Looking like developed: Aesthetics and ethics in Rwandan housing projects

This article examines the relationship between "modern" aesthetics and ethics in the context of Rwandan architecture and urbanism. In Rwanda, global capital and the general desire for an improved life manifest in the built environment, and both urban high-rises and rural villages attempt to look like "modern" buildings from the northern hemisphere. The "modern" aesthetics take on the difficult task of dealing with memories of the past violence as an integral process of development. Using Rwandan housing projects as a case study, this article investigates the meanings, expectations, and possibilities for modern aesthetics.