Urban texts in the era of globalization

The article is devoted to the analysis of the transformation of urban texts in the era of globalization. From the point of view of semiotics, the city is a very rich, extremely rich object for research, it can be viewed as a complex text containing a variety of multilevel information. The article presents the typology of urban texts, the subject of this study is «the city as a text». This type of urban text presupposes a sensually perceived, mainly visual way of «reading» it. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of the architectural appearance of cities, the conclusion is made about the transformation of urban texts from locally specific to universal globalist trends. The texts of the city, increasingly focused on the commercial effect under the domination of consumerism, are extremely simplified, reduced to one or more recognizable cult objects that turn into the logo of the city; the very presence of these cult objects is a message about the economic, technological viability and success of this locus. We believe that it is possible to fix the clearly emerging trend towards the impoverishment of the content of urban texts in the conditions of modern culture.