UN-HABITAT has undertaken a worldwide photographic campaign to capture the contemporary dynamics of the city, with a special focus on the interactions between citizens and their urban landscape.
The agency has selected five cities around the world - Johor Bahru in Malaysia; Tetouan in Morocco; Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil; Hunchun in China and Onitsha in Nigeria. These cities epitomize fast growing and dynamic intermediate sized cities. Although often unexplored, such intermediate and smaller cities are the habitat of the majority of today’s urban dwellers. Additionally, each of these cities is part of a new world of growing trans-border agglomerations.
The world famous photographer Alessandro Scotti – who has also served as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador - will document life in these five cities for UN-HABITAT to contribute to a better understanding of the process of rapid urbanization today.
Photo by Yusri Hashim/Razin Architect Studio
Mr. Scotti has started working in the first of the five cities, Johor Bahru, which is providing considerable support for the photographic project. This city is the capital of the Malaysian state of Johor, located just across the causeway from Singapore, making it an important trans-border city cluster.
The work will be showcased by UN-HABITAT at up-coming events like the fifth session of the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro and the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
