This article, written in the spirit of noir urbanism, actualizes the problem of housing dystopia in the modern world. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the sociology of knowledge by Karl Mannheim. The results of studies of urban dystopia in the USA, Turkey, Brazil, Iran, and Russia are analyzed. The modern city is a mosaic of utopian and dystopian spaces and buildings (including apartment houses), which is due to the social heterogeneity of its inhabitants, who had various forms of utopian consciousness at certain stages of the development of society. In the course of the study, modern living conditions and ideas about housing in well-known dystopian works are compared. The author concludes that some of their ideas and episodes have actually become self-fulfilling prophecies. Buildings made of glass and concrete, where numerous residents do not really know each other, have firmly entered the space of megacities around the world and rushed up. At the same time, socio-economic inequality determines housing – individual apartments in such houses are becoming smaller and begin to resemble boxes or capsules for those who cannot afford more comfortable, but less affordable apartments. Following the space of the city, the home environment is also radically changing. “Smart” things in apartments are increasingly beginning to acquire subjectivity, interacting with people through many networks that have engulfed houses. There is a risk of people losing certain skills. From a mere means of receiving information, the television becomes a wide screen with an invisible, socio-political two-way connection. The dwelling gradually loses privacy and turns into a “glass” one due to numerous video monitoring and surveillance tools, which at the same time does not increase the sense of security in conditions of total supervision. Life in a modern city is accompanied by numerous social fears and phobias, which are an integral part of the housing dystopia and give rise to new subcultures of escapism (stalking, squatting, frogging). In conclusion, the author expresses the hope that a “smarter” material and technological environment will not completely supplant traditional social practices, and the strengthening of total supervision will not turn our homes (in the literal and metaphorical senses) into Erving Goffman’s total institutions.

Keywords: urban sociology, housing sociology, social utopia, housing dystopia, social fear

Cite As (APA): Litvintsev, D.B. (2023). Housing dystopia in modern society: a sociological diagnosis. Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science, no. 72. p. 180–189. (In Russ.).

 doi  10.17223/1998863X/72/16      EDN  GIVNNK      PDF  Read in Russian