Striking Overhead Images That Reveal the Inequality of Modern Cities

Via macacovelho.com.br. ImageVilla 31, Buenos Aires - Argentina

It is said that the world is increasingly developed when in fact it is, undeniably, more technological and globalized. However, it seems risky to talk about development when the advances do not appear everywhere or for all inhabitants.

In such an uneven picture, a select few of the global population enjoy these advances, while a huge number live below the poverty line.

Such contrasts often go unnoticed in the city’s daily life, however, are set forth on a diptych relationship with the urban layout, being, at the same time the cause and consequence of deep marks in city design. In Brazil, for example, we have the slums and poor communities that contrast with the buildings and upper-middle-class homes architecture, designed and built with all the necessary resources.

The urbanization process in Brazil and in several other countries around the world reaffirms what society knows but often makes a point to not notice: the enormous social inequality that our political and social systems cause.

When we have the opportunity to observe large cities from above such as Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo we can see more clearly how our cities are segregated.

To demonstrate this reflection, we present 6 aerial photographs of large global metropolises where extremes coexist side by side.