Review of Natura Urbana: Ecological Constellations in Urban Space

Abstract

Geographer and urbanist Matthew Gandy’s most recent book, Natura Urbana, masterfully explores questions that consider whether urban nature is “nature.” He leads readers through the complex interactions between life forms on this planet, centering humans as he uncovers socio-political, cultural, and ethical entanglements. Gandy’s work on urbanism has focused on the connection between sociopolitical systems and the earthen-systems they rely on (see The Fabric of Space: Water, Modernity, and the Urban Imagination, MIT Press, 2017, and Concrete and Clay: Reworking Nature in New York City, MIT Press, 2003). This book extends these concepts into a deep exploration of how nature and urban environments interface, highlighting that humans are both reliant on, subjected to, and participants in the independent dynamics of nature’s agency.