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Destination City
Cities are increasingly being marketed as objects of consumption, competing against each other in a global market to attract mobile consumers, which has developed into a scenario where the city is consciously branded as experience space. Culture becomes a technique where cities aim to manufacture an authentic and unique image of themselves, as destinations, with the expectation of economic returns. Urban space has transformed from being a place of production to place of consumption and finally becoming the product of consumption itself.
This increasing festivalisation of the city has been termed as the eventification of urban practice. The piazza has been reorganized as an urban theatre for the staging of desirable experiences.
'The authorities decide to dedicate a part of the city to the continuous exploitation of its culture. The Old District is the only authentic Havana left, the rest of the city has been remodeled by global pressures and a desire for an easier existence. The salt is harsh and corrodes the external features of the Monument City. They must act now; soon it may only live on a postcard. An extreme act of preservation takes place. The city is encapsulated. No longer will the stone crumble leave its wrought iron skeleton bare. Now it is ready to accommodate the onslaught of admirers, those desperate for an authentic life. The new armor of the city establishes total organization and efficiency, ready to satisfy a global culture of overindulgence. This Destination city is rigged to entertain. It becomes uncertain what is real or staged'
