Cities in the Anthropocene : new ecology and urban politics

Climate change is real, and extreme weather events are its physical manifestations. These extreme events affect how we live and work in cities, and subsequently the way we design, plan, and govern them. Taking action ‘for the environment’ is not only a moral imperative; instead, it is activated by our everyday experience in the city. Based on the author’s site visits and interviews in Darwin (Australia), Tulsa (Oklahoma), Cleveland (Ohio), and Cape Town (South Africa), this book tells the story of how cities can lead a transformative pro-environment politics. National governments often fail to make binding agreements that bring about radical actions for the environment. This book shows how cities, as local sites of mobilizing a collective, political agenda, can be frontiers for activating the kind of environmental politics that appreciates the role of ‘nature’ in the everyday functioning of our urban life. "Climate change is real, and extreme weather events are its physical manifestations. These extreme events affect how we live and work in cities, and subsequently the way we design, plan and govern them. Taking action 'for the environment' is not only a moral imperative; instead, it is activated by our everyday experience. Based on the author's site visits and interviews in Australia, the US, and South Africa, this book tells the story of how cities can lead a transformative pro-environment politics. National governments often fail to make binding agreements that bring about radical actions for the environment. This book shows how cities, as local sites of mobilizing a collective, political agenda, can be frontiers for activating the kind of environmental politics that appreciates the role of 'nature' in the everyday functioning of our urban life." -- Back cover Cover Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Environment Politics Beyond Environment 2. Why Cities? Towards a New Theorisation of ‘Scale’ 3. Darwin vs. Tulsa: How Cities Talk About ‘Nature’ Without Saying the Word 4. Cleveland vs. Cape Town: Can a City Aspire to be Green and Inclusive 5. Cities and Complexity: Linking ‘the Social’ with ‘the Environmental’ 6. Conclusion: Possibilities of the Unknown, for the Unknown Postscript: Future Directions for Cities in the Anthropocene Notes Index