Capitalism’s spatial dominion: unraveling Isfahan city through tourism and virtual networks

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study scrutinizes capitalism’s influence on spatial organization and its manifestation in Isfahan’s city through tourism and virtual networks. Adhering to a critical perspective, our objective is to elucidate the interplay between physical and virtual realms, employing Lefebvre’s theory of space production. Living in the research field for eight months, a critical ethnographic method was applied for analysis. Virtual networks were found to amplify the gap between real and virtual spaces, transforming individual fantasies into edited images shared in virtual space. The rapid dissemination of staged images among tourists has spurred businesses to craft Instagrammable spaces, creating a lucrative market. This phenomenon results in the standardization of diverse spaces, as cultural practices are colonized through virtual networks, shaping tourists’ perceptions. Contrary to notions of space openness, this study reveals that the tourism experience is dominated by capital relations, perpetuated through virtual networks.