Do Cities Make Us Feel Alone

Life in London is a life of transit- always on the go. What do meeting friends, craving ice cream, hot new cafés or Tesco run on the weekends have in common? They each surrender to life draining tube journeys. A planned 45-minute commute is a stroke of luck, if unlucky its 45 minutes without companionship, exclusively underground! These spaces, conceived through the algebra of commercial profit, are designed for movement, not belonging. Visitors are bombarded with advertisements, rules, and instructions, rendering tube stations, airports, motorways, hotels, leisure parks, and supermarkets as non-anthropological spaces. Such places do not seek to explore an individual’s identity, nor do they foster social relationships. Instead, they offer a peculiar experience of solitude within a crowd- collectively alone.

Consider the reason for entering a tube station- travel from place (A) to another (Z). Neglect of places B to Y is the cost of efficient high-speed transportation. However, lets overlook this for now. Upon entry, individuals are greeted by directional signage indicating the relevant tube lines. Barriers with either a green or red flashing LEDs control their passage. First, a pool of people huddle awkwardly to compete for access. This transitions into a minutia of polite queuing. Following this, the individual has finally arrival at a mechanical barrier that reads green. Yet, access is restricted until the individual’s identity and ability to pay is verified. Once verified, the barrier is crossed. This side of the barrier, every person is labelled a “commuter”. Individual identity is reduced to a single word until the barrier is crossed again where individual identity is verified and reinstated.

The journey itself remains transactional. Descending into the tunnel, both sides of the escalators are lined with advertisements. Each wall is a curated glimpse of a world that the commuter is actively missing during their commute. Framed two-dimensional advertisements, aligned 15 centimetres apart, cater to the 15 second attention span of the Instagram scrolling audience. If over-stimulation weren’t abundant in the outside world, the accumulation of ever-changing advertisements in the tube station forces commuters into a state of disjointed, irreverent awareness. Nothing between the entry and exit barriers is designed to be memorable, social, enjoyable or though provoking. The tube station’s design prioritizes mechanical efficiency and hyper-marketing for invisible corporations.

London’s tube experience is not unique. It can be easily swapped for an airport, supermarket, hotel or leisure centre. None of these places require a grounded identity. Instead, each imposes a transactional role upon its visitor. In each example a threshold is crossed where identity and the ability to pay is verified. Following this, a labelled identity is imposed- passenger, consumer, staying guest and customer. Since these places prioritize commercial interests over human-centric design, visitors often feel exploited by the pervasive forces controlling them. From an external perspective such infrastructures are labelled as transitory spaces because they are places of transit. However, transit is only possible by abandoning the very foundations that anchor one to place. Long corridors with repetitive instructions, rooms designed for temporary occupancy, and an over-abundance of advertisements tantalising an external world, unintentionally encourage the user to leave as efficiently as they arrived.

The effects of poor design manifest in the everyday life. First, places that serve transition do not support transcendence. The former prioritises efficient physical movement, while the latter fosters spiritual evolution. Second, places are reduced to numerical value rather than holding political, cultural, or social significance. Terms such as, gross internal area (GIA), average price per square foot, and national planning guidelines for quantified minimum spatial requirements set the tone for commercial rhetoric while the lived experience is neglected. Third, rise of the commercial house parallels the decline of the home. Mechanical transaction of social exchanges does not constitute family. Poor finishes, standardised rooms, windowless corridors and single use spaces allow efficient transit from one room to the next. However, the scope for transcendence is limited to creative intervention. Lastly, places prioritizing transit create a longing for belonging. Office buildings, tube networks, supermarkets, and commercial houses offer little incentive for memory or identity. When everyday places fail to satisfy this basic human necessity, people seek belonging in temporary, superficial phenomena.

Yet, despite its commitment to transit, London offers its own privileges. These include vibrant public squares, lively pedestrian streets, soothing riverside walks, bustling traditional markets, beautiful parks, local artist run community venues and historic architecture. However, given the city’s scale, accessing these places requires advance planning. Meaningful experiences demand effort, scheduling, and the sacrifice of time, resources, and identity verification. What was once spontaneous now mirrors the routine of sitting in a doctor’s clinic, waiting for a prescription. Like all victims of poor transitory design, city dwellers experience the void of being collectively alone. Such phenomena only manifests in the absence of meaningful creative intervention. When architecture weaves together culture, history, lineage, and social and spiritual values, it fosters adaptable, community-driven spaces with deeper significance. In this transformation, even transitory places, when thoughtfully designed, can inspire a sense of transcendence- offering nothing but optimism to embrace.

Bibliography

Augé, M., Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, trans. by J. Howe (London: Verso, 1995).

Baudelaire, C., Landscape, in Les Fleurs du mal, trans. by R. Howard (Boston: David R. Godine, 1982), pp. 72–73.

Cresswell, T., 2015. Place: a short introduction. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley.

Gehl, J., Cities for People (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010).

Jacobs, J., 2020. The Death and Life of Great American Cities London: The Bodley Head.

Lynch, K., The Image of the City (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1960).

Minton, A., Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the Twenty-First-Century City (London: Penguin, 2009).

Relph, E., Place and Placelessness (London: Pion, 1976).

Sennett, R., The Fall of Public Man (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977).

Shields, R., ‘A Guide to Urban Representation and What to Do About It: Alternative Traditions of Urban Theory’, Revue de Géographie et Aménagement, 4 (2012), 1–18.

FAQs

Why do modern cities, like London, make people feel alone?
Cities prioritize efficiency and commerce over human-centred design, creating transitory spaces that strip people of identity and social connection.

 What are "non-anthropological spaces"?
These are places designed for movement and commerce rather than human interaction or identity. Examples include tube stations, motorways, and hotels — spaces that focus on function instead of fostering a sense of belonging.

Why do transit spaces feel transactional?
From ticket barriers to rows of advertisements, every part of the journey is designed to process people quickly while exposing them to continuous marketing, reinforcing a sense of being a consumer rather than an individual.

Can transit spaces ever feel meaningful?
Yes, but only through thoughtful and creative architectural intervention that integrates culture, history, and social values. This approach can transform transitory spaces into places that encourage community and emotional connection.

Why do people seek belonging in temporary and superficial ways?
When everyday environments fail to meet emotional and social needs, people turn to quick and surface-level gratification — like trends, brands, or online communities.

Which places in London encourage connection and belonging?
Vibrant public squares, riverside walks, traditional markets, parks, and historic architecture still offer opportunities for meaningful experiences. However, accessing these places often requires careful planning and a significant investment of time and effort.

How can architects create better urban spaces?
Architects can design for human experience first by blending social, cultural, and historical values with flexible and community-focused spaces. This approach can create environments that foster connection, memory, and personal identity, even within traditionally transitory spaces.