when i look at cities, especially the less "shiny" ones, when i see tagged buildings, when i see stickers and posters, when i see little signs of disorder, it feels like the city itself is expressing emotions and being truly alive
when it's all shiny and all the artwork is cleaned up, it feels like an abusive parent forcing their child to stuff their emotions down their throats and be quiet so they can look appealing to adults and so the adults can keep ignoring the child, all at grave cost to the child
advertising and police sirens are like all the forced politeness and demanding that the child be happy about the parent making them do things they really don't want to do, such as making the child hug a creepy relative and smile while doing it.
i think it's no accident that so many adults feel hatred and fear when they see anything that isn't shiny and lifeless, and those little signs of life that spring up anyways are what draw me to cities in the first place