Aesthetics in Contemporary Cities: Special issue of the MDPI Arts journal

Abstract

We live in a rapidly changing world. Visual change only reflects the intrinsic process of the social and economic evolution of ideas, philosophies, and fashions, though the latter is what an ordinary observer notices as the first signal of change. So, the space “becomes” the way we “are”. Additionally, and conversely, the aesthetics of the environment in which we live are probably the most unconsciously influential determinant of our wellbeing. Thus, we would like to describe the beauty and grotesqueness of our cities through the eyes of artists, who “can feel more”. We would like to recognize alterations to our sense of beauty from the cityscapes we experience every day. As the cityscape becomes our dominant visual environment, we should focus on all dimensions of urban aesthetics.