MACAO’S CULTURE OF TIME AND SPACE澳門的時間與空間文化

The article investigates the “culture of time and space” in Macau, arguing that the territory’s urban identity and socio-cultural practices depend on a sensitive articulation between historical continuity and contemporary transformation. Departing from a reflection on recurring destruction and recon...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of Culture
Main Author: Paula Morais
Format: Articles
Published: Instituto Cultural de Macau July 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40031/3597
Description
Summary:The article investigates the “culture of time and space” in Macau, arguing that the territory’s urban identity and socio-cultural practices depend on a sensitive articulation between historical continuity and contemporary transformation. Departing from a reflection on recurring destruction and reconstruction in cities (including dynamics accelerated by recent technologies and policies), the author contends that the spatial erasure promoted by the territory’s current economic landscape has produced a perceptive and affective rupture: the loss of the physical fabric of the past reverberates in collective memories, patterns of coexistence, and the emergence of social tensions and urban protests, especially outside the historic center. Methodologically, the text articulates a critical theoretical reading of the city as language/spatial communication with an analysis of the effects of the accelerated replacement of the urban structure on the local “sense of history,” also considering the limits of heritage and planning policies. It concludes that Macau faces a growing division between urban heritage and a new “landscaping” of consumption and devastation, making it urgent to construct a coherent vision that avoids the production of historical simulacra and ensures conditions for long-term cultural survival.
ISSN:1682-1106