The global population is urbanizing, with 2007 being the first year that more people lived in urban areas than rural areas, according to the United Nations. Further projections show that by 2050, that number will top 68%. Metropolises have always occupied an almost mythical space in the cultural sphere, serving as unique and anonymous canvases onto which dreams and aspersions are projected. Some people see glamour and opportunity, while others see crime and human failings. As these masses move into cities in search of work, the drama of overlapping lives forces them to reconcile their preconceptions of citylife with their actual lived experiences.

This series of images, titled Project (/prəˈdʒekt/), pronounced “pro-JECT,” is an exploration of this conflict. Raised in the Bay Area, San Francisco was always presented as a shining beacon of creativity and progress. I believed this narrative, and relished every trip to The City. I could not wait to depart my sleepy suburbs for the inspiring lights I saw in my future. 

In the 12 years since I have moved here, I have had to continually reassess my understanding of this place, and what existing here means to me and my fellow denizens. Has this city changed? Have I changed? Have my expectations changed, or have I fundamentally misunderstood this place? As humanity further migrates into urbania, people will carry their expectations with them. The large strokes of their somewhat abstract hopes will be thrown into contrast with the concrete realities of their new environs, as light is projected into the dark corners of practical existence.