Takeaways

Through the methodology of analyzing various types of text, whether physically or representationally part of the city, we have been able to understand more deeply some of the ways in which the unique characteristics of various cities provide different anxieties and perspectives on the common theme of urban anonymity. By viewing specific cities and artistic representations of cities as texts that can be parsed, we can begin to analyze the unique and shared ways in which the inhabitants and foreigners of a city have come to interpret the anonymity of city life. Through these texts, it is clear that the advantages of anonymity can come at a cost. On the one hand, there is the sense that anonymity is a way of life in the city, a true urban poetic lived and treasured by the urban dweller. On the other, whether through fear of technology, fear of globalization and overpopulation, or fear of delusionary sanitization of the urban landscape, these texts depict a certain hesitance to allow for anonymity to the point of identity loss and shameless redrawing of city lines on bourgeois terms.