{"id":74576,"date":"2026-03-02T07:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?p=74576"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:09:38","slug":"para-que-sirve-una-utopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the purpose of a utopia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniele Porretta: According to Oscar Wilde, a world map without a utopia is not worth consulting, for they are the destiny that humanity always sets for itself. Once a utopia is achieved, it sets sail again in search of another. However, for Berdyaev, utopias have become dangerously achievable, and we should now be asking ourselves how to prevent them. So, what is the purpose of a utopia? The answer is not easy. Perhaps both Oscar Wilde and Nicola Berdyaev are right.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Laura Ben\u00edtez Valero: Perhaps the very question of the functionality of utopia opens up a window of possibility for re-examining how we conceive utopias. Wouldn\u2019t it be desirable for utopias to allow us to think beyond the instrumental dimension? What if the specificity of utopia lies precisely in its impossibility to be analyzed by measuring its purpose?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

D: The success of a utopia lies precisely in its instrumental dimension, in having produced instructional manuals for transforming society through a narrative format, such as a novel. From T. More to A. Bogdanov, the basic idea is to present a perfectly functioning society that serves as a positive mirror for an unbearable reality. If a utopia can\u2019t bring about revolution, what\u2019s it for?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

L: I don\u2019t want to deny its instrumental dimension but rather to take the power of utopia and add a layer of complexity, not so much focused on the “why” but on the “how.” Attempts to create utopias that focus solely on the “why” have led, at least in part, to their impossibility. I\u2019m sure you know the case of Viktor David Gr\u00fcnbaum, known as the architect of modern shopping malls, who had the perverse nickname the Architect of the American Dream.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

D: That has to do with the “spatial game” that David Harvey talks about in Spaces of Hope. Utopia is associated with the design of a space because it is considered to have a transformative and moral function. Shopping malls are seen as \u201cdegenerate utopias,\u201d as are theme parks such as Disneyland, conflict-free places that simulate real spaces but lack the characteristics of public spaces, such as, first and foremost, their being open to everyone. For this reason, they possess a certain unsettling and sinister quality.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

L: Could this represent a failure of the \u201cwhy\u201d? In other words, if the \u201chow\u201d of this \u201cwhy\u201d was the North American model of economic expansion, wasn\u2019t Gr\u00fcnbaum’s particular utopia a death foretold?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

D: If we\u2019re talking about failure, any attempt to implement a utopian project within capitalist society is destined to be co-opted and exploited. Isn\u2019t that what happened with the Superblocks and green corridors of Barcelona? They were based on a legitimate need to alleviate traffic congestion, improve the city\u2019s air quality, and to create more quality public spaces and new places for social interaction. They ended up becoming one of the factors driving the city\u2019s gentrification.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

L: Gentrification is not a side effect or an accidental consequence of certain urban interventions, but rather a structural logic embedded in the neoliberal model of the city, sustained by political decisions, legal frameworks, and a systemic and structural violence that commodifies both land and life. Asking whether the Superblocks can become the green promise of a city like Barcelona is, in itself, a problematic undertaking. Barcelona is a profoundly hostile urban environment, with alarming levels of particulate matter pollution, some of the highest noise pollution in Europe, and light pollution that affects both human health and non-human ecosystems. To pretend that a localized intervention in public space can reverse or even significantly counteract the impact of decades of atrocious urban planning and rampant neoliberalism is to operate from a naive mindset, typical of the <\/span>idiocratic<\/span><\/i> simplification models of worthless self-help.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

D: So, what use is utopia to us in an urban context?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

L: The “whys” of urban green utopia are exhausted almost before they are formulated. The promise of a more livable city is quickly neutralized when it is not accompanied by structural housing policies, control of the real estate market, redistribution of wealth, and a real (and radical) questioning of the tourism and economic model. And yet, the “how” remains a space of both friction and possibility. It is there that cracks open up that allow us to imagine other ways of inhabiting and (re)organizing common spaces, however fragile and threatened they are by the logic of capitalist capture. Without dismantling the extractivist model of infinite growth, green urbanism can easily become greenwashing, an aestheticization of sustainability that fails to question the root causes of ecological collapse. That is why I insist on shifting the focus. The \u201cmodel\u201d is not Superblocks but rather radically different experiences such as the ZADs (<\/span>Zones \u00e0 D\u00e9fendre<\/span><\/i>) or the so-called \u201cforests in resistance.\u201d These struggles, like those in Notre-Dame-des-Landes in France, Hambach in Germany, or Bia\u0142owie\u017ca in Poland, do not merely mitigate the effects of ecological disaster but directly challenge the model of exploitation and extractivism. They are territories defended against airports, mining, or forestry infrastructure, embodying a material confrontation with fossil fuel and logistical capitalism. In these contexts, the defense of territory is inextricably linked to communal ways of life, self-management, the questioning of private property, and human exceptionalism.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

D: <\/strong>Speaking of urban utopias today inevitably conjures up images of privileged enclaves: gated communities, elite residential neighborhoods, The Line. Unreal, conflict-free places like Seaside, the city where Truman Burbank lives. Conflicts are simply displaced elsewhere. If anything characterizes our era, it is the increase in inequality, and we will increasingly see the distinction between heaven and hell. The problems we face are systemic and the measures we need are structural. But let\u2019s return to your initial question, what is the purpose of a utopia? Something I\u2019ve always disliked about utopias is their authoritarian tendency, their lack of dynamism, and, at times, their oversimplification of reality. I believe we must reclaim their radical nature since we are facing something that requires more radical solutions. This is where we truly need to reclaim utopia, the utopia of socialist experiments in collective housing, alternative ways of understanding democracy, the search for alternatives to consumer-dependent leisure, and also the need to rethink our relationship with the planet. We must also make a leap in scale, avoiding the creation of micro-utopias for a privileged few.<\/span><\/p>\n

L:\u00a0I agree, reclaiming the “how” of utopia shouldn\u2019t mean building islands of order amidst chaos, nor sterile refuges where conflict is hidden. Nor should it mean reducing it to a human, anthropocentric, or exceptionalist scale. The utopias of the early 20th century, including anarcho-naturalist proposals, fraught with tensions and contradictions, at least understood that transformation had to unfold across interdependent territories, collective bodies, and a different relationship on a planetary scale. Utopia only makes sense if it recovers its radical nature, not as a closed model or a promise of harmony but as a gesture of political imagination capable of creating cracks in the given order.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"what

ZAD security tower of Notre Dame des Landes. Source Wikicommons.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Daniele Porretta: According to Oscar Wilde, a world map without a utopia is not worth consulting, for they are the destiny that humanity always sets for itself. Once a utopia…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2975,"featured_media":74571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7209],"tags":[7293,7273,7297,7275,7278,7296,7295,7271,7274,7269,7294,7280],"coauthors":[6575,7283],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A*Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T06:30:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T12:09:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Ben\u00edtez Valero, Daniele Porretta\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Ben\u00edtez Valero, Daniele Porretta\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/\",\"name\":\"What is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-02T06:30:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T12:09:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0848a021b8b105352c882a8bcaa0056c\"},\"description\":\"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg\",\"width\":799,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"what is the purposo of a utopia - Wood and tarp structure surrounded by vegetation.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is the purpose of a utopia?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/\",\"name\":\"A*Desk\",\"description\":\"A*Desk Critical Thinking\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0848a021b8b105352c882a8bcaa0056c\",\"name\":\"Mar\u00eda Rioja\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/b6385611865123867fc399472a6bf707\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e88ff5c2b031802c0793da3ef9e7c91c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e88ff5c2b031802c0793da3ef9e7c91c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mar\u00eda Rioja\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/autor\/mariarioja\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function","description":"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function","og_description":"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/","og_site_name":"A*Desk","article_published_time":"2026-03-02T06:30:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-18T12:09:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":799,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laura Ben\u00edtez Valero, Daniele Porretta","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Ben\u00edtez Valero, Daniele Porretta","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/","name":"What is the purpose of a utopia? Thinking beyond function","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-02T06:30:31+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T12:09:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0848a021b8b105352c882a8bcaa0056c"},"description":"A conversation between Laura Ben\u00edtez and Daniele Porretta exploring the question \u201cWhat is the purpose of a utopia?\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/para_que_sirve_una_utopia.jpg","width":799,"height":1000,"caption":"what is the purposo of a utopia - Wood and tarp structure surrounded by vegetation."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/magazine\/para-que-sirve-una-utopia\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is the purpose of a utopia?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/","name":"A*Desk","description":"A*Desk Critical Thinking","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0848a021b8b105352c882a8bcaa0056c","name":"Mar\u00eda Rioja","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/b6385611865123867fc399472a6bf707","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e88ff5c2b031802c0793da3ef9e7c91c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e88ff5c2b031802c0793da3ef9e7c91c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mar\u00eda Rioja"},"url":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/autor\/mariarioja\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2975"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74576"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74581,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74576\/revisions\/74581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74576"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/a-desk.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=74576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}