150 Theory, Culture & Society 23(2–3) The City as Centering

The city is often thought of as a material (lived) and imagined (ideological) space that came into being as a result of a consolidation of power (social, cultural economic, political). It is hence often represented as an economic node or hub, a centrifugal point for the collection of resources, a crucible of ideas and innovation, the locus of imagined communities, and a source of identity and security. Cities are privileged sites of consoli-dation, power and dwelling. John R. Short (2003: 18–23) describes three urban discourses – the authoritarian city (cities as ‘sites of social aggrega-tion that involve compulsion, order, and discipline as well as freedom, anarchy, and self-realization’); the cosmic city (cities as religious artifacts reflect