฀contingencies฀and฀path฀dependencies฀carry฀significant฀
weight฀in฀bringing฀about฀the฀variation฀in฀the฀spatial฀contours฀of฀particular฀cities.
11
฀
While฀ theorists฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ typically฀ portray฀ cities฀ as฀ fragmented,฀
partitioned฀and฀precarious,฀Beauregard฀and฀Haila฀stress฀the฀persistence฀of฀continuities฀
in฀ urban฀ landscapes.฀ In฀ their฀ view,฀ ‘the฀ past฀ is฀ transformed;฀ it฀ is฀ not฀ obliterated’.฀
The฀spatial฀form฀of฀the฀city฀has฀changed,฀‘but฀not฀enough฀to฀support฀claims฀for฀an฀
undiluted฀postmodern฀or฀even฀post-Fordist฀spatiality’฀ (Beauregard฀ &฀Haila฀2000:฀
22–23).฀Similarly,฀Janet฀Abu-Lughod฀argues฀convincingly฀that฀‘generalisations฀that฀
have฀been฀advanced฀as฀ “new฀theories”฀about฀global฀cities,฀while฀persuasive฀on฀the฀
surface,฀are฀of฀only฀limited฀value฀in฀explaining฀variations฀between฀and฀within฀specific฀
urban฀places’.฀In฀warning฀against฀what฀she฀calls฀‘facile฀generalisations’,฀she฀contends฀
that฀global฀forces฀‘always฀interact฀with฀preexisting฀conditions฀on฀the฀ground฀to฀yield฀
consequences฀that฀are฀quite฀place฀and฀class฀specific’฀(Abu-Lughod฀1999:฀400,฀412,฀

417).
Expressed฀succinctly,฀a฀significant฀number฀of฀urban฀theorists฀have฀reacted฀against฀
the฀tendency฀in฀both฀the฀‘global฀ cities’฀ and฀LA฀School฀to฀let฀a฀ city฀ (whether฀it฀is฀
London,฀New฀York,฀Tokyo฀or฀ Los฀ Angeles)฀become฀a฀theory฀(Crang฀2001:฀ 665–
669).฀There฀is฀an฀inherent฀danger฀of฀assuming฀uni-directional,฀generic฀patterns฀of฀
urban฀transformation฀from฀such฀‘paradigmatic’฀cities.฀One฀must฀be฀sensitive฀to฀the฀
warning฀that฀‘evocation฀cannot฀always฀be฀a฀substitute฀for฀systematic฀analysis’฀(Amin฀
&฀ Thrift฀2002;฀Thrift฀1999).฀Put฀in฀another฀way,฀what฀is฀needed฀are฀not฀ready-
made,฀ deductive฀ urban฀ theories฀ that฀ employ฀ ‘covering฀ laws’฀ to฀ generalise฀ across฀
cases,฀but฀a฀kind฀of฀genuine฀theoretical฀openness฀and฀flexibility฀that฀seeks฀through฀
comparison฀and฀contrast฀to฀account฀for฀the฀historical-spatial฀specificity฀of฀particular฀
cities.฀In฀a฀similar฀vein,฀Jennifer฀Robinson฀has฀raised฀strong฀objections฀to฀what฀she฀
refers฀to฀as฀those฀‘fashionable฀approaches’฀in฀the฀field฀of฀urban฀studies฀–฀she฀specifies฀
the฀‘global฀cities’฀approach,฀but฀her฀point฀would฀hold฀true฀for฀the฀LA฀School฀as฀well฀
–฀that฀presume฀to฀ground฀‘urban฀theory’฀on฀the฀experiences฀and฀histories฀of฀western฀
cities.฀In฀calling฀for฀a฀broadening฀of฀the฀scope฀of฀inquiry฀that฀looks฀at฀cities฀‘off฀the฀
map’,฀ she฀ advocates฀ the฀ creation฀ of฀ genuinely฀ ‘cosmopolitan,฀ postcolonial฀ urban฀
studies’฀that฀focus฀on฀‘understanding฀the฀diversity฀of฀urban฀experiences’฀in฀ordinary฀
cities฀ located฀ around฀ the฀ globe฀ (Dick฀ &฀ Rimmer฀ 1998;฀ Grant฀ &฀ Nijman฀ 2002;฀
Robinson฀2002).
A฀useful฀starting฀point฀for฀building฀this฀cosmopolitan,฀postcolonial฀approach฀to฀
urban฀studies฀might฀be฀to฀identify฀and฀highlight฀some฀of฀the฀more฀visible฀features฀
of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀that฀have฀materialised฀in฀many฀cities฀in฀the฀global฀north฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
8
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
9
and฀south.฀There฀is฀a฀growing฀body฀of฀scholarly฀work฀warning฀of฀the฀expansion฀of฀
‘fortified’,฀authoritarian฀or฀revanchist฀urban฀landscapes,฀characterised฀by฀the฀partition฀

of฀cities฀into฀gentrified฀‘renaissance฀sites’฀of฀privatised฀luxury,฀on฀the฀one฀hand,฀and฀
impoverished฀spaces฀of฀confinement฀where฀the฀poor,฀the฀‘socially฀excluded’,฀and฀the฀
homeless฀ are฀ forced฀ to฀ survive,฀ on฀ the฀ other฀ (MacLeod฀ 2002;฀ MacLeod฀ &฀ Ward฀
2002;฀ Mitchell฀ 2001;฀ Robins฀ 1993).฀ Neil฀ Smith,฀ for฀ example,฀ goes฀ so฀ far฀ as฀ to฀
argue฀that฀the฀gentrification฀of฀urban฀space฀–฀one฀of฀the฀principal฀characteristics฀of฀
revanchist฀urbanism฀–฀‘is฀now฀virtually฀global.฀Its฀evolution฀has฀been฀both฀vertical฀
and฀ lateral’฀ (Smith฀ 2002).฀ The฀ experiences฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ are฀ highly฀
varied฀ and฀ unevenly฀ distributed฀ in฀ cities฀ around฀ the฀ world.฀ The฀ spatial฀ dynamics฀
associated฀ with฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ spring฀ from฀ historically฀ specific฀ situations,฀
quite฀ assorted฀ local฀ economies฀ and฀ sociocultural฀ ensembles,฀ and฀ they฀ connect฀ in฀
many฀ complicated฀ ways฀ to฀ wider฀ regional฀ and฀ global฀ political฀ economies.฀ The฀
important฀point฀here฀is฀the฀rapid฀pace฀of฀the฀evolution฀of฀the฀spatial฀dynamics฀that฀
undergird฀postmodern฀urbanism฀as฀initially฀marginal฀features฀of฀the฀urban฀landscape฀
and฀ their฀ ongoing฀ transformation฀ into฀ a฀ significant฀ dimension฀ of฀ contemporary฀
urbanism฀on฀a฀global฀scale.฀The฀exponential฀expansion฀of฀such฀fortified฀enclaves฀as฀
gated฀residential฀communities,฀enclosed฀shopping฀malls,฀cocooned฀office฀complexes฀
and฀luxury฀entertainment฀sites฀offers฀a฀globally฀tested฀mechanism฀for฀the฀propertied฀
middle฀classes฀to฀insulate฀themselves฀from฀the฀threats฀–฀real฀or฀imagined฀–฀to฀their฀
physical฀security฀and฀sense฀of฀well-being.฀This฀kind฀of฀city฀building฀not฀only฀follows฀
the฀prescription฀of฀the฀neo-liberal฀vision฀of฀the฀entrepreneurial฀city,฀but฀is฀also฀part-
and-parcel฀ of฀ revanchist฀ urbanism฀ where฀ the฀ defence฀ of฀ life฀ style฀ and฀ privilege฀ is฀
governed฀by฀the฀spatial฀logic฀of฀exclusion,฀intolerance฀and฀insularity฀(Webster฀2001;฀
Webster,฀Glasze฀&฀Frantz฀2002).฀The฀referential฀role฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀has฀
featured฀prominently฀in฀the฀‘city฀building’฀efforts฀of฀aspirant฀world฀class฀cities฀that฀
rapidly฀ diffused฀ across฀ the฀ global฀ landscape฀ over฀ the฀ past฀ several฀ decades.฀ What฀
needs฀to฀be฀investigated฀is฀how฀ordinary฀cities฀–฀and฀this฀category฀includes฀aspirant฀
world-class฀cities,฀‘late฀developing฀cities’,฀postcolonial฀cities฀and฀‘third฀world฀cities’฀
–฀adopt,฀borrow,฀pillage,฀incorporate,฀mimic฀and฀flaunt฀the฀characteristic฀features฀of฀
postmodern฀urbanism.฀
The฀enchanting฀spell฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism:฀฀Johannesburg฀and฀

São฀Paulo฀as฀exemplars฀in฀extremis฀The฀bulk฀of฀the฀research฀conducted฀by฀
the฀practitioners฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀has฀been฀confined฀to฀case฀studies฀of฀the฀
greater฀Los฀Angeles฀metropolitan฀region,฀and฀there฀are฀few฀studies฀that฀actually฀apply฀
its฀ ambitious฀ agenda฀ for฀ research฀ to฀ other฀ urban฀ areas.฀ While฀ some฀ scholars฀ have฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
10
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
11
subjected฀‘late฀developing’฀cities฀like฀Miami฀and฀Las฀Vegas฀to฀the฀scrutinising฀lens฀of฀
postmodern฀urbanism,฀very฀few฀efforts฀have฀been฀made฀to฀extend฀the฀comparative฀
analysis฀of฀evolving฀urban฀forms฀to฀metropolitan฀playing฀fields฀outside฀the฀core฀areas฀
of฀ the฀ world฀ economy.
12
฀ In฀ acknowledging฀ these฀ deficiencies,฀ Michael฀ Dear฀ and฀
Steven฀Flusty฀have฀proposed฀that฀‘the฀validity฀and฀potential฀of฀the฀[LA]฀School฀will฀
only฀be฀decided฀after฀extensive฀comparative฀analysis฀based฀in฀other฀metropolitan฀areas฀
around฀the฀world’฀(Dear฀&฀Flusty฀1998:฀52).฀Widening฀our฀field฀of฀vision฀to฀include฀
processes฀of฀urbanisation฀ that฀are฀taking฀place฀in฀the฀shadows฀of฀North฀American฀
and฀European฀cosmopolitan฀worlds฀(cities฀‘off฀the฀map’,฀as฀Robinson฀metaphorically฀
puts฀it)฀enables฀us฀to฀grasp฀more฀fully฀evolving฀‘fields฀of฀force’฀that฀have฀shaped,฀and฀
are฀shaping,฀urban฀landscapes฀outside฀ the฀geographical฀circuits฀of฀such฀ ‘globalised฀
cities’฀ as฀ London,฀ New฀ York,฀ Tokyo,฀ Frankfurt,฀ Paris,฀ Berlin,฀ Chicago,฀ and฀ Los฀
Angeles.
13
฀Looking฀at฀the฀spatial฀dynamics฀of฀two฀aspirant฀world฀class฀cities฀–฀São฀
Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀–฀can฀help฀to฀shed฀ light฀ on฀ the฀more฀sinister,฀dystopian฀
aspects฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀as฀they฀evolve฀in฀urban฀social฀orders฀deeply฀divided฀
along฀ class,฀ race,฀ and฀ possibly฀ ethno-religious฀ lines.฀ If฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ represents฀ the฀
paradigmatic฀ exemplar฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism,฀then฀the฀sprawling฀metropolitan฀

landscapes฀of฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀become฀exaggerated฀variants฀of฀this฀
new฀kind฀of฀‘urbanity’฀–฀and฀ones฀that฀stand฀in฀stark฀contrast฀to฀modernist฀(or฀late฀
modernist)฀impulses฀that฀inspired฀efforts฀at฀city฀building฀in฀the฀past.
14
As฀ sprawling฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ that฀ both฀ originated฀ as฀ settler฀ outposts฀ at฀ what฀
Daniel฀Herwitz฀has฀called฀the฀‘margins฀of฀modernity’,฀Johannesburg฀and฀São฀Paulo฀
are฀ideal฀cases฀through฀which฀to฀illustrate฀the฀‘globalising’฀tendencies฀of฀postmodern฀
urbanism฀ (Herwitz฀ 1999).฀ Despite฀ their฀ different฀ histories,฀ their฀ dissimilar฀
geographical฀ locations,฀ regional฀ networks฀ and฀ local฀ affiliations,฀ and฀ their฀ peculiar฀
spatial฀configurations,฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀share฀common฀features฀with฀Los฀
Angeles,฀ the฀ paradigmatic฀ archetype฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism.
15
฀ As฀ classical฀ cases฀
of฀‘late฀blooming’฀cities฀that฀owed฀their฀early฀charmed฀existence฀to฀commodities฀in฀
demand฀elsewhere฀(gold฀in฀Johannesburg;฀coffee฀in฀São฀Paulo),฀both฀metropolitan฀
regions฀ experienced฀ accelerated฀ economic฀ growth฀ and฀ development฀ under฀ the฀
peculiar฀circumstances฀of฀what฀Ulrich฀Beck฀(2001)฀has฀called฀the฀‘second฀modernity’,฀
that฀is,฀the฀late฀modernist฀surge฀in฀‘city฀building’฀that฀failed฀to฀address฀basic฀structural฀
problems฀of฀urban฀joblessness,฀impoverishment,฀and฀deprivation.
16
฀
Likewise,฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg฀ have฀ exhibited฀ similar฀ patterns฀ of฀
socioeconomic฀ transformation฀ during฀ the฀ late฀ twentieth฀ century.฀ Once฀ heavily฀
reliant฀upon฀the฀concentration฀and฀centralisation฀of฀heavy฀industry,฀manufacturing฀
and฀related฀activities฀(transport,฀storage,฀warehousing)฀for฀their฀economic฀well-being,฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
10
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
11

both฀metropolitan฀regions฀have฀undergone฀similar฀processes฀of฀industrial฀restructuring฀
which฀have฀resulted฀in฀plant฀closures฀and฀the฀spatial฀dispersal฀of฀manufacturing฀sites,฀
the฀haemorrhage฀of฀jobs,฀labour฀redundancies,฀the฀‘informalisation’฀of฀labour฀markets฀
and฀the฀steady฀influx฀of฀new฀immigrants.฀Their฀transformation,฀from฀concentrated฀
centres฀ of฀ industry฀ and฀ manufacturing฀ into฀ service-oriented฀ sites฀ for฀ business฀ and฀
finance,฀represents฀instances฀of฀similar฀processes฀of฀world-historical฀trends฀that฀have฀
reshaped฀metropolitan฀regions฀over฀the฀past฀several฀decades.
17
Like฀ the฀ view฀ through฀ a฀ kaleidoscope,฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀ assumes฀ different฀
shapes฀and฀hues฀at฀different฀times฀and฀places,฀depending฀on฀the฀angle฀of฀vision฀and฀
the฀quality฀of฀light.฀At฀the฀risk฀of฀oversimplification,฀it฀is฀possible฀to฀identify฀five฀key฀
features฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀that฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀share฀in฀common.฀
While฀the฀dynamics฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀cannot฀be฀simply฀reduced฀to฀these฀static฀
elements,฀they฀nevertheless฀constitute฀its฀core฀elements.฀First,฀like฀other฀large฀cities฀
where฀the฀centrifugal฀forces฀of฀decentralisation,฀deindustrialisation฀and฀uncontrolled฀
suburban฀sprawl฀have฀reconfigured฀the฀urban฀landscape,฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀
have฀ experienced฀ similar฀ patterns฀ of฀ spatial฀ fragmentation฀ and฀ disaggregation,฀ or฀
what฀Stephen฀Graham฀has฀called฀the฀‘spectre฀of฀the฀splintering฀metropolis’฀(Graham฀
2001:฀365–368).฀In฀a฀full฀reversal฀of฀modernist-inspired฀city฀building,฀this฀process฀
of฀ peripheral฀ urbanisation,฀ or฀ the฀ ‘urbanisation฀ of฀ suburbia’,฀ involves฀ the฀ radical฀
inversion฀of฀the฀conventional฀relationship฀between฀concentrated฀urban฀core฀and฀low-
density฀suburban฀periphery,฀where฀central-place฀functions฀(corporate฀office฀buildings,฀
high-end฀shopping฀and฀commerce,฀and฀‘world-class’฀entertainment)฀are฀increasingly฀
dispersed฀amongst฀rival฀centres฀(or฀‘edge฀cities’).฀Second,฀the฀build฀environment฀in฀
São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg฀ consists฀ of฀ fortified฀ enclaves฀ with฀ distinctive฀ design฀
motifs฀that฀reflect฀‘siege฀architecture’.฀An฀erstwhile฀alliance฀of฀builders,฀architects฀and฀
property฀developers฀ have฀ come฀ together฀ to฀ inaugurate฀new฀ building฀types:฀ citadel฀
office฀complexes,฀enclosed฀shopping฀ malls฀and฀security฀ estates฀ scattered฀ across฀the฀
urban฀landscape.฀Third,฀the฀patterns฀of฀urban฀living฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀
correspond฀to฀what฀might฀be฀called฀precarious฀urbanisation,฀where฀extreme฀disparities฀

in฀wealth฀and฀income,฀class฀polarisation,฀along฀with฀rampant฀crime฀and฀the฀middle-
class฀fears฀that฀it฀engenders,฀have฀fostered฀heightened฀anxiety,฀insecurity฀and฀unease.฀
Middle-class฀urban฀residents฀have฀retreated฀en฀masse฀behind฀protective฀security฀barriers฀
of฀all฀kinds.฀Fourth,฀city฀managers,฀urban฀planners฀and฀local฀authorities฀in฀both฀São฀
Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀moved฀away฀from฀the฀modernist฀ideal฀where฀the฀goal฀
of฀urban฀planning฀is฀to฀foster฀the฀integration฀of฀the฀functional฀parts฀of฀the฀city฀into฀
an฀evolving฀organic฀whole,฀and฀have฀adopted฀instead฀new฀modes฀of฀urban฀governance฀
grounded฀in฀the฀principles฀of฀neo-liberalism.฀New฀kinds฀of฀‘privatised฀planning’฀have฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
12
replaced฀the฀grand฀ visionary฀schemes฀ of฀ high฀ modernism,฀ with฀ their฀emphasis฀ on฀
large-scale฀ urban฀renewal฀ projects,฀integrated฀transportation฀networks,฀open฀ spaces฀
for฀ social฀ congregation฀ and฀ wide฀ public฀ thoroughfares฀ bisecting฀ the฀ urban฀ grid.฀
The฀spatial฀ dynamics฀ of฀ postmodern฀ urbanism฀have฀ produced฀an฀urban฀ landscape฀
carved฀into฀fragments,฀disconnected฀‘micro-worlds’฀cut฀off฀from฀one฀another.฀Under฀
the฀ neo-liberal฀ mantra฀ of฀ ‘public-private฀ partnerships’,฀ municipal฀ authorities฀ have฀
experimented฀with฀new฀regulatory฀mechanisms฀of฀urban฀governance฀that฀cede฀the฀real฀
power฀of฀spatial฀management฀to฀private฀corporate฀entities฀which,฀in฀turn,฀establish฀
their฀own฀legally฀sanctioned฀‘rules฀of฀the฀game’฀that฀restrict฀entry฀to฀authorised฀users฀
only.฀ The฀ creation฀ of฀ these฀ ‘extra-territorial฀ spaces’฀ that฀ are฀ beyond฀ (and฀ outside)฀
public฀jurisdiction,฀management฀and฀control฀only฀contributes฀to฀social฀polarisation,฀
segregation฀and฀fragmentation฀of฀urban฀landscapes.฀Fifth,฀city฀managers฀in฀São฀Paulo฀
and฀Johannesburg฀have฀experimented฀with฀new฀kinds฀of฀urban฀law฀enforcement฀and฀
crime฀ prevention฀ that฀ involve฀ a฀ blurring฀ of฀ the฀ conventional฀ boundaries฀ between฀
public฀security฀and฀private฀policing.
18
Focusing฀on฀each฀of฀these฀characteristic฀features฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism฀in฀greater฀
detail฀as฀they฀can฀be฀found฀in฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀enables฀us฀to฀highlight฀
the฀ ‘globalising’฀ tendencies฀ of฀ a฀ new฀ kind฀ of฀ urban฀ form฀ that฀ finds฀ expression฀ in฀

particular฀cities.฀Investigating฀new฀kinds฀of฀urbanity฀on฀the฀geopolitical฀margins฀of฀
the฀world฀economy฀allows฀ us฀ to฀explore฀how฀the฀ spatial฀dynamics฀of฀postmodern฀
urbanism฀ both฀reproduce฀social฀inequalities฀but฀also฀legitimate฀class฀privilege฀ and฀
various฀kinds฀of฀social฀exclusion.฀The฀distinctive฀patterns฀of฀spatial฀segregation฀and฀
social฀exclusion฀that฀have฀evolved฀in฀Johannesburg฀and฀São฀Paulo฀do฀not฀make฀these฀
city฀ spaces฀ unique,฀ but฀ they฀ do฀ represent฀ exaggerated฀ examples฀ of฀ the฀ dystopian฀
dimensions฀of฀postmodern฀urbanism.
The฀spectre฀of฀the฀splintering฀metropolis
Albeit฀ in฀ different฀ ways,฀ the฀ historical฀ legacies฀ of฀ their฀ country’s฀ colonial฀ and฀
Eurocentric฀ heritage฀ are฀ deeply฀ embedded฀ in฀ the฀ urban฀ landscapes฀ of฀ both฀
Johannesburg฀ and฀ São฀ Paulo.
19
฀ In฀ both฀ places,฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ has฀ long฀ reflected฀
the฀ interests฀ and฀ preoccupations฀ of฀ settler฀ elites฀ wanting฀ to฀ inscribe฀ the฀ symbols฀
of฀ their฀ accumulated฀ power฀ in฀ the฀ built฀ environment฀ of฀ the฀ urban฀ fabric.฀ City-
builders,฀including฀property฀developers,฀real฀estate฀agencies,฀architects฀and฀designers,฀
urban฀ planners,฀ civil฀ engineers฀ and฀ municipal฀ authorities฀ in฀ both฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀
Johannesburg฀ have฀ borrowed,฀ copied฀ and฀ even฀ blatantly฀ plagiarised฀ architectural฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
12
styles,฀ design฀ features฀ and฀ ideas฀ from฀ leading฀ global฀ cities฀ in฀ Europe฀ and฀ North฀
America,฀ imposing฀ these฀ features฀ on฀ their฀ own฀ cityscapes฀ in฀ ways฀ that฀ fit฀ their฀
own฀ peculiar฀ needs฀ and฀ idiosyncratic฀ interests.฀ This฀ combination฀ of฀ mimicry,฀
appropriation฀and฀adaptation฀has฀produced฀contemporary฀urban฀landscapes฀in฀São฀
Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀that฀display฀remarkably฀similar฀features.
20
Unlike฀aspirant฀‘world-class’฀cities฀where฀structural฀or฀administrative฀impediments฀
have฀placed฀limits฀on฀uncontrolled฀urban฀sprawl,฀São฀Paulo฀and฀Johannesburg฀have฀
experienced฀ extensive฀ growth฀ and฀ development฀ where฀ the฀ city฀ boundaries฀ have฀

pushed฀ the฀ urban฀ frontier฀ further฀ away฀ from฀ the฀ traditional฀ urban฀ core.฀ Similar฀
to฀ such฀ cities฀ as฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ and฀ Las฀ Vegas,฀ the฀ built฀ environment฀ of฀ these฀ two฀
sprawling฀megalopolises฀exhibits฀the฀characteristic฀features฀of฀peripheral฀urbanisation,฀
exaggerated฀fragmentation฀and฀centreless฀sprawl.฀The฀disjointed,฀patchwork฀pattern฀
of฀ new฀ ‘city฀ building’฀ has฀ given฀ rise฀ to฀ what฀ Paul฀ Goldberger฀ has฀ aptly฀ called฀
‘urbanoid฀environments’:฀sealed-off฀private฀locations฀masquerading฀as฀sites฀of฀public฀
congregation฀ (Goldberger฀ 1996:฀ 135–147).฀ In฀ both฀ São฀ Paulo฀ and฀ Johannesburg,฀
municipal฀authorities,฀urban฀planners฀and฀city฀boosters฀seem฀intent฀on฀mortgaging฀
their฀city’s฀future฀as฀a฀‘globally฀competitive฀city’฀with฀advanced฀information฀technology฀
and฀financial฀service฀sectors,฀and฀a฀booming฀tourism฀industry฀enhanced฀with฀‘world-
class’฀hotels฀and฀convention฀centres.฀Urban฀space฀is฀divided฀between฀such฀fortified฀
enclaves฀as฀ citadel฀office฀complexes,฀gated฀ residential฀communities,฀enclosed฀malls,฀
festival฀marketplaces฀and฀other฀themed฀entertainment฀extravaganzas,฀and฀the฀empty฀
voids฀that฀separate฀them฀(Hannigan฀1998).฀The฀lucid,฀playful฀qualities฀of฀luxury฀sites฀
seem฀consciously฀designed฀to฀close฀off฀the฀gritty฀elements฀of฀city฀life,฀to฀block฀out฀the฀
distasteful,฀disreputable฀underside฀of฀urban฀poverty฀(Davis฀1985).฀
São฀ Paulo:฀ metropolitan฀ sprawl฀ and฀ territorial฀ exclusion฀ São฀ Paulo฀
is฀ a฀ sprawling฀ megalopolis฀ without฀ clearly฀ recognisable฀ boundaries,฀ a฀ vast฀ and฀
decentralised฀conurbation฀on฀the฀ boundless฀scale฀of฀Los฀Angeles,฀the฀greater฀New฀
York฀metropolitan฀region฀and฀Tokyo.฀With฀a฀bloated฀population฀of฀around฀15฀to฀
17฀million฀residents,฀it฀is฀the฀world’s฀third฀largest฀city฀and฀the฀largest฀in฀the฀southern฀
hemisphere.฀ Since฀ the฀ 1980s,฀ São฀ Paulo฀ has฀ become฀ increasingly฀ polycentric,฀
fragmenting฀ into฀ large,฀ geographically฀ dispersed฀ and฀ relatively฀ autonomous฀ nodal฀
points฀ (or฀ clustered฀ activity฀ areas)฀ scattered฀ across฀ the฀ fractured฀ urban฀ landscape.฀
The฀ historical฀ urban฀ core฀ has฀ emptied฀ out,฀ and฀ the฀ new฀ centres฀ that฀ have฀ come฀
into฀existence฀are฀little฀more฀than฀large฀commercial฀avenues฀with฀few฀public฀parks,฀
plazas฀and฀other฀open,฀congregating฀spaces.฀Unlike฀the฀modernist฀planning฀ideas฀that฀
framed฀the฀spatial฀landscape฀of฀Brasilia,฀whatever฀efforts฀were฀historically฀directed฀at฀
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
13

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Martin฀J฀Murray
14
15
comprehensive฀urban฀planning฀ in฀São฀Paulo฀ were฀always฀too฀ little,฀too฀late.
21
฀São฀
Paulo’s฀existing฀planning฀regulations฀date฀back฀to฀1972,฀when฀the฀city฀had฀about฀4.5฀
million฀inhabitants,฀well฀less฀than฀half฀the฀current฀population.฀The฀archaic฀zoning฀
regulations฀ have฀ allowed฀ urban฀ anarchy฀ to฀ rein฀ supreme฀ as฀ once฀ quiet฀ residential฀
streets฀have฀become฀commercial฀hubs฀without฀any฀consideration฀of฀traffic฀congestion฀
(Smith฀2003).฀Despite฀its฀humble฀colonial฀origins,฀the฀competitive฀advantages฀of฀São฀
Paulo฀became฀readily฀apparent฀during฀the฀regional฀coffee฀boom฀of฀the฀late฀nineteenth฀
century฀when฀the฀construction฀of฀railroads฀by฀British฀companies฀enabled฀the฀city฀to฀
become฀the฀chief฀point฀of฀trans-shipment฀for฀ the฀ lucrative฀ new฀cash฀crop.฀Profits฀
from฀the฀coffee฀trade฀were฀channeled฀ into฀ investments฀in฀industry฀and฀real฀estate฀
development,฀ transforming฀ São฀ Paulo฀ overnight฀ into฀ a฀ booming฀ commercial฀ and฀
manufacturing฀centre.฀
By฀the฀early฀twentieth฀century,฀São฀Paulo฀had฀become฀a฀virtual฀testing฀ground฀for฀
the฀conjoined฀effects฀of฀diversity฀and฀rapid฀expansion,฀absorbing฀more฀than฀a฀million฀
immigrants฀from฀abroad,฀mainly฀from฀southern฀Europe฀and฀Japan.฀The฀commercial-
industrial฀dominance฀of฀São฀Paulo฀was฀secured฀in฀the฀1930s,฀after฀President฀Vargas฀
initiated฀an฀ambitious฀programme฀of฀import-substitution฀industrialisation.฀During฀
the฀ late฀ 1950s฀ and฀ early฀ 1960s,฀ under฀ the฀ umbrella฀ of฀ the฀ 1956฀ Plano฀ de฀ Metas฀
(Development฀ Plan),฀ the฀ massive฀ injection฀ of฀ overseas฀ capital,฀ primarily฀ in฀ the฀
automobile฀industry,฀further฀consolidated฀the฀nationwide฀economic฀primacy฀of฀the฀
Greater฀São฀Paulo฀metropolitan฀region฀(Godfrey฀1991;฀Godfrey฀1999;฀Morse฀1958;฀
Toledo฀Silva฀2000).
The฀individualism,฀dynamic฀spirit,฀and฀desire฀for฀instant฀wealth฀that฀energised฀the฀
urban฀elite฀found฀concrete฀expression฀in฀the฀approach฀to฀city฀building,฀where฀real฀

estate฀developers฀and฀property฀owners฀seem฀to฀have฀paid฀little฀attention฀to฀historical฀
preservation฀ or฀ cultural฀ heritage.฀ The฀ dizzying฀ pace฀ of฀ urban฀ redevelopment฀ over฀
the฀course฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century฀prompted฀BL฀Toledo฀to฀refer฀to฀São฀Paulo฀as฀
‘three฀cities฀in฀a฀century’฀(Toledo฀1983:฀12).฀The฀redevelopment฀of฀the฀historical฀city฀
centre฀began฀in฀the฀1910s,฀about฀a฀decade฀after฀Rio฀de฀Janeiro฀began฀to฀widen฀streets฀
through฀the฀widespread฀destruction฀of฀corticos.฀This฀traditional฀centre฀is฀located฀at฀
the฀ intersection฀ of฀ the฀ two฀ main฀ rivers฀ (the฀ Anhangabau฀ and฀ the฀ Tamanduatei),฀
and฀between฀the฀old฀industrial฀areas฀in฀the฀east฀and฀northeast,฀and฀the฀high-income฀
southwestern฀ residential฀ zones.฀ In฀ 1929,฀ future฀ Mayor฀ Pretes฀ Maya฀ unveiled฀
his฀ influential฀ Plano฀ de฀ Avenida฀ (Boulevard฀ Plan),฀ an฀ ambitious฀ urban฀ renewal฀
programme฀that฀provided฀a฀blueprint฀for฀transforming฀the฀urban฀landscape฀of฀São฀
Paulo฀to฀conform฀to฀the฀conventional฀urban฀morphology฀of฀an฀‘industrial-commercial฀
metropolis’,฀ featuring฀ homogeneous฀ districts฀ that฀ were฀ ‘arranged฀ concentrically฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
14
15
around฀a฀compact฀commercial฀core’฀(James฀1933).฀Large-scale฀demolition฀of฀older฀
buildings,฀ redevelopment฀ of฀ overcrowded฀ commercial฀ zones,฀ and฀ the฀ opening฀
of฀ major฀ avenues฀ and฀ new฀ transportation฀ lines฀ facilitated฀ the฀ development฀ of฀ a฀
burgeoning฀ office฀ and฀ commercial฀ district฀ in฀ the฀ traditional฀ downtown฀ centre.฀
The฀imposing฀Martinelli฀building,฀the฀city’s฀first฀genuine฀skyscraper฀located฀in฀the฀
traditional฀downtown,฀is฀a฀visible฀expression฀of฀this฀modernist฀impulse฀that฀defined฀
city฀building฀until฀the฀1960s.฀In฀outlying฀areas฀serviced฀by฀trains฀and฀streetcars,฀real฀
estate฀speculation฀spurred฀new฀residential฀housing฀developments฀in฀what฀amounted฀
to฀an฀initial฀suburbanisation฀(Kowarick฀&฀Ant฀1994).
In฀the฀first฀decades฀after฀World฀War฀II,฀São฀Paulo฀experienced฀yet฀another฀round฀of฀
spatial฀restructuring,฀triggered฀by฀such฀centrifugal฀forces฀as฀urban฀renewal,฀automobile฀
transportation,฀ peripheral฀ industrialisation,฀ retail฀ development฀ and฀ suburbanisation.฀
The฀ construction฀of฀the฀extensive฀freeway฀and฀subway฀systems฀encourage฀new฀areas฀

of฀peri-urban฀expansion฀in฀ peripheral฀ areas฀ beyond฀ the฀ city฀limits.฀ The฀fashionable฀
residential฀ district฀ that฀ had฀ developed฀ along฀ the฀ Avenida฀ Paulista฀ in฀ the฀ 1920s฀
succumbed฀to฀urban฀densification,฀as฀mansions฀gave฀way฀to฀office฀buildings฀of฀banks,฀
financial฀ services฀and฀ other฀ businesses.฀With฀ the฀ development฀ of฀this฀new฀ financial฀
district,฀the฀central-southwestern฀neighbourhoods฀of฀Jardim฀America,฀Jardim฀Europa฀
and฀Jardim฀Paulista฀were฀planned฀as฀modern฀‘garden฀suburbs’฀(Godfrey฀1999).
In฀the฀late฀1960s฀and฀early฀1970s,฀the฀city฀once฀again฀experienced฀the฀massive฀influx฀
of฀people,฀as฀millions฀of฀internal฀migrants฀drawn฀from฀the฀country’s฀hardscrabble,฀
drought-ridden฀northeast฀sought฀a฀better฀life฀in฀the฀rapidly฀industrialising฀southeast.฀
Urban฀ planning฀ has฀ been฀ unable฀ to฀ offer฀ any฀ consistent฀ programme฀ to฀ deal฀ with฀
explosive฀population฀growth,฀the฀demands฀of฀infrastructural฀improvements฀and฀the฀
rapid฀spread฀of฀shantytowns฀on฀the฀city’s฀outskirts,฀particularly฀in฀the฀eastern฀zone฀
(Romero฀2000a;฀Schiffer฀2002;฀Wilheim฀1984).฀Over฀the฀past฀several฀decades,฀the฀
conjoined฀ processes฀ of฀ economic฀ restructuring,฀ deindustrialisation฀ of฀ the฀ central฀
core฀ and฀ spatial฀ decentralisation฀ of฀ residence฀ and฀ commerce฀ have฀ led฀ to฀ an฀ even฀
more฀ complex฀ and฀ distorted฀ morphology฀ of฀ the฀ Greater฀ São฀ Paulo฀ metropolitan฀
region.฀Once฀the฀industrial฀and฀manufacturing฀heartland฀of฀the฀country,฀São฀Paulo฀
has฀experienced฀a฀steady฀ flight฀of฀industry,฀first฀to฀the฀industrial฀suburbs,฀then฀to฀
a฀broad฀zone฀within฀a฀radius฀of฀at฀least฀180฀from฀the฀central฀downtown฀core,฀and฀
now฀ to฀ neighbouring฀ states฀ and฀ regions.฀ The฀ once฀ compact฀ downtown฀ core฀ has฀
metamorphosised฀ into฀ two฀ primary฀ nodes:฀ the฀ traditional฀ central฀ business฀ district฀
near฀the฀Praca฀da฀Republica฀and฀the฀new฀financial฀district฀along฀the฀Avenida฀Paulista.฀
Along฀with฀several฀import฀satellite฀zones,฀these฀primary฀nodes฀have฀become฀centres฀
not฀ of฀ industry฀ but฀ of฀ high-rise฀ office฀ buildings฀ catering฀ to฀ banking,฀ insurance,฀
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
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Martin฀J฀Murray
16
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
17

finance฀ and฀ producer฀ services,฀ transport฀ and฀ telecommunications,฀ commerce฀ and฀
trade,฀and฀advertising฀with฀a฀distinct฀multinational฀slant.฀In฀a฀trend฀similar฀to฀that฀
in฀North฀America,฀the฀outlying฀affluent฀areas฀have฀increasingly฀attracted฀commerce,฀
retail฀ and฀ leisure฀ activities฀ away฀ from฀ the฀ traditional฀ downtown฀ core.฀ At฀ least฀ 15฀
major฀ shopping฀ malls฀ have฀ been฀ constructed฀ outside฀ the฀ urban฀ core,฀ especially฀
in฀ the฀ prosperous฀ Zona฀ Sul฀ in฀ the฀ southwestern฀ zone,฀ where฀ the฀ most฀ prestigious฀
centres฀(Iguanemi,฀Ibirapuera,฀Morumbi฀and฀El฀Dorado)฀are฀located฀(De฀Magalhaes฀
1999;฀Godfrey฀1999).฀This฀decentralised฀ spatial฀ pattern฀has฀come฀to฀resemble฀ the฀
North฀American฀model฀of฀distinct฀‘urban฀realms’,฀where฀peripheral฀urbanisation฀has฀
triggered฀the฀proliferation฀of฀relatively฀autonomous฀and฀dispersed฀activity฀areas฀(what฀
Joel฀Garreau฀has฀called฀‘edge฀cities’)฀scattered฀throughout฀ the฀ metropolitan฀ region฀
(Garreau฀1991;฀Vance฀1990).
By฀holding฀a฀magnifying฀glass฀up฀to฀view฀a฀city’s฀traffic฀flow,฀it฀is฀possible฀to฀begin฀
to฀understand฀its฀distorted฀morphological฀character.฀In฀São฀Paulo,฀what฀one฀sees฀is฀
unmitigated,฀chaotic฀urban฀sprawl.฀Traffic฀congestion฀is฀an฀unanticipated฀by-product฀
of฀the฀arbitrary฀growth฀and฀haphazard฀expansion฀of฀the฀urban฀landscape.฀Over฀the฀
decades,฀ city฀ streets฀ were฀ never฀ sufficiently฀ enlarged฀ to฀ accommodate฀ the฀ swelling฀
population฀of฀millions฀of฀migrants฀who฀have฀come฀to฀São฀Paulo฀in฀search฀of฀work.฀
Whatever฀alterations฀were฀made฀to฀the฀physical฀landscape฀to฀permit฀new฀patterns฀of฀
circulation฀were฀directly฀related฀to฀the฀new฀economic฀activities฀and฀the฀new฀lifestyles฀
of฀ middle-class฀ residents฀ instead฀ of฀ the฀ marginalised฀ majority฀ (Godfrey฀ 1999;฀
Vasconcellos฀1997).฀The฀subway฀system฀can฀barely฀handle฀a฀fraction฀of฀the฀demand,฀
and฀an฀efficient฀freeway฀system฀remains฀a฀distant฀dream.฀The฀urban฀layout฀resembles฀
Los฀Angeles,฀because฀of฀its฀sheer฀horizontal฀breadth,฀and฀Manhattan,฀because฀of฀its฀
dense฀clusters฀of฀skyscrapers.฀But฀the฀crazy-quilt฀pattern฀of฀the฀clogged฀and฀narrow฀
streetscape฀makes฀navigating฀the฀urban฀landscape฀a฀sheer฀nightmare฀(Godfrey฀1999;฀
Romero฀2000a;฀Romero฀2000b).
São฀Paulo฀was฀not฀always฀a฀city฀of฀such฀extremes.฀In฀1960,฀before฀an฀estimated฀46฀
million฀Brazilians฀left฀rural฀areas฀for฀cities฀in฀a฀four-decade฀migration฀that฀was฀one฀of฀
the฀largest฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century,฀São฀Paulo฀was฀a฀relatively฀calm,฀sedate฀city฀of฀3.7฀

million฀residents฀with฀income฀disparities฀not฀nearly฀as฀skewed฀as฀they฀have฀become.฀An฀
extensive฀network฀of฀trolleys฀and฀buses,฀along฀with฀only฀164,000฀private฀automobiles,฀
provided฀ for฀ a฀ relatively฀ fluid฀ transportation฀ system.฀ Yet฀ by฀ the฀ beginning฀ of฀ the฀
twenty-first฀ century,฀ the฀ number฀ of฀ private฀ automobiles฀ has฀ ballooned฀ to฀ roughly฀
5.1฀ million฀ in฀ the฀ Greater฀ São฀ Paulo฀ metropolitan฀ region,฀ with฀ an฀ estimated฀ 600฀
new฀ vehicles฀ added฀ daily,฀ and฀ 180,000฀ ฀ kilometers฀ of฀ streets.฀ If฀ Los฀ Angeles฀ was฀
the฀first฀city฀whose฀ distorted฀shape฀owes฀its฀ existence฀to฀the฀automobile,฀ then฀São฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
16
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
17
Paulo฀cannot฀be฀far฀behind.฀The฀lack฀of฀adequate฀investment฀ in฀infrastructure฀has฀
resulted฀ in฀ daily฀ gridlock฀ and฀ mounting฀ ‘road฀ rage’฀ assaults.฀ For฀ urban฀ residents,฀
daily฀commutes฀from฀home฀to฀work฀and฀back฀again฀can฀last฀as฀long฀as฀three฀hours฀
each฀trip.฀The฀problem฀is฀not฀one฀of฀vast฀distances,฀but฀agonisingly฀slow฀traffic.฀The฀
public฀transportation฀system฀is฀woefully฀inadequate฀to฀cater฀for฀the฀demands฀placed฀
on฀it฀to฀carry฀passengers.฀The฀subway฀system฀is฀smaller฀than฀the฀one฀in฀Washington฀
DC฀while฀serving฀a฀population฀four฀times฀as฀large.฀2.5฀million฀passengers฀saturate฀its฀
three฀lines฀each฀day.฀In฀contrast,฀New฀York฀City฀has฀25฀subway฀lines฀that฀carry฀4.3฀
million฀passengers.฀In฀São฀Paulo,฀about฀3.7฀million฀residents฀make฀use฀of฀the฀city฀bus฀
system฀each฀day.฀Riding฀the฀city’s฀10,400฀buses฀is฀not฀only฀uncomfortable,฀but฀also฀
often฀dangerous,฀because฀of฀the฀high฀risk฀of฀robberies.฀As฀a฀popular฀alternative,฀an฀
army฀of฀illicit฀minivans฀transports฀twice฀that฀number฀along฀the฀haphazard฀grid฀of฀city฀
streets฀(Agostini฀1999;฀Romero฀1999a;฀Romero฀2000b;฀Rotella฀2001).
Johannesburg฀untamed:฀the฀post-liberal฀city฀after฀apartheid฀Despite฀
its฀declining฀significance฀as฀the฀country’s฀premier฀financial฀and฀business฀centre,฀the฀
embattled฀Johannesburg฀urban฀core฀anchors฀a฀geographically฀disfigured฀metropolitan฀
region฀ of฀ enormous฀ economic฀ and฀ social฀ contrasts฀ (Beall,฀ Crankshaw฀ &฀ Parnell฀
2002;฀ Beavon฀ 1998;฀ Tomlinson,฀ Beauregard,฀ Bremner฀ &฀ Mangcu฀ 2003).฀ The฀

spatial฀morphology฀of฀the฀extended฀metropolitan฀ region฀ has฀polarised฀around฀two฀
compartmentalised฀extremes:฀on฀the฀one฀hand,฀the฀spaces฀of฀affluence฀are฀healthy,฀
functional฀and฀largely฀the฀exclusive฀preserve฀of฀the฀white฀upper-฀and฀middle-classes;฀
on฀ the฀ other,฀the฀overcrowded฀spaces฀of฀confinement฀are฀distressed,฀dysfunctional฀
and฀where฀the฀overwhelming฀majority฀of฀black฀urban฀residents฀live฀and฀work.฀The฀
most฀ luxurious฀ suburbs฀ on฀ the฀ African฀ continent฀ and฀ downtown฀ skyscrapers฀ of฀
glimmering,฀ iridescent฀ modernity฀ coexist฀ with฀ sprawling฀ townships฀ and฀ makeshift฀
shantytowns฀of฀intentionally฀degraded฀living฀environments,฀poor฀infrastructure฀and฀
anaemic฀social฀amenities฀(Beavon฀1992;฀Mabin฀1995;฀Saff฀1991).
Over฀ the฀ past฀ several฀ decades,฀ two฀ intertwined฀ processes,฀ operating฀ in฀ tandem,฀
have฀ restructured฀ the฀ urban฀ field฀ of฀ the฀ sprawling฀ Johannesburg฀ megalopolis.฀ On฀
the฀one฀hand,฀the฀spatial฀dispersal,฀fragmentation฀and฀decentralisation฀of฀industrial,฀
manufacturing฀and฀commercial฀activities,฀and฀of฀residential฀populations,฀have฀pushed฀
the฀ city฀ boundaries฀ outward,฀ engulfing฀ vacant฀ lands฀ and฀ absorbing฀ surrounding฀
towns.฀ On฀ the฀ other,฀ the฀ intensive฀ agglomeration฀ of฀ polynucleated฀ clusters฀ of฀
corporate฀office฀complexes,฀retail฀shopping฀malls฀and฀leisure฀activities฀along฀the฀outer฀
perimeter฀ of฀ the฀ sprawling฀ metropolis฀ has฀ ‘urbanised’฀ the฀ periphery,฀ undercutting฀
the฀ once฀ dominant฀ location฀ of฀ the฀ Johannesburg฀ central฀ city.฀ The฀ Johannesburg฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
18
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
19
extended฀metropolitan฀region฀still฀remains฀centred฀on,฀but฀is฀no฀longer฀functionally฀
dependent฀upon,฀the฀primate฀urban฀core.฀The฀post-Fordist฀transformation฀in฀labour฀
organisation,฀the฀establishment฀of฀more฀flexible฀conditions฀of฀employment฀and฀the฀
insertion฀ of฀technically฀sophisticated฀telecommunications฀and฀data฀processing฀into฀
production฀processes฀allows฀larger฀service฀sector฀firms฀to฀optimise฀the฀geographical฀
location฀ of฀ their฀ offices฀ within฀ a฀ sprawling฀ metropolis฀ by฀ minimising฀ the฀ costs฀ of฀
rent,฀transportation,฀storage,฀and฀other฀operating฀expenses฀and฀by฀ maximising฀ the฀

efficiency฀of฀their฀spatial฀dispersal.฀These฀conjoined฀processes฀of฀spatial฀structuring฀
tend฀to฀form฀what฀can฀be฀called฀‘insular฀configurations’.฀In฀contrast฀to฀earlier฀spatial฀
expressions฀of฀divisions฀of฀labour,฀these฀new฀self-sustaining฀islands฀are฀site-specific,฀
yet฀ internally฀ highly฀ complex,฀ multifunctional฀ and฀ integrated฀ (Bremner฀ 2000;฀
Robinson฀1998;฀Saff฀1994).
The฀ steady฀ expansion฀ of฀ peripheral฀ urbanisation฀ and฀ the฀ secular฀ decline฀ of฀ the฀
Johannesburg฀central฀city฀have฀taken฀place฀synchronically.฀The฀clustering฀of฀mixed฀
commercial฀ and฀ residential฀ development฀ projects฀ on฀ the฀ urban฀ fringe฀ reinforces฀
the฀ existing฀ patterns฀ of฀ racial฀ segregation,฀ separating฀ social฀ groups฀ by฀ visual฀
boundaries,฀ growing฀ distances฀and฀such฀interdictory฀spatial฀features฀as฀walls,฀gates฀
and฀ checkpoints.฀ By฀ offering฀ new฀ housing,฀ shopping฀ and฀ other฀ services,฀ which฀ in฀
the฀past฀were฀only฀available฀closer฀to฀the฀city฀centre,฀places฀like฀Sandton,฀Hyde฀Park,฀
Midrand,฀ Sunninghill฀ and฀ Fourways฀ have฀ become฀ paradigmatic฀ exemplars฀ of฀ the฀
urbanisation฀ of฀ suburbia.฀ They฀ have฀ attracted฀ increased฀ concentrations฀ of฀ capital฀
investments,฀ including฀ light฀ industries฀ and฀ small-scale฀ manufacturing฀ operations;฀
headquarter฀ office฀ complexes฀ and฀ shopping฀ centres.฀ The฀ evolving฀ spatial฀ form฀ of฀
these฀ places฀ conforms฀ both฀ to฀ the฀ poetics฀ of฀ postmodern฀ design฀ and฀ the฀ politics฀
and฀economics฀of฀profit-oriented฀ development฀decisions.฀The฀visual฀appearance฀of฀
the฀‘urbanising’฀suburban฀zone฀falls฀into฀line฀with฀its฀real฀increase฀in฀significance฀as฀
an฀economic฀powerhouse฀and฀job฀machine฀(Beavon฀1997;฀Bremner฀1999;฀Bremner฀
2002;฀Tomlinson฀1999).
Fortress฀ enclaves฀ and฀ siege฀ architecture฀ The฀ spatial฀ dynamics฀ of฀ post-
modern฀ urbanism฀ promote฀ the฀ steady฀ expansion฀ of฀ social฀ polarisation฀ and฀ spatial฀
fragmentation,฀ or฀ what฀ urban฀ theorists฀ have฀ variously฀ referred฀ to฀ as฀ ‘dual฀ cities’,฀ ‘
fortress฀cities’,฀‘fragmented฀cities’,฀‘modular฀cities’,฀‘carceral฀cities’,฀‘revanchist฀cities’,฀
‘garrison฀cities’,฀‘layered฀cities’฀and฀‘walled฀cities’.
22
฀By฀cordoning฀off฀urban฀glamour฀
zones฀ (consisting,฀ in฀ the฀ main,฀ of฀ five-star฀ hotels,฀ fancy฀ restaurants,฀ glitzy฀ airports฀
and฀luxury฀entertainments)฀from฀the฀rest฀of฀the฀city,฀postmodern฀urbanism฀not฀only฀

condenses฀the฀intended฀and฀unintended฀spatial฀ consequences฀of฀‘siege฀architecture’,฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
18
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
19
but฀also฀transforms฀dwindling฀public฀spaces฀into฀battlegrounds฀where฀the฀urban฀poor฀
struggle฀ for฀ dignity฀ and฀ survival.฀ The฀ increasing฀ fortification฀ of฀ the฀ privileged฀ is฀ a฀
visible฀ symptom฀ of฀ the฀ intensification฀ of฀ spatial฀ fragmentation฀ and฀ the฀ continuing฀
disparities฀ of฀ wealth฀ and฀ income฀ where฀ urban฀ residents฀ are฀ polarised฀ between฀ the฀
extremes฀of฀the฀rich฀and฀frightened฀and฀the฀poor฀and฀desperate฀(Ellin฀1997;฀Flusty฀
1997;฀Ghirado฀1996).
Along฀ with฀ a฀ great฀ many฀ other฀ conventions฀ of฀ modernist฀ architectural฀ syntax฀
and฀ grammar,฀ the฀ postmodern฀ cityscape฀ abolishes฀ the฀ distinction฀ between฀ inside฀
and฀ outside,฀ between฀ centre฀ and฀ margin.฀ The฀ haphazard฀ patterns฀ of฀ postmodern฀
city฀building฀stand฀in฀stark฀contrast฀to฀the฀modernist฀ideal฀where฀the฀ultimate฀goal฀
of฀ urban฀ planning฀ is฀ to฀ foster฀ the฀ integration฀ of฀ functional฀ parts฀ into฀ an฀ evolving฀
organic฀ whole.฀ The฀ fortification฀ aesthetic฀ includes฀ not฀ only฀ ‘siege฀ architecture’,฀
where฀ protected฀ enclaves฀ are฀ cocooned฀ behind฀ walls,฀ barriers,฀ gates,฀ razor฀ wire,฀
electrified฀ fences,฀ burglar฀ alarms,฀ vicious฀ guard฀ dogs,฀ automated฀ metal฀ gates฀ and฀
motion-detection฀devices,฀but฀also฀ever-widening฀security฀apparatus฀that฀wraps฀the฀
cityscape฀ in฀ an฀ envelope฀ of฀ such฀ anonymous฀ monitoring฀ mechanisms฀ as฀ CCTV฀
surveillance฀cameras,฀digitalised฀access฀codes,฀X-ray฀scanners,฀‘neighbourhood฀watch’฀
groups฀ and฀ armed฀ security฀ guards฀ (Borden฀ 2000;฀ Davis฀ 1990;฀ Marcuse฀ 1997a).฀
In฀ cities฀ like฀ Johannesburg฀ and฀ São฀ Paulo,฀ insular฀ places฀ like฀ enclosed฀ shopping฀
malls,฀ festival฀ marketplaces฀ and฀ even฀ gigantic฀ citadel฀ office฀ complexes฀ (with฀ their฀
own฀self-contained฀shopping,฀service฀and฀entertainment฀venues)฀have฀become฀what฀
amounts฀to฀‘total฀spaces’,฀or฀‘complete฀micro-worlds’฀that฀separate฀themselves฀from฀
the฀ surrounding฀ cityscape฀ (Jameson฀ 1991).฀ Despite฀ the฀ claims฀ of฀ urban฀ vibrancy,฀
glamour,฀ and฀ luxury,฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ ‘world-class฀ sites’฀ like฀ upscale฀ malls,฀

luxury฀hotels,฀convention฀centres฀ and฀shoppertainment฀extravaganzas,฀has฀ come฀at฀
the฀expense฀of฀excluding฀the฀unwanted฀(Davis฀1992;฀Flusty฀1994;฀Marcuse฀1997a;฀
Marcuse฀1997b;฀Marcuse฀1997c).
São฀Paulo:฀฀‘defensive฀urbanism’฀as฀a฀way฀of฀life฀฀Creaking฀under฀political฀
mismanagement,฀ widespread฀ corruption฀ and฀ the฀ apathy฀ generated฀ by฀ decades฀ of฀
haphazard฀growth,฀it฀is฀a฀disorderly฀city฀seemingly฀at฀war฀with฀itself.฀Urban฀residents฀
who฀ can฀ afford฀ to฀ do฀ so฀ have฀ fled฀ crowded,฀ chaotic฀ and฀ crime-plagued฀ places฀ in฀
the฀ city,฀ and฀ have฀ found฀ refuge฀ in฀ the฀ cocooned฀ social฀ spaces฀ fashioned฀ out฀ of฀
fortified฀office฀buildings฀scattered฀across฀the฀fractured฀urban฀landscape,฀or฀in฀gated฀
communities,฀enclosed฀shopping฀malls฀and฀well-guarded฀country฀clubs฀on฀the฀peri-
urban฀fringe,฀especially฀the฀prosperous฀central-southwestern฀zone฀(Rolnik฀2001).฀In฀
contrast,฀the฀poor฀fend฀for฀themselves฀in฀monotonous฀rows฀of฀dilapidated฀high-rise฀
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Martin฀J฀Murray
20
21
apartment฀complexes฀or฀in฀the฀city’s฀teeming฀slums.฀Throughout฀the฀city,฀residents฀
are฀assaulted฀by฀a฀Blade฀Runner-like฀barrage฀of฀neon฀signs,฀massive฀television฀screens฀
and฀garish฀billboards.฀Even฀in฀one฀of฀São฀Paulo’s฀more฀exclusive฀districts,฀the฀Avenida฀
Brigadeiro฀Faria฀Lima,฀where฀stately฀office฀buildings,฀imposing฀investment฀banks฀and฀
information฀technology฀‘start-up’฀companies฀compete฀for฀limited฀space,฀an฀immense฀
Reuters฀screen฀constantly฀steams฀real-time฀updates฀of฀breaking฀news฀from฀around฀the฀
world.฀Above฀the฀disorderly฀cityscape,฀a฀wealthy฀elite฀flies฀over฀in฀their฀helicopters,฀
seemingly฀oblivious฀to฀the฀vast,฀pulsating฀centre฀of฀life฀that฀persists฀below.฀In฀terms฀
of฀its฀aesthetic฀attractiveness,฀it฀may฀be฀the฀ugliest฀large฀city฀in฀the฀world.฀But฀socially฀
and฀culturally,฀it฀is฀also฀very฀much฀alive฀(Faiola฀2002;฀Romero฀2000a).฀
São฀Paulo฀experienced฀an฀industrial฀boom฀over฀the฀past฀century,฀luring฀millions฀of฀
poor฀and฀landless฀people฀from฀the฀impoverished฀northeast฀to฀settle฀in฀the฀northeastern฀
‘growth฀ corridor’฀ connecting฀ São฀ Paulo฀ with฀ Rio฀ de฀ Janeiro฀ (Diniz฀ 1994).฀ These฀
recent฀arrivals฀ have฀ not฀only฀crowded฀ into฀slum฀areas฀close฀to฀ the฀ central฀city฀but฀

also฀ have฀ ringed฀ the฀ outskirts฀ with฀ squatter฀ settlements.฀ City฀ life฀ has฀ long฀ had฀ a฀
strong฀ appeal฀ to฀ the฀ rural฀ poor,฀ whose฀ hopes฀ for฀ socioeconomic฀ survival฀ lay฀ with฀
the฀seemingly฀diverse฀opportunities฀for฀casual,฀contingent฀work฀or฀ within฀the฀ever-
expanding฀ informal฀ economies฀ that฀ have฀ largely฀ replaced฀ formal฀ employment฀ for฀
those฀without฀skills.฀Most฀internal฀migrants฀have฀traded฀destitute฀rural฀lives฀for฀urban฀
misery,฀crowding฀into฀sprawling฀slums฀that฀have฀become฀dens฀ for฀gangs฀dealing฀in฀
drugs,฀ kidnapping฀ and฀ weapons.฀ Increasing฀ numbers฀ of฀ frightened฀ residents฀ have฀
responded฀to฀what฀they฀perceive฀as฀the฀urban฀chaos฀and฀disorder฀by฀abandoning฀the฀
public฀spaces฀of฀the฀city฀and฀retreating฀instead฀behind฀the฀protective฀confines฀of฀walls,฀
fortifications฀and฀barriers.฀The฀number฀of฀Brazilian฀urban฀residents฀who฀have฀moved฀
to฀American-style,฀gated฀communities฀has฀skyrocketed,฀doubling฀to฀one฀million฀over฀
the฀ past฀ five฀ years.฀Called฀ condominiums฀ exclusivos฀ or฀ condominiums฀ fechados,฀ these฀
artificial฀outposts฀of฀privilege฀consist฀of฀whole฀neighbourhoods฀of฀spacious฀houses฀set฀
in฀well-manicured,฀park-like฀settings,฀surrounded฀by฀high฀perimeter฀fences,฀equipped฀
with฀such฀technological฀devices฀as฀CCTV฀and฀protected฀by฀security฀patrols.฀In฀São฀
Paulo,฀the฀first฀such฀secured฀housing฀scheme฀was฀Alphaville,฀named,฀rather฀ironically,฀
after฀Jean-Luc฀Godard’s฀bleak฀1995฀film-noir฀classic฀about฀a฀futuristic฀city฀managed฀
by฀a฀tyrannical฀computer฀with฀a฀mind฀of฀its฀own.
23
฀
Located฀ in฀ the฀ northwestern฀ part฀ of฀ the฀ São฀ Paulo฀ metropolitan฀ region฀ and฀
only฀twelve฀kilometres฀(or฀45฀minutes฀by฀car)฀from฀the฀city฀centre,฀Alphaville฀is฀an฀
exemplary฀ expression฀ of฀ the฀ new฀ type฀ of฀ exclusive฀ housing฀ estate฀ catering฀ for฀ the฀
propertied฀middle฀class฀(Arizaga฀1999).฀Situated฀within฀the฀Barueri฀and฀Santana฀de฀
Parnaiba฀municipalities฀on฀the฀urban฀fringe฀and฀with฀an฀estimated฀32,000฀permanent฀
Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za
Martin฀J฀Murray
20
21
residents,฀it฀is฀one฀of฀the฀oldest฀gated฀residential฀communities฀in฀Latin฀America฀and฀

the฀ largest฀ in฀ São฀ Paulo.฀ It฀ is฀ surrounded฀ by฀ a฀ four-metre฀ high฀ cement฀ wall฀ and฀
barbed฀ wire฀ with฀ its฀ own฀ private฀ army฀ of฀ 1,100฀ well-armed฀ security฀ officers฀ who฀
screen฀all฀visitors,฀patrol฀the฀streets฀and฀maintain฀constant฀vigilance฀over฀suspicious฀
characters.฀Like฀the฀estimated฀300฀ other฀ such฀secured฀residential฀estates฀that฀ have฀
proliferated฀in฀the฀urban฀fringe,฀Alphaville฀is฀ truly฀ a฀ futuristic฀‘city-within-a-city’,฀
offering฀a฀sequestered฀refuge,฀an฀escape฀from฀the฀‘big฀city’฀and฀all฀its฀problems.฀It฀
is฀ an฀ enclosed,฀ self-sufficient฀ mini-universe฀ with฀ its฀ own฀ shopping฀ mall,฀ its฀ own฀
supermarkets฀and฀its฀own฀recreational฀facilities฀to฀accommodate฀its฀residents.฀Besides฀
the฀collective฀security฀provided฀for฀the฀enclosure฀as฀a฀whole,฀most฀homeowners฀have฀
hired฀private฀security฀personnel฀to฀guard฀their฀individual฀properties,฀which฀consist฀in฀
the฀main฀of฀either฀luxuriously฀equipped฀apartment฀complexes฀or฀exclusive฀homes฀on฀
spacious฀lots.฀The฀enclosed฀estate฀has฀three฀helipads฀and฀four฀entrances฀and฀exits;฀all฀
monitored฀24฀hours฀a฀day.฀Meticulously฀planned฀as฀a฀suburban฀Valhalla,฀Alphaville฀
is฀divided฀into฀distinct฀cells฀or฀specialty฀zones.฀Besides฀residential฀areas,฀the฀complex฀
also฀includes฀retail฀trade,฀office฀and฀service฀locations.฀As฀a฀consequence,฀during฀the฀
day,฀the฀population฀balloons฀to฀around฀130,000฀people.฀In฀2000,฀there฀were฀more฀
than฀1,400฀companies฀with฀office฀or฀commercial฀facilities฀in฀Alphaville,฀along฀with฀
several฀huge฀shopping฀centres,฀numerous฀private฀schools,฀a฀private฀university,฀diverse฀
leisure฀facilities฀(several฀cinema฀complexes,฀sports฀fields,฀and฀so฀forth)฀and฀a฀luxury฀
hotel฀with฀a฀connected฀business฀centre฀and฀retail฀shopping฀venue.฀Alphaville฀offers฀
a฀ self-sufficient,฀ segregated฀ luxury฀ housing฀ scheme฀ that฀ combines฀ an฀ ‘innovative’฀
lifestyle฀for฀the฀rich฀and฀very฀rich฀along฀with฀convenience฀and฀safety฀(Coy฀&฀Pohler฀
2002;฀De฀Lima฀Seabra฀1992).
Alphaville฀ promises฀ its฀ residents฀ a฀ high฀ standard฀ of฀ security฀ in฀ each฀ walled฀
residential฀compound฀with฀the฀help฀of฀such฀sophisticated฀security฀systems฀as฀access฀
control,฀hidden฀cameras฀and฀private฀guard฀services.฀In฀its฀15฀residential฀areas฀(called฀
residenciais),฀ surveillance฀ cameras฀ mounted฀ at฀ security฀ checkpoints฀ surreptitiously฀
record฀ the฀movements฀of฀all฀visitors.฀In฀the฀communal฀areas,฀ children฀ can฀ attend฀
well-guarded฀schools฀and฀enjoy฀afternoon฀sports฀on฀fenced-in฀fields฀that฀are฀carefully฀
monitored฀by฀private฀security฀guards฀dressed฀in฀military฀style฀black-clad฀uniforms.฀

In฀the฀evening,฀on฀‘TV฀ Alphaville’฀ (the฀only฀Brazilian฀cable฀network฀ restricted฀ to฀
a฀ private฀ housing฀ project),฀ residents฀ can฀ view฀ their฀ maids฀ leaving฀ the฀ compound฀
after฀work,฀when฀all฀exiting฀employees฀are฀physically฀searched฀in฀front฀of฀live฀video฀
cameras.฀The฀local฀gym,฀which฀specialises฀in฀self-defence฀classes,฀is฀called฀the฀CIA.฀To฀
enter฀the฀local฀shopping฀centre,฀customers฀must฀first฀pass฀through฀a฀guarded฀security฀
gate฀(Anonymous฀2001a;฀Carvalho,฀George฀&฀Anthony฀1997;฀Faiola฀2002).฀
The฀Evolving฀Spatial฀Form฀of฀Cities฀in฀a฀Globalising฀World฀Economy
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