O triunfo do urbano

Abstract

This article situates Françoise Choay's discussions on the contemporary world, in which she recognises the triumph of the urban on a planetary scale. The terms non-ville and non-campagne are proposed by the author to indicate the end of the city as a conjunction between civitas and urbs - that is, a community gathered in a defined and delimited space and distinguished, by opposition, from the countryside. These are key terms for understanding a phenomenon of urban dispersion, resulting from the innovation of means of transport and communication that constitute technical networks that shape spaces and behaviours. Choay's positions are compared to those of thinkers such as Bernard Chabonneau, Henri Lefebvre, Maurice Bardet, Melvin Webber, Francesco Indovina, among others. The translation of the article, originally written in French, has paid attention to the rhythm of the text, respecting its punctuation; it has kept the titles quoted and the neologisms in the original language, indicating the translation of the latter in brackets. Notes have been included to help brazilian readers who may not be familiar with the authors mentioned.