Iftwenty-first-centuryurbanizationisunderstoodasaproblem,itsregionalepicenteristhecitiesinAsia.Facingunprecedenteddiversityinscale,scope,andenvironmentaldynamicsintheAsianurbanexperience,scholarswillneedanapproachthatcantrulycapturethesignificanceofplaceandcontext.Thechallenge,asthisvolumeillustrates,canbemetbytheanalyticofecologiesofurbanism.Eschewingarigid,singleecology,thecontributorsidentifymultipleformsofnature—inbiophysical,cultural,andpoliticalterms—thathavediscernableimpactonpowerrelationsandhumansocialaction.Thecasestudiesinthisbook—includingleopardsinMumbai,anetworkoftubewellsinnorthernIndia,anislandthatgrowsthroughreclamationinHongKong,andarailwaycontinuumlinkingKhonKaenandBangkok—allattesttotheversatilityofecologiesofurbanism.Guidedbyurbanprocessesratherthangeopoliticalboundaries,PlacesofNatureinEcologiesofUrbanismoffersapictureofurbanAsiathatiscomposedofvariedecologiesofurbanism.
ECOLOGIES FIRST NATURE cultural
