By bringing forward a theoretical framework that suggests that the whole world is urban, we are also raising many questions about its implications. How can we talk and dissect this urban carpet of a scale so colossal that we have not been able to even see it until just recently? How can we, as humans, reframe our existence within this world? What are the channels through which urban practices are distributed? Does Ecumenopolis have a conscience?

 

At this transitional stage in our urban world, we find that it is more important to raise these questions than to necessarily answer them. With METASITU: Ecumenopolis - The Whole World Is One City we wanted to create a viewpoint that could allow us to look back at the city and understand it as an absolute body—a seamless territory, an infrastructurally connected entity, and series of daily routines.

 

***This text first appeared on the exhibition catalogue, and was edited by Eszter Szakacs and Nick Axel.

 

*** ERSTE Foundation is main partner of tranzit

 

Photos by Ljosha Chashchyn and Virág Lödi