Creative Destruction or Extraordinary Opportunities
Reading the City and Architecture Through Liberland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21996930 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dicle Kızıldere (0000-0001-7025-7408, Gebze Technical University), Ecem Uğurlu (0000-0002-2580-2240, Manisa Celal Bayar University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 576-587 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Turkish Online Journal of Design Art and Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2146-5193 • E-ISSN: 2146-5193 |
| Publisher | Turkish Online Journal of Design, Art and Communication (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.7456/tojdac.1797915 |
| OpenAlex | W7117899298 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 24 |
The concept of the metaverse, once envisioned as a virtual space of experience, has gained renewed momentum following its global rebranding during the COVID-19 pandemic. As cities such as Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai begin to integrate metaverse strategies into their urban agendas, the metaverse is increasingly positioned as a “second world” that may significantly alter the future of urban life, architecture, and planning. However, this shift has also provoked critical debate around issues of urban rights, particularly the right to the city. This study explores the socio-spatial and political dimensions of the metaverse through a qualitative analysis grounded in critical urban theory. Drawing on the concepts of democracy, participatory rights, and socio-spatial inequality, the research interrogates how the emergence of virtual urbanism challenges conventional understandings of citizenship, public space, and urban experience. The analysis centers on the case of Liberland, the first digitally constructed libertarian metaverse micronation designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, to assess how digital urban environments redefine notions of sovereignty, participation, and spatial justice. While the metaverse presents radical new possibilities for architectural/ urban design and governance, it also raises fundamental uncertainties regarding contextualization, public legitimacy, and integration into lived urban realities. The study argues that rethinking the right to the city in virtual contexts is essential for developing inclusive and equitable digital futures
Citizen journalism · Metaverse · Public space · Smart city · Urban design · Urban planning · Urbanism · Architecture and Computational Design · Digital Media and Philosophy · Urban Planning and Governance · Architecture
Platform Urbanism
D Virtual worlds and the metaverse
Incoming Metaverses
Digital inequalities among internet users before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Social implications of autonomous vehicles
Embedding the metaverse into regional planning for sustainability
Civil liberties or public health, or civil liberties and public health? Using surveillance technologies to tackle the spread of Covid-19
Being a ‘citizen’ in the smart city
Blockchain urbanism
A digital twin smart city for citizen feedback
Is there anybody out there? The place and role of citizens in tomorrow’s smart cities
Excavating Lefebvre
| Highly cited | No |
|---|