Imagined Cities and Submissive Populist Thought

Urban literature shows signs of conformism and indifference that the city dweller exhibits in a metropolitan area. Fictive dwellers and flaneurs have an imagination that leads to escapism, which when studied in relation to populism can reveal a submissive manner of living and an illusion of anti-establishment. In essence, their actions and mannerism are forms of rebellion that do not fundamentally challenge a structure of oppression or injustice, but only make the social order too complex to ascertain welfare. When a space is transformed by a dweller in thought and for personal benefit, the need for structural changes diminishes. Dwellers free themselves from the discriminating and imposing edifice. They recreate the city in their mind, making it operate “for the people” figuratively, which formulates a submissive populism. As the world transforms into an increasingly urban space, it is vital to look at how alterable space can impact populism and the manner in which one relates to the environment.