History of the Bazaar and the Bazaar as SimCity

                                                                                  In Edward W. Soja's "Six Discourses on the post Metropolis," his six ways of conceptualizing the "post-metropolis" or the contemporary metropolis characterized by "new post-modern forms and patternings of urban life that are increasingly challenging well established modes of urban analysis," includes a discourse on "SimCities" or "the restructured urban imaginary and the increasing hyperreality of everyday life." Markets in Moscow seem to fit, albeit imperfectly, into the discussion of SimCities and the creation of hyperrealities in urban design (1).

It seems that the markets of Moscow were originally an emancipatory technology, invented to evade authoritarian market regulations that made establishment market practices impossible. Over time, however, the markets gained credence and folded into the establishment perception of Moscow. This transformation took hold in many forms in different markets in Moscow and it seems, in some ways, to depend on the market's ability to adopt the features of a more fully realized "reality," or hyperreality characteristic of the SimCity. The market is a "world," often with interior streets, spaces for gathering, vendors and food.

Through an exploration of the markets, it is possible to derive a deeper understanding of the gradations between and nuances of SimCities that lie somewhere on the spectrum from modern to post-modern, from SimCities where "you chose to go to these manufactories, usually passing through some gate and paying for admission" to SimCities where "hyperreality visits you, in your homes, in your daily lives. This tour aims to tease out some of those nuances and gradations (1).

1. Soja, Edward. "Six Discourses on the Postmetropolis." The Blackwell City Reader (2002), Web. 9 Dec. 2016.