Alex Putzer
New York University/Ca' Foscari University of Veni

A Theory of Multi-Nature Urbanism

An increasingly urbanized world is facing mounting environmental crises. The recent fire catastrophe in Los Angeles is just the latest example of cities seemingly at odds with nature. While there is no shortage of ideas addressing these conflicts, these ideas often remain too sectoral, disciplinary, or narrow. In this lecture, I propose multi-nature urbanism as a theory that acknowledges and combines the diversity of conceptual, moral, and legal understandings of nature. Building on existing urban and more-than-human theories and practices, I am specifically inspired by the rights of nature—a growing moral and legal movement that applies the logic of values, rights, and personhood to rivers, mountains, and entire ecosystems. Scholarship on this movement has yet to make its way into cities, which have historically been catalysts for novel forms of cohabitation. The Rights of Nature in Cities positions urban nature not as a passive building material and design element, but as an active stakeholder in decision-making processes. The resulting emergence of a non-human citizenry ultimately inspires novel ways to imagine—and, consequently, build—more just and sustainable cities.