March 4, 2026
SCARP Lecturer Erick Villagomez has written this article in Nature Cities unpacking the act of architectural visualisation as an unavoidably political act that frames understanding of what that space represents and for whom.
The visual politics of city building
by Erick Villagomez
Villagomez elaborates on how architecture, history-making, and storytelling reframe a cultural lens in ways that re-interpret, collapse a dimension of understanding, and replace cultural myth, sometimes in a colonial endeavour. As he states:
"Architectural representations played a crucial role in these endeavours, presenting an idealized version of reality designed to manipulate public perception and solidify power. This tradition of manipulation through representation continues today, with dire consequences."
Villagomez proposes potential interventions to democratize representations by challenging the dominance of conceived space.
About Erick Villagomez
Villagomez is a lecturer at SCARP. His research, consulting and writing has influenced patterns of urban development locally and abroad — contributing to the adoption of ‘green’ urban design processes, plans, codes, standards, guidelines and prototypes.