We will be taking a break for a couple of weeks and we will be back with a new series of posts.
In making sense of this planet as a dwelling, we have to start with the Globe (the noun behind Globalization), which is the fullest expression of human dwelling upon this planet. When we say ‘anthropocene’ we really mean the rule of the Globe over the Earth, but we need to keep reminding ourselves that the Globe is a minuscule percentage of the Earth’s possibilities. Unless we learn to put the Globe in its place, we won’t open our eyes to the paths taken by others.
But how does the Globe straddles the Earth? What makes the Globe a ‘force of nature’? One answer to that question has to do with accumulation, which makes the Globe grow and grow.
Cities are the primary location at which accumulation builds upon accumulation.
The contradiction between the Globe and the Earth is the defining contradiction of our times. It’s manifested in two distinct avatars so far: in the nuclear holocaust avatar and in the climate crisis avatar. More avatars remain to be discovered.
Exploring the accumulative contradiction between the Globe and the Earth is a looong exercise, but we can get a glimpse by paying attention to Planetary urbanization. PU is a concept in urban studies and geography that refers to the worldwide or global spread of urban forms and ways of life. The term is associated with critical urban theory, which seeks to understand the global and uneven development of cities and the ways in which urbanization processes are connected to economic, social, and environmental dynamics at multiple scales.
The idea behind planetary urbanization is that urbanization is not just about the growth of cities, but also about the ways in which urban forms and processes are reshaping the entire planet, including rural and wilderness areas. It suggests that urban processes are affecting the entire globe, not just areas that are traditionally considered "urban." Key themes in discussions of planetary urbanization include:
1. Global Spread of Urban Forms - Urbanization is happening worldwide, reshaping landscapes, ecologies, and societies even in places that are not traditionally considered cities. If a village springs around a shrine in the Himalayas that’s primarily visited by urban Indians, then the village is part of urban sprawl.
2. Urban-Rural Interconnections - The distinction between urban and rural is becoming increasingly blurred, with urban processes affecting even remote areas (e.g., through infrastructure development, resource extraction, and industrial agriculture).
3. Economic and Social Dynamics - Urbanization is closely linked to global capitalism, with cities serving as key nodes in global economic networks.
4. Environmental Impact - Urbanization is having profound effects on the planet's ecosystems, climate, and natural resources.
5. Inequality - Urbanization processes often exacerbate social and spatial inequalities, both within and between cities and regions.
Scholars like Neil Brenner have been instrumental in developing and promoting the concept of planetary urbanization, arguing for a rethinking of urban theory to account for the global and interconnected nature of contemporary urbanization processes.
Forest, Village, City
Planetary urbanization is a necessary corrective to the usual underestanding of India, which has been celebrated as a rural society for millennia. Let’s be very clear: we are now an urban nation, for even the rural ‘thinks’ urban and much economic activity outside the urban is still for urban consumers.
Financialization and marketization convert subsistence economies into urban economies even when the activities are conducted in a rural setting. Instead of saying urban vs rural, we might be better off calling it a city that looks a town versus a city that looks like a village. They are both cities.
In this new regime, the city expands its tentacles to every corner of the earth, extracting blood, sweat and soil from villages and forests while giving back very little. What do you envision upon hearing the term ‘planetary city’? Do images of expansive areas filled with towering buildings and landfills cross your mind? As concerns about climate change and ecological collapse grow, the most pervasive representation of a mechanized civilization remains the city. It's not just limited to the urban areas but extends to massive infrastructural networks utilized by cities for extraction, communication, and transportation of materials and information. Everything, from colossal oil tankers to intricate fiber optic cables, embodies the concept of the planetary city.
It doesn’t have to be that way!
The city and the village and the forest don't have to be separate domains of human existence. The arrow of history doesn't have to go from forest to village to city. It could be a circle with the city embedded in a forest, the forest embedded in a village and the village embedded in a city.
When pondering the concept of a ‘planetary city,’ envision an alternative, ecological approach to this sprawling urbanization. Imagine cities intertwined with vast green spaces, where the infrastructure is built in harmony with nature rather than at its expense. Envision urban areas where renewable energy sources power buildings, and efficient public transportation systems reduce the reliance on personal vehicles, thereby decreasing carbon emissions. Picture a world where cities implement comprehensive recycling and waste reduction programs, and where local, sustainable food production is prioritized and integrated into the design of neighbourhoods and buildings. This vision of a planetary city emphasizes environmental sustainability, ensuring a balance between urban development and ecological preservation, fostering a healthier and more harmonious world for future generations.
Instead of the Planetary City being one where the city expands to cover the planet, let it be the opposite: the planet giving us room to breathe by coming into our living rooms.
I want to end this essay (and this series) with a paradoxical set of claims:
On the one hand, we have drastically transform this regime of planetary urbanization where metropolitan regions control vast flows of energy, matter, information and finance and colonise the rest of the earth.
Cities are our best hope of living with others, especially those who are different from us. These strangers include other human beings but also animals and trees and insects.
Resolving this paradox will be a mark of our collective wisdom.