TOW #24 - Visual Text "Urbanization Is Killing Us"

     Just in the 1900's, the only 14 percent of the world's population lived in urban areas. In 2008, the entire world was met with unprecedented urbanization with nearly an even split amongst people living in urban and rural areas.  While there have been many economic and social benefits with the population growth in cities, environmental effects have been an undeniable drawback.  In the street art image, the artist emphasizes the fact that urbanization has detrimental consequences to human race through the integration of personification and irony.
    The facade of this particular building is like none other, containing a meaning and a soul on the surface.  While the exterior of most buildings contain plaster, bricks, or concrete, the painting on this building personifies the undeniable issues with urbanization.  By drawing a human like figure eating trees, this metaphorically reveals that humans are destroying trees in the process of building urban areas. By giving life to the building, the artist gave a powerful meaning and purpose for the building, as civilians can see the personified building directly speaking to them.
   In the message that the mural attempts to convey to humans, the artist incorporates irony into the mix to strengthen the idea of the human obligation in preventing rapid urban growth. While the artist could have painted the same picture on a canvas, he rather placed it on an urban building itself in order drive home the point. This ironic placement of the painting makes the civilians living in the urban areas think about the effects of urbanization and its harmful impact to their environment.  By strategically placing an anti-urbanization drawing on a city building, the ironic situation makes more people recognize the need for less urban growth.
   While urbanization does have both beneficial factors and detrimental consequences, the artist effectively conveys the idea of the inimical effects that urban development can have on humans. By adding human like life to the building and strategically placing the drawing in an ironic location, the artist opens up the eyes of humans on the environmental consequences of urbanization.