Abstract

This paper accepts Ecologism’s basic argument that sustainable existence implies radical change in our relationship with the nonhuman world and in our social and political lives, and seeks to ascertain what ecologism implies for the city. The social and political aspects involved in transitioning a city to sustainable patterns are analyzed by scrutinizing three facets of the relationship between cities and the natural environment. The paper concludes with an analysis of the political and normative implications of these relations and argues that transitioning cities into sustainable patterns requires a more profound civic politics of urban sustainability.