Urban development and visual culture: Commodifying the gaze in the regeneration of Tigné Point, Malta

Panoramic views, when commodified within neoliberal capitalism, serve as powerful tools for urban regeneration and elite spatial differentiation. This study reveals how architects and developers appropriate, reimagine, and rescript panoramas to create high-status residential and commercial spaces in Tigné Point, Malta—the largest recent regeneration project on the island. The research demonstrates that such commodification accelerates capital accumulation while reinforcing spatial inequalities, bridging gaps between urban development, planning, and visual culture literatures. By analyzing the political-economic and cultural dimensions of view commodification, this work offers a critical lens for understanding neoliberal urban transformation.

Speake, J. (2016). Urban development and visual culture: Commodifying the gaze in the regeneration of Tigné Point, Malta. Urban Studies, 54(13), 2919–2934. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098016663610