Through The Lens; 16 Talented Instagram Artists Capturing Urban Life

In the context of urbanism, technology is often credited for making cities faster, more adaptive and efficient however it’s also keeping us closer connected. City-shapers such as politicians,  architects, consultants and developers who are creating positive cities get credited for changing our way of life; yet lost in translation has been the importance of those broadcasting it. A dynamic that is completely changing.

For decades this has been the responsibility of mainstream media, yet thankfully due to technological advancements a less biased and more involved urban paparazzo has emerged. These are the transient younger generation of freelancers who are capturing the animation and life within the world's major cities. Providing insights into how differing cities have evolved and how societies are interacting with them.

They are the creatives with their feet on the ground, linking a city on one side of the world to another through the lens of a camera. To celebrate the insight these artists provide, we at The Urban Developer have selected 16 of our favorite photographers on Instagram capturing urban life. 

@Ollienordh1. @elie

"Urbanization is not about simply increasing the number of urban residents or expanding the area of cities. More importantly, it's about a complete change from rural to urban style in terms of industry structure, employment, living environment and social security." - Li Keqiang

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOGcrVmD6yN/?taken-by=elie&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BD4T9KNyW_l/?taken-by=elie&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/zJEwHPSW0O/?taken-by=elie&hl=en
 2. @rockkhound 

"The urge for good design is the same as the urge to go on living." -Harry Bertoia

https://www.instagram.com/p/BN4SR0QBx7S/?taken-by=rockkhound&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BMyxd4mDiDL/?taken-by=rockkhound&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BHClbUHjjoo/?taken-by=rockkhound&hl=en
 3. @philstockbridge

"Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love." - Louis Kahn

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHRA37jj3R-/?taken-by=philstockbridgehttps://www.instagram.com/p/BHBTWzVDu6o/?taken-by=philstockbridgehttps://www.instagram.com/p/BGRuiJCHkON/?taken-by=philstockbridge
 4. @msalisbu

"The skyscraper establishes the block, the block creates the street, the street offers itself to man."- Roland Barthes

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNIsD54DL5P/?taken-by=msalisbu&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BLrxqUvDu0j/?taken-by=msalisbu&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BJI2Crejqio/?taken-by=msalisbu&hl=en
 5. @createexplore

"I really love living in cities where the people living above, below and next to you are from totally different worlds to you."- Rupert Friend

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFQK-3DnhjG/?taken-by=createexplorehttps://www.instagram.com/p/BEpRnXmHhji/?taken-by=createexplorehttps://www.instagram.com/p/9L9zPTnhoH/?taken-by=createexplore
 6. @ryanparrilla

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

― Jane Jacobs

https://www.instagram.com/p/BI73qrfAlVp/?taken-by=ryanparrilla&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BHz6t-dg2IW/?taken-by=ryanparrilla&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/ye3gONF_gA/?taken-by=ryanparrilla&hl=en
 7. @ollienordh

"We live in a time of renaissance … cities are coming back to life, after a long neglect." - Daniel Libeskind

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNPkRJWjzzm/?taken-by=ollienordh&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BJ8XKQ2DPQ-/?taken-by=ollienordh&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BMwpXL0DTFK/?taken-by=ollienordh&hl=en
 8. @henryhwu

"Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions." -Coco Chanel

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL10yiFjbVA/?taken-by=henryhwu&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BLxGYxzDMBn/?taken-by=henryhwu&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BGS6GmjrExw/?taken-by=henryhwu&hl=en
 9. @13thwitness

"The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity." - Lewis Mumford

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNktjDlAaEq/?taken-by=13thwitness&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/66HvvsucV9/?taken-by=13thwitness&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BDlWR3iOcaT/?taken-by=13thwitness&hl=en
10. @vibesart

“To find extraordinary things, go to the ordinary streets!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNxKBtvgO4L/?taken-by=vibesart&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BFW4mn2hSkX/?taken-by=vibesart&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/_fG76GhSiC/?taken-by=vibesart&hl=en
11. @jenniferbin

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." - Winston Churchill 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQfvYUHjT8C/?taken-by=jenniferbin&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BPzxB_5BGPU/?taken-by=jenniferbin&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BOzVAr2jd1k/?taken-by=jenniferbin&hl=en
12. @kostennn

"An architect must remember that the people working or living in his building need space - to dream, to be quiet, to find beauty somewhere." - Christian de Portzamparc

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPWK8dGji0n/?taken-by=kostennn&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BJit2PGDwWb/?taken-by=kostennn&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/2Fck9RGYLM/?taken-by=kostennn&hl=en
13. @bludshot

"Nothing in this world is more simple and more cheap than making cities that provide better for people." - Jan Gehl

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBMOAbgCfS/?taken-by=bludshot&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/ymFOq-Ajwc/?taken-by=bludshot&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/xf4plWgjzC/?taken-by=bludshot&hl=en
14. @lielaine

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” — Henry David Thoreau

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ-bXdog3Pz/?taken-by=lielaine&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BP-GFhwBoEE/?taken-by=lielaine&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BQQFSJtgBvv/?taken-by=lielaine&hl=en
15. @nikk_la

"People are moving into modes of participation and self-generation, which apply to everything from museums and television to architecture." - Jake Barton

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQOFQvJgRlC/?taken-by=nikk_la&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BBHGy2yH1w8/?taken-by=nikk_la&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/BAbWd8fn1z0/?taken-by=nikk_la&hl=en
16. @rickycollier

"Information and inspiration are everywhere... history, art, architecture, everything an illustrator needs. " - John Howe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BA_9jkgTYkv/?taken-by=rickycollier&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/9-0Gw6TYmn/?taken-by=rickycollier&hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/51nmB6zYhy/?taken-by=rickycollier&hl=en