Cities and Production

Cities are actually objects of production. – biggest aspect – to be well aware

We are producing cities – they objects in themselves

Obvious – as objects and as commodities – build by someone sold to another

Exchange also with goods too.

Money equation

Money buys you commodities, which by coming together as means of production and labour force –
you have to buy machinery + labour force – used in production process to get commodities – these
commodities sold at least to cost of labour power and machine but also needs a profit as well. Profit
– capitalist in control – circle – profit put into -> M becomes bigger

Also happens for houses and cities.

David Harvey

Capitalism – means of production how commodities are produces – happens in cities.

Capitalism has to be both expansionary and technologically dynamic – by adding profit and
reinvesting in profit into process of production – become bigger and bigger; if content with profit
and take it away – wont become bigger as a company

Profit depends on the exploitation of living labour power in production. – then sell it at a higher
price.

This defines the central class relations between buyers (capitalists) and sellers (workers) of labour
power as A COMMODITY – to sell; means of production – builder sells his power to contracter who
hires him to build a house.

Capitalism in necessarily expansive – always grows bigger and doesn’t stop – that creates conflict
with the impulse to revolutionize production forces, producing an unstable system with period of
crises of overaccumulation  can create more product but also less labour – if less labour power
then less people can afford to buy this – contradiction;; a lot unemployed and a lot production
unused – therefore not enough people to buy the commodity – this is critically problematic –
destruction and devaluation of both capital and labour power (overaccumulation)

DAVID HAVEY

Crisis:

1. Human nature
2. Institutional failures
3. All obsessed with false theory
4. Cultural origins
5. Failure of policy – problem too much regulation of wrong sort
All of these have a certain truth – all can write a plausible story – how to do it that it doesn’t
match with the ones above?
Economists missed systemic risk? Internal contradictions of capital accumulation?
Role of crisis in capital?
2 ways – 1) what happened 1970s till now  this crisis dictated by how we ended last one
1930s too much labour - to discipline – solved by 1985
EXCESSIVE power of finance ccapital.
Wage repression – steadily falling down – Wages are also money to buy goods – if diminish
them how will demand come? – answer pump up credit economy – US UK triples debt.
Theory  Capitalism never solves its crisis problems it moves them geographically – US okay
then Greece blows up.

Accumulation process of capital – Capital cannot abide a limit – it has to turn it into a barrier
and goes around it.
Accumulation – start with $ - buy LP and MP (means of production) -> Commodity – sell for
Original MONEY + Profit – take part of profit and put it into expansion.
Continuation – racking up of wealth – crisis stop it? No! – no debate and discussion?
No solution but nature needs to be established by a DISCUSSION
Political campaign – all okay if vote for me – It’s CRAP.

Change mode of thinking!

Question: Who produces cities?

How we live within, what commodities – very complex system – other economists too.
Urban history – who made that city/ that building? That guy – Pope Sixtus V – commission
for 5 years new streets and dramatic alterations in Rome + important buildings – surrounded
by them. – he portrayed as producer.

Architecture – client – Fountainhead – shows who is producing

How clients call the shots – architects try to refuse or give in

In the end – produced by builders – always – 15C building site in Italy

Production – Consumption
Distinction who has money who produces commodity
Production – Distribution – Exchange - Consumption
To have considerations – consumption – where goods are exchanged; distribution – trade
comes in – place of production place of exchange place of consumption – all happening in
different places – that’s why distribution is important

In a village – these very close together – market on other side; workshop at back.
With expanding cities – production from within happens outside – spatial overlaps – less
possible
Harvey – production is not separated by consumption – complication for urbanisation
Moment of consumption further fragmented – vacation, leisure – away from daily.

All bring in diverse typologies – we can design build produce. Closer or far apart
Berlin – traditional city – close relation – workshops in backyards of blocks + small industries
– the bigger they become – they go to outskirts – factories emerging – separating out in
clear different typologies – different between shipyards; and housing
Working people very close together with production

Monofunctional typologies – shopping malls too

Argument – product we have is complete through its consumption – what it means –

product bench/house – is meaningless; through its act of usage; where function comes into
play it becomes a bench/house.
How describe cities – very complex entities – few describe as small agglomeration of 150 diff
houses etc; we do it by use – feeling of place; metropolis character – use within.
Empowering argument – who uses/consumes cities? Us!
Consumption can become a power and coproducing aspect.

How consume; how use an object; if you have a terrace house – you use it differently from
him and family – but it comes complete by how different people use it. But typology object
can be the same.
Product – we coproduce – consumption
We have an active role in producing and we can alter houses in cities
Crucial how we as consumers take act and are aware of current potential – fabric of altering
container – empowering.

Last aspect – production in cities – he have to bear in mind we have uneven production –
important – different segments of housing sectors – starter home/ executive home –
therefore uneven production and uneven consumption – we have in cities – into the
production process, so extreme – speculative housing but become commodities –
They become commodities – one way – also much different ways of living – situation people
who can’t buy real estate. – reality – whole production process – capital we talked about –
make it impossible if you don’t have means to take part of it – large part of world population
don’t have the means to take part of it.
How we address this unevenness. – a depressing note – how to make the world nicer.
Aspects how cities and production come together.
This lecture – to trigger thoughts and give economic understanding of how things are.
Notion of consumption is also under notion of city for consumption – how in Berlin –
tenement city (barracks) have been built in 30 years of time on plains around Berlin–
massive production process of getting these houses for 4M ppl – where links come in - + we
to unpick them too.