Stadens dogmatik : En analys av stadsbilden i Stockholms Katarina distrikt

Sammanfattning

This study examines and discusses different expressions of outlooks on life in the Stockholm Katarina district (on the island of Södermalm). This includes observing buildings, infrastructure, public art (such as statues or mural paintings) and parks. The observations are then combined with what other theologians have already written, in a dialogue of what the city expresses and constitutes. As singular parts, the observed objects could be their own entities, but what emerged as the lowest common denominator was time, which is very visible in the cityscape. Time exists not only as clock-faces, but also as older buildings standing the test of time. A lot of the public art pieces depict people who have gone before us, and the cemetery at Katarina Church still works as a reminder of those who have passed. While many have been forgotten, they are immortalised and, in a sense, molten together with the city. The same reasoning can be used for the older building blocks, which stands as a testimony of the olden ways, when Södermalm was more divided between social classes, and their very different realities. As an ending, a dogmatic description of what a city is, was constructed using the observations as well as the discussion. It describes the process in which a city is founded, as well as the relation between the physical city, which for example includes its geographical attributes, infrastructure and architecture, and the metaphysical city, which could be described as what a city is thought of by humans – both those who live in the city and identify as the city, as well as those who stand beside and only observe. These two aspects of the city become the cityscape, or the image of the city, when combined. Without either or, it cannot be a city. Then it is either deserted, if buildings stand without people, or just a crowd, if people are gathered with the same density, but without buildings.