Smooth City is everywhere

• an event around the publication Smooth City in Amsterdam 
• with urban researcher and author René Boer and visual artist and graphic designer Kees de Klein 
• Join us at Metro54 for this get-together

What: Smooth City is everywhere 
When: Saturday 30 September, 15:00–17:00 
Where: Metro54, Westerdoksdijk 579, Amsterdam 
Organization: Metro54, Walter Books, Valiz 
Language: Dutch, English
Admission: Free 

In cities around the world a new urban condition is spreading rapidly, characterized by ever-increasing levels of 'perfection', efficiency, control, and the active eradication of any aberration or alternative. In the smooth city, urban space is sanitized and urban life is compressed into a seamless experience. While the need for safe, clean, and well-functioning urban environments is clear, the rise of the smooth city undermines the democratic nature and emancipatory potential of cities as it leaves almost no space for anything that is experimental or incompatible with dominant norms.⁣
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In this get-together on Saturday September 30 in Metro54, various critical minds will share their takes on the rise of the smooth city everywhere based on their experiences, struggles and research. Their reflections might resonate with or contest some of the ideas outlined in the book Smooth City by urban researcher René Boer, published by Valiz earlier this summer. With Amal Alhaag, Femke Kaulingfreks, Kees de Klein, Maria Mazzanti & Wouter Pocornie. Entrance free, drinks for donation.