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Make Kin, Not Cities! Multispecies Entanglements and ‘Becoming-World’ in Planning Theory

Item

Title

Make Kin, Not Cities! Multispecies Entanglements and ‘Becoming-World’ in Planning Theory

Abstract/Description

Much planning theory has been undergirded by an ontological exceptionalism of humans. Yet, city planning does not sit outside of the eco-social realities co-producing the Anthropocene. Urban planners and scholars, therefore, need to think carefully and critically about who speaks for (and with) the nonhuman in place making. In this article, we identify two fruitful directions for planning theory to better engage with the imbricated nature of humans and nonhumans is recognised as characteristic of the Anthropocene ? multispecies entanglements and becoming-world. Drawing on the more-than-human literature in urban and cultural geography and the environmental humanities, we consider how these terms offer new possibilities for productively rethinking the ontological exceptionalism of humans in planning theory. We critically explore how planning theory might develop inclusive, ethical relationships that can nurture possibilities for multispecies flourishing in diverse urban futures, the futures that are increasingly recognised as co-produced by nonhuman agents in the context of climate variability and change. This, we argue, is critical for developing climate-adaptive planning tools and narratives for the creation of socially and environmentally just multispecies cities.

Date

In publication

Volume

17

Issue

2

Pages

190-212

Resource type

Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

Published Text

Scholarship genre

Synthesis/Overview

Open access/full-text available

Yes

Peer reviewed

Yes

ISSN

1473-0952

Citation

Houston, D., Hillier, J., MacCallum, D., Steele, W., & Byrne, J. (2018). Make Kin, Not Cities! Multispecies Entanglements and ‘Becoming-World’ in Planning Theory. Planning Theory, 17(2), 190–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095216688042

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