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There is an endless chain of cities, a circle without…

“There is an endless chain of cities, a circle without beginning or end, over which there breaks unrelentingly a shifting wave of laws. There is the city-jungle and the city where people live in the pillars of tall viaducts that crisscross each other in countless overpasses and underpasses, the…” quote by Michal Ajvaz
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““There is an endless chain of cities, a circle without beginning or end, over which there breaks unrelentingly a shifting wave of laws. There is the city-jungle and the city where people live in the pillars of tall viaducts that crisscross each other in countless overpasses and underpasses, the city of sounds and nothing else, the city in the swamp, the city of smooth white balls rolling on concrete, the city comprising apartments spread across several continents, the city where sculptures fall endlessly from dark clouds and smash on the paving stones, the city where the moon’s path passes through the insides of apartments. All cities are mutually the center and periphery, beginning and end, capital and colony of each other.””

Michal Ajvaz

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cities are endless, interlinked cycles of change, embodying both center and periphery.

In simple terms: Cities are endless loops.

Key Takeaway

Explore urban complexity.

Themes

urbanism philosophy interconnectedness

Mood

curious contemplative

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • city planning
  • travel writing
  • architectural critique

Key Concepts

spatial theory metaphor human geography

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do cities shape identity?
  • What defines a city’s core?
A Different Perspective

Metaphors may be overly abstract.

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