Signs, Symbols, and the City

The role of symbols in urban culture is profound and influences our understanding and experience of a city. Different cities and neighborhoods demonstrate a vast array of symbols and signs that denote different meanings to the viewer. Not only does the study of semiotics include signs that help us navigate through the environment, like street signs, but it includes the capitalistic symbols that consume our vision when in a city. This includes symbols for fast food chains, small markets and restaurants, and clothing stores, among many others. The semiotic landscape is crucial in understanding the differences and nuances within a city and I find it incredible as to how these symbols vary from place to place.

            My experience in the few different cities I have visited helps me understand the importance of certain symbols. The city of Chicago is a prime example of the variety of symbols in a single city that influence our understanding of location. In some of the nicer areas, one can observe more expensive restaurants and stores, symbols that are vehicles for organizing consumer behavior (Gottdiener 98). Consumers know the difference between fine dining or the closest McDonald’s and will locate themselves in space according to their spending desires. In contrast, while walking through a less wealthy neighborhood, graffiti tends to be inscribed on some walls which Gottdiener describes as a means to understand the use of time of some of the city’s inhabitants (98). Other symbols that can tell a lot about a location is the presence of boarded up buildings or the diversity of types of stores.

Another aspect of semiotic analysis that I find intriguing is just how quickly the symbols and signs can change when moving from block to block. An example that sticks out in my mind is when I visited Minneapolis for the first time. I discovered that this city has a large population of African immigrants which I found evident from walking only a few blocks. After passing a bar and a Chipotle it seemed I crossed over into a couple of blocks of stores and restaurants run mostly by east African people denoted by signs indicating they had specific foods I had never heard of. After crossing another street, my sights were brought back to mostly Americanized vendors. I found this abrupt transition to be amazing and although I did not enter any of the shops, the culture of the people in these city blocks was apparent simply by the symbols of the capitalistic endeavors present. Immigration and the concept of population churning (117) are important aspects of city and economic growth. Immigrants can transform neighborhoods and provide a much more diverse urban landscape which I found evident in the area of Minneapolis I visited.

Furthermore, it is fascinating how certain symbols and signs can be very universal. The book describes how at one point cities used to be unique because of their business endeavors but how because of media advertising, franchising is making certain outlets recognizable anywhere. A few distinctive signs on the outside of buildings can be recognizable by just about anyone while also providing a message of what the store provides. An example of this global recognition I find evident is the semiotic landscape I observed when I visited Lima, Peru. While I expected to see mostly strange stores and symbols accompanied by confusion, the city realistically did not appear so foreign. I strolled past familiar franchise fast-food outlets like Pizza Hut, KFC (which is extremely popular there), and of course McDonald’s. Simply seeing the signs of these places allowed me to get a grasp on my surroundings. However, urban semiotics can be confusing as well. In Lima, they have little pharmacies on nearly every block with signs that have the same colors and logo design as the popular phone store, AT&T. In a different language it can be difficult to understand what exactly the store sells until going inside. It took me quite awhile to stop associating the cell phone store with the drug stores but this example demonstrates just how pervasive being immersed in a society of signs, signals, and advertising can be. Overall, the study of urban semiotics is important to understanding the meanings that are enveloped in cities. Signs and symbols tell us how to interpret certain areas, what to expect at different locations, and how to navigate through the often confusing maze of an urban community.
 

 http://semio2014.org/en/semiotics-of-the-city