Abstract
Abstract This article examines the intersections of community activism and wilderness in the sprawling suburban and industrial landscapes of Houston, Texas, in the United States. The Houston metropolitan region's rapid urban development, laissez-faire land use planning, and world-class petrochemical industries provide a critical context to explore the material and conceptual relations of wilderness. Building upon recent debates regarding the production of nature, the article argues that wilderness is and always has been integrated into our everyday suburban landscapes. The empirical data discussed reveals the practices and processes (re)producing wilderness materially and conceptually within the contemporary relations of urban life. It challenges us to envision wilderness as internal to society and society as internal to wilderness. The results suggest that wilderness, instead of being external and in need of protection, is internal to the human experience and therefore internal to our urban landscapes. Key Words: wilderness, urban development, production of nature, community activism, Houston, TX
Highlights
Nature...is re-established, recreated and reborn as an immanent element of the new urban order. (Keil and Graham 1998)If nature is an immanent element of our urban landscapes, could this be said of wilderness? Wilderness does not come to mind when considering Houston's suburban and industrial landscapes
The article examines the production of a suburb of Houston's named Clear Lake City, Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC), and the surrounding industrial and suburban landscapes (Figures 1 and 2)
The Armand Bayou Nature Center is among the largest urban wildlife refuges in the United States (Armand Bayou Nature Center 2009)
Summary
Nature...is re-established, recreated and reborn as an immanent element of the new urban order. (Keil and Graham 1998). A 1978 U.S News and World Report article described Houston not as a city, but as "a phenomenon that's shattering tradition as it expands outward and upward with an energy that stuns even its residents" (Close-Up of America 1978) This terra economica, or capitalist landscape, of highway overpasses, parking lots, tract housing, strip malls, and petrochemical manufacturers appears to forestall wilderness (Goldstein 2013). This study argues that wilderness is socially (re)produced through specific practices and processes It reaffirms that nature and society are not separate spheres. The article examines the production of a suburb of Houston's named Clear Lake City, Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC), and the surrounding industrial and suburban landscapes (Figures 1 and 2).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
