Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the relationship between images, words, flows and built environment using an engaging variety of methods and sources. It also explores the interpretive potential of photography and film, showing how their relationship with an empirical city goes far beyond mere pictorial reproduction. The book converges to reveal the potentialities inscribed on the creative and theoretically informed uses of (audio)visual sources. On the other hand, brings in writings—literary narratives (fictional or not)—as its major focus. It reflects on lesser-studied aspects of the history of urban growth, embarking from a detailed reading of a specific newspaper to think about the impact of the development of sports practices on the urbanization of the Chilean capital. The book presents the importance of thinking about the materiality of cities not only as a part of an uninterrupted process of producing spaces and representations.