Against Coca-Cola

Oct 09, 2022, 07:47 PM

"Having visited Rwanda a few years ago, when exploring its urban markets, as well as what is different, one is struck by what is similar - monolithic global brands like Coca-Cola and Nike stamp their presence on even the tiniest, most characterful spaces in human lives. 

"The brand colours, logos and slogans have invaded every urban space on the planet. Wherever there is commerce, there are the mega-brands, and the more homogenised our spaces become, the worse it is for the well-being of our cities. 

"This piece is a quiet, sad lament against Coca-Cola, against Nike, and by extension against everything that makes our cities the same, and a plea to keep the idiosyncrasies that ensure the places we live are truly well-being cities."

Rwandan market reimagined by Cities and Memory. 

Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis. The project was originally presented at the C40 Cities conference in Buenos Aires in 2022. Explore Well-Being Cities in full at https://citiesandmemory.com/wellbeing-cities/