Wes Aelbrecht
Biographic Data
| ID | 265489 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Wes Aelbrecht |
| GIVEN NAMES | Wes |
| FAMILY NAME | Aelbrecht |
| SIGNATURE | AELBRECHT W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Cardiff University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5179-2990 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 6 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 6 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Through the camera lens: The role of photography in shaping planning histories
Over the past four decades, planning history has developed into a field that interrogates how cities are imagined, designed and remembered. This article celebrates this evolution by exploring an often overlooked but vital element: photography. Far from being a passive record, photography has actively constructed and critiqued planning histories. Drawing on Ariella Azoulay's view of photographs as civic events and Elizabeth Edwards's description o…
Detroit imagined: Intertextuality and the Photobook as Urban History
the dominant dichotomy in ruin photography between decline and resilience narratives. While much scholarship on Detroit’s ruin photography focuses on aestheticized deindustrialization, this study argues that Detroit Images provides a critical alternative. It employs intertextuality, narrative sequencing, and juxtaposition to critique and reinterpret urban narratives, particularly through its portrayal of the Renaissance Center (RenCen). The RenCe…
Mind the information gap! Constructing counter-narratives for urban planning in Detroit's photobooks
Using a series of photobooks, this paper examines the role of photobooks as an alternative platform for shaping, displaying, and questioning Detroit’s narratives. It delves into the untapped potential of photobooks in shaping urban imaginaries – an aspect often neglected in urban studies. By centring on the power of visual storytelling, it uncovers narratives that go beyond the city’s official image or the lens of urban explorers. Through visual …
Detroit in memoriam: Urban Imaginaries and the Spectre of Demolished by Neglect in Performative Photo-Installations
Much has been written in recent years about ruins and photography and especially so in the context of Detroit's declining urban landscape. Numerous books present us with beautiful ruined buildings and landscapes, and further explanations why we might be drawn to images of decay. While some claim that ruin imagery triggers a form of resistance to the forces of capitalism, others stand critical to the beautification of ruins by arguing that such im…
Decline and Renaissance: Photographing Detroit in the 1940s and 1980s
From images of major transport infrastructures and housing blocks, to drug rehabilitation centers, vacant lots, and abandoned industrial warehouses, the City of Detroit has been one of the most photographed of all cities since the 1940s. Although much has been written about the historical legacies of urban change in Detroit and beyond, far less is known about the photographic collections that participated in the redevelopment of Detroit since the…
Camera constructs: Photography, architecture and the modern city
According to Higgott and Wray, ‘[a]rchitecture’s use of photography is one of its most fundamental practices, and yet [...] a virtual taboo exists on critical or self-reflexive enquiry into its conve
Camera constructs: Photography, architecture and the modern city
According to Higgott and Wray, ‘[a]rchitecture’s use of photography is one of its most fundamental practices, and yet [...] a virtual taboo exists on critical or self-reflexive enquiry into its conve
Detroit in memoriam: Urban Imaginaries and the Spectre of Demolished by Neglect in Performative Photo-Installations
Much has been written in recent years about ruins and photography and especially so in the context of Detroit's declining urban landscape. Numerous books present us with beautiful ruined buildings and landscapes, and further explanations why we might be drawn to images of decay. While some claim that ruin imagery triggers a form of resistance to the forces of capitalism, others stand critical to the beautification of ruins by arguing that such im…
Decline and Renaissance: Photographing Detroit in the 1940s and 1980s
From images of major transport infrastructures and housing blocks, to drug rehabilitation centers, vacant lots, and abandoned industrial warehouses, the City of Detroit has been one of the most photographed of all cities since the 1940s. Although much has been written about the historical legacies of urban change in Detroit and beyond, far less is known about the photographic collections that participated in the redevelopment of Detroit since the…
Camera constructs: Photography, architecture and the modern city
According to Higgott and Wray, ‘[a]rchitecture’s use of photography is one of its most fundamental practices, and yet [...] a virtual taboo exists on critical or self-reflexive enquiry into its conve
Decline and Renaissance: Photographing Detroit in the 1940s and 1980s
From images of major transport infrastructures and housing blocks, to drug rehabilitation centers, vacant lots, and abandoned industrial warehouses, the City of Detroit has been one of the most photographed of all cities since the 1940s. Although much has been written about the historical legacies of urban change in Detroit and beyond, far less is known about the photographic collections that participated in the redevelopment of Detroit since the…
Detroit in memoriam: Urban Imaginaries and the Spectre of Demolished by Neglect in Performative Photo-Installations
Much has been written in recent years about ruins and photography and especially so in the context of Detroit's declining urban landscape. Numerous books present us with beautiful ruined buildings and landscapes, and further explanations why we might be drawn to images of decay. While some claim that ruin imagery triggers a form of resistance to the forces of capitalism, others stand critical to the beautification of ruins by arguing that such im…
Detroit imagined: Intertextuality and the Photobook as Urban History
the dominant dichotomy in ruin photography between decline and resilience narratives. While much scholarship on Detroit’s ruin photography focuses on aestheticized deindustrialization, this study argues that Detroit Images provides a critical alternative. It employs intertextuality, narrative sequencing, and juxtaposition to critique and reinterpret urban narratives, particularly through its portrayal of the Renaissance Center (RenCen). The RenCe…
Mind the information gap! Constructing counter-narratives for urban planning in Detroit's photobooks
Using a series of photobooks, this paper examines the role of photobooks as an alternative platform for shaping, displaying, and questioning Detroit’s narratives. It delves into the untapped potential of photobooks in shaping urban imaginaries – an aspect often neglected in urban studies. By centring on the power of visual storytelling, it uncovers narratives that go beyond the city’s official image or the lens of urban explorers. Through visual …
Through the camera lens: The role of photography in shaping planning histories
Over the past four decades, planning history has developed into a field that interrogates how cities are imagined, designed and remembered. This article celebrates this evolution by exploring an often overlooked but vital element: photography. Far from being a passive record, photography has actively constructed and critiqued planning histories. Drawing on Ariella Azoulay's view of photographs as civic events and Elizabeth Edwards's description o…
Photography and Visual Culture (6 works) · Art (5 works) · Aesthetics (4 works) · History (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · History (3 works) · Photography (3 works) · Visual arts (3 works) · Art history (2 works) · Literature (2 works)