Monuments can fulfill many functions in cities: they can serve as receptacles for local memories and histories, as places to spend time, as meeting points and as landmarks. However, despite this potential flexibility, the concept of the monument and its relation to the city are in crisis in contemporary architecture, urban design and public discourse.

Monuments of Everyday Life calls for a rediscovery of the monument as an essential and creative part of the city. Based on a rereading of four monumental sites in São Paulo, this book locates specific spatial patterns around monuments that can offer alternatives to the instability, rampant commercialization and homogenization of urban space. These monuments can serve as reference points for collective life and material representations of collective values. Drawing conclusions from history, Monuments of Everyday Life addresses a question for urban futures—why do cities need monuments?