Multiple landscapes of capital cities

This review looks at three publications that discuss the timeless issue of the relationship between power and space in capital cities located in a broad temporal and geographic framework. By applying Adam T. Smith’s model of interrelation among politics, landscape and civic values, the editors and authors of Political Landscapes of Capital Cities (2016) examine several major cities located in the area between South America and Southeast Asia during the period spanning from the fourteenth century bc to the present day. They elucidate the ways in which power and political authority are constructed and manifested in conjunction with the natural landscape and human-made environment. The edited volume Capital Cities in the Aftermath of Empires: Planning in Central and Southeastern Europe (2010), which covers the turbulent period between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century, deals with the capitals that emerged after the collapse of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires. The book reveals the ways in which the architecture and urban planning of capital cities were used to represent the national identity of the newly formed states. The author of the book The Capital of Europe: Architecture and Urban Planning for the European Union (2004) discusses the capital of one state, the European Union, arguing that common values and identity can be constructed by relying on a clear architectural strategy. Together, these three books highlight the importance and necessity of analysing the multiple landscapes of capital cities from diverse angles.