Global Assemblages, Resilience, and Earth Stewardship in the Anthropocene

In this paper, we argue that the Anthropocene is an epoch characterized not only by the anthropogenic dominance of the Earth\u27s ecosystems but also by new forms of environmental governance and institutions. Echoing the literature in political ecology, we call these new forms of environmental governance “global assemblages”. Socioecological changes associated with global assemblages disproportionately impact poorer nations and communities along the development continuum, or the “Global South”, and others who depend on natural resources for subsistence. Although global assemblages are powerful mechanisms of socioecological change, we show how transnational networks of grassroots organizations are able to resist their negative social and environmental impacts, and thus foster socioecological resilience

Desenvolvendo ação direta de desobediência civil e não violenta em favor dos famintos: “Comida e não Bombas” e o reaparecimento da Democracia Radical nos EUA

Este estudo examina os esforços de um dos movimentos sociais (anarquista) que cresce mais rapidamente no mundo “FNB” (Food and not bombs) Comida e não Bombas, para redefinir a política urbana contra a fome nos EUA. A visão é para entender como a FNB contesta a política e os processos relativos à contenção dos pobres, desprezando os esforços para desenvolver um novo método de biopolítica. Como principal alvo de seu sucesso, este estudo examina os esforços de um dos movimentos sociais (anarquista) que cresce mais rapidamente no mundo, “Comida e não Bombas” (FNB) Food Not Bombs, para redefinir políticas urbanas contra a fome nos EUA. O objetivo é para entender como a FNB contesta o desprezo das políticas e procedimentos com relação ás classes pobres e seus esforços, foca-se em como a FNB usa a ação direta de desobediência civil não-violenta para obter uma resposta da base alternativa ao direcionamento destrutivo do imperativo mercado capitalista neoliberal. O caso da FNB provê exemplos de potencial contínuo para ajuda mútua e cooperativismo na cidade e da mesma forma contra o pano de fundo das crescentes injustiças sociais dentro de universo cada vez mais globalizado. Finalizando, o estudo demonstra que a FNB oferece exemplos de vários tipos de resistência necessária para assegurar o direito fundamental inerente à cidade, o qual é o direito à comida e sobrevivência nas cidades

Cooking up Non-violent Civil-disobedient Direct Action for the Hungry: 'Food Not Bombs' and the Resurgence of Radical Democracy in the US

This paper examines the efforts of one of the fastest-growing (anarchist) social movement groups in the world, 'Food Not Bombs' (FNB), to redefine urban anti-hunger politics in the US. The aim is to understand how FNB contests the politics and processes of poor people's containment through their efforts to develop new, decommodified modes of biopolitics. As it is central to their success, the paper focuses on how FNB uses non-violent civil-disobedient direct action to provide an alternative grassroots response to the destructive market-driven imperatives of neo-liberal capitalism. The case of FNB provides an example of the continued potential for mutual aid and co-operativism in the city and does so against the backdrop of growing injustices within an ever-globalising world. Ultimately, the paper shows that FNB offers an example of the kinds of resistance necessary to secure the most fundamentally inherent right to the city, which is the right to eat and survive in the city.

Green urban political ecologies: toward a better understanding of inner-city environmental change

This research uses a Marxist urban political ecology framework to link processes of urban environmental metabolization explicitly to the consumption fund of the built environment. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I argue in this paper that Marxist notions of metabolism are ideal for investigating urban environmental change and the production of uneven urban environments. In so doing, I argue that despite the embeddedness of Harvey’s circuits of capital within urban political economy, these connected notions still have a great deal to offer regarding better understanding relations between consumption and metabolization of urban environments. From this theoretical perspective, I investigate urban socionatural metabolization as a function of the broader socioeconomic processes related to urban restructuring within the USA between 1962 and 1993 in the Indianapolis inner-city urban forest. The research examines the relations between changes in household income and changes in urban forest canopy cover. The results of the research indicate that there was a significant decline over time in the Indianapolis urban forest canopy and that median household was related to these changes, thus demonstrating a concrete example of urban environmental metabolization.

Introduction: False promises

This volume explores the nexus between nature, markets, deregulation and valuation, using theoretically sharp and empirically rich real-world case studies and analyses of actually existing policy from around the world and across a range of resources. In short, it answers the questions: does neoliberalizing nature work and what work does it do? More specifically, this volume provides answers to a series of urgent questions about the effects of neoliberal policies on environmental governance and quality. What are the implications of privatizing public water utilities in terms of equity in service provision, resource conservation and water quality? Do free trade agreements erode the sovereignty of nations and citizens to regulate environmental pollution, and is this power being transferred to corporations? What does the evidence show about the relationship between that marketization and privatization of nature and conservation objectives? Neoliberal Environments productively engages with all of these questions and more. At the same time, the diverse case studies collectively and decisively challenge the orthodoxies of neoliberal reforms, documenting that the results of such reforms have fallen far short of their ambitions

Introduction: the point is to change it

The title we have chosen for this book, borrowed from one fo Marx\u27s most famous injunctions, is an invitation to think and a provocation to act. We\u27re in the midst of some exceptionally challenging, complex and mementous changes to the global economy, polity, society and ecology