The visible city

ABSTRACT In this article, I introduce the idea of “the visible city,” which foregrounds the central role played by the urban built environment in cities’ quest for recognition. In the visible city, the urban built environment becomes a medium of communication and a form of currency in its own right for the acquisition of symbolic capital. I specifically discuss two concepts that underpin my understanding of the visible city, namely distinction and aesthetics. Overall, I highlight the relationship between these two widely used concepts to ask questions about the relationship between visual-material communication and urban transformation.