Transubstantiation of Economic Landscape in Contemporary Cities as a Consequence of Hyperrealities of ConsumptionCase Study: City of Gorga

What we refer to as the economic landscape of habitats, cities, and villages, is a product of human interaction with nature and the ways in which human societies use, trade, and distribute resources in historical context. Economic landscapes in cities sometimes emerge as urban organs like bazaars and at other times as economic activities and sub-activities. In the past, geopolitical factors and the resources available to a city would shape economic landscapes giving each city a distinguishing set of characteristics. Following the Industrial Revolution, the circulation of capital in cities ceased to be organic and based on essential mechanisms and evolved into monotonous global processes. Following the obsolescence of some professions, the emergence of Piercing Streets, and the asymmetric accumulation of capital historical texture of cities underwent a process of desertion one after another. As the political aspect of the economy became progressively more apparent in the context of cities and privilege-based governments emerged, construction projects around the historical texture of cities became more aggressive and common. Moreover, political economy in urban landscapes has always been affected by social factors so examining economic landscapes and the political economy of cities from a sociological viewpoint can help us gain new insights. The city of Gorgan, like many of other contemporary cities, has not been an exception to the aforementioned process. Affected by numerous social issues such as what Jean Baudrillard calls Hyperreality, the economic landscape of the city is undergoing the process of gradual destruction. Hyperreality, despite being primarily a social phenomenon, is one of the key factors in turning modern life into an aestheticized experience of spectacles. In the context of consumption and in combination with other factors, it leads to the deterioration of the economic landscape in cities such as Gorgan.