Eco-Cities and the Politics of Sustainability
Masdar, Eko Atlantic, Konza, Songdo, HOPE, Tianjin — are these the landscapes of the future? Or just glittering utopian fantasies?
Masdar City, UAE
Since the early 2000s, dozens of multibillion dollar eco-city projects such as these have sprung up across the globe. These cities, planned and built from the ground up, are often hailed as “green-prints” for a sustainable, urban future. But, what do they really do to address the environmental, social and economic difficulties the world is facing? My thesis research situates these eco-cities within a longer history of utopian urban planning and architecture, as well as contemporary discourses surrounding sustainability and green capitalism. Some key questions I will be keeping in mind: what political work does the concept of “sustainability” do for new development projects? What alternative futures are opened up and/or foreclosed by market environmentalism? Check out more questions here…