Research in fields such as multimodality and semiotics has focused on creation of value in different forms: aesthetic, economic and symbolic. However, the destruction of value has attracted much less attention. The aim of this article is to identify social, semiotic and ideological functions of acts of destruction based on an analysis of the traces these acts leave on the urban environment. Five overarching acts of destruction are discussed, but the authors’ main focus is on what they call transformation-driven and social presence-driven destruction, with two examples from Sweden and South Africa. The article discusses sanctioned destructive acts that are largely in compliance with dominating semiotic regimes at a certain time and place, as well as disruptive actions that challenge or even disobey those regimes. The analysis shows how a distinction between sanctioned and disruptive is in no way clear and often depends on complex power distributions between semiotic regimes at a given time and place. In fact, traces in the physical environment that may point to or index highly destructive acts can, in relation to other semiotic regimes, be regarded as creative and constructive. The authors argue that the semiotic processes of destruction and the traces they leave deserve more attention from research in the fields of multimodality and semiotics.

在多模式和符号学等领域的研究集中于以不同形式创造价值：美学，经济和象征性。但是，价值的破坏吸引了较少的关注。本文的目的是根据对破坏行为在城市环境中留下的痕迹的分析来确定破坏行为的社会，符号和意识形态功能。讨论了五种总体破坏行为，但作者的主要重点是他们所说的转型驱动和社会存在驱动的破坏，其中两个实例来自瑞典和南非。本文讨论了在特定时间和地点主要符合主要符号制度的制裁破坏性行为，以及挑战甚至违反这些制度的破坏性行为。分析表明，制裁与破坏性之间的区别是如何清晰的，通常取决于在给定时间和地点，符号体系之间的复杂权力分配。实际上，相对于其他符号学体系，在物理环境中可能指向或标榜高度破坏性行为的痕迹可被视为具有创造性和建设性。作者认为，破坏的符号学过程及其留下的痕迹值得在多模态和符号学领域进行研究。被认为具有创造力和建设性。作者认为，破坏的符号学过程及其留下的痕迹值得在多模态和符号学领域进行研究。被认为具有创造力和建设性。作者认为，破坏的符号学过程及其留下的痕迹值得在多模态和符号学领域进行研究。