People Love Cities – but Do Cities Love Them Back?

Shane Epting

Missouri University of Science and Technology

pp. 7-20

in: Sanna Lehtinen & Tea Lobo (eds), Philosophy of the City, East Asian Journal of Philosophy 1 (3), 2022.

Abstract

People celebrate cities through art, music, and fashion, often claiming to love them. Several artists, including but not limited to Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Katy Perry have sung about cities in celebratory manners. However, such claims are inherently vague, and it remains unclear if these declarations hold meaning or are merely emotive. The author argues that these expressions have meaning and that cities return the love, which is why people love them in the first place, surprisingly. This article fleshes out these views, showing that the reciprocal nature of “urban love” is not empty. Instead, the feelings associated with such exchanges also bear the earmarks of typical interpersonal relationships that endure lengthy durations. The article ends by exhibiting that the line of thought explored here does not only reveal insights into human-urban relations, but it gestures toward novel ways of examining how cities can better serve residents.