Abstract

AbstractThe city and its beauty are deeply human. It is the spaces we inhabit. The communities we form. The networks we create and sustain, as much as they sustain us. Modern thought on the city has unfortunately led us away from the foundational aspects of what it is to be human – and human with others. Our lives, our spaces, and our perception of what is beautiful have been tilted towards political agendas, the myths of citizenship, and artificial attraction. This essay articulates the natural way of being human amongst and with others in the city: voluntary cooperation. Through an engagement with modern thought on the city, an awareness of the city’s political malformation as the antagonist to voluntary cooperation is identified. As voluntary cooperation is fundamental to human interaction, this article concludes with the inevitability of the Renaissance of Beautiful Cities through private initiative, intellectual criticism, and demythologization.