I felt small and perhaps insignificant standing against, or rather under these tall complexes. These gray towers frowned and I frowned with them. The streets were wide and empty. Traffic seemed rare at this time of day--around 2 pm siesta time. There were actual private parking spots, mainly for cars. In fact, this was perhaps the first i had ever seen large parking lots in Ha Noi. One of our group members, either Micky or Lena, explained how she felt somewhat dislocated along with those who were "relocated" from their rural homes for "development purposes" to these large frowning skyscrapers; projects; apartment complexes; duplexes; whatever you want to call them.
Finally, unlike the prior space's streets which mirror a lot of the surrounding areas of HANU, I was able to comfortably and safely cross the street without worrying about getting hit because there was literally no one there to do so. Mmmm.. with all this space i felt free, but in many ways, I felt also confined.
Finally, I felt as though my individual rights were somewhat restored, yet it was quite lonely, desolate, and isolated here as it seems to be reminiscent of urban sprawl and decay of New York City and various urban centers that modeled their planning after it. In light of discourses around globalization, development, progress, and Westernization, I could not stop thinking about Hip Hop as it birthed in a similar, if not the same, landscape, built environment.
To my surprise, to further provide evidence on many people's claims on the "globally expanding" and "homogenizing" effects of urban spaces on culture and way of life, there was a large amount of graffiti which again reminds you of any city in America. Indeed what is a city without graffiti nowadays--individual expression/reflection/criticism on the very structures that simultaneous define and confine the lives of people living there. I wonder what are compelling factors led those who wrote on the walls to express through this particular kind of medium which still remains a controversial one?
The last thing I would like to cover is the recurring dichotomously-oriented themes of "inside-out" and "private" vs. "public." During class I remembered Micky formulating a spatial theory as it relates to "modernity, rationalism, efficiency," and notions of "development" and urban or city planning. As spaces become more commercialized or privatized, the streets seem to get wider, sidewalks serve to protect the rights of pedestrians, and the "body of community spirit and human exchange" of literally street life gets evacuated to the inside; thus, inside/out and public/private precipitates or consolidates into this polarized binary-- the kind of rational thought we've come to love and understand as a kind model for truth in the "modern world."
Like I mentioned in the beginning I can connect to a space like this and its alienating impacts on the individual, but at the same time prioritize and protect the individual. In San Jose, I live in suburbia in which such this kind of "narcissism" exists. It is the space against and around which a lot of contemporary punk rockers, emo kids, and politicized hipsters speak out--these very themes of isolation, loneliness, depression, etc that permeate many body of narratives and critiques of this particular setting. Would I live here? My answer would perhaps not be simply as "yes" or "no." I am split on this question. I'd live there in part because that's what I know and am familiar with. I would not live there in part because of its potential negative psychological effects. In spite of all the "symptoms" and "side effects" of modern living, like I mentioned before culture emerges out of struggle whether it is rock or hip hop, graffiti art, or poetry. These kinds of spaces have been regarded as hubs for hipness and coolness. I would probably want to do more research on this later. For now, it's really all up in the air just like these phallic towers.
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