Urban Metabolism and Political Ecology

Erik Swyngedouw has been involved in some of the most interesting work in thinking about cities as sites of political struggle over the control and management of resources. Here are two useful essays that introduce different aspects of his work. For more on this, I recommend the book ‘In the Nature of Cities: Urban Political Ecology and the Politics of Urban Metabolism’, edited by Nikolas C. Heynen, Maria Kaika, Erik Swyngedouw

Swyngedouw_Circulations_and_Metabolism

The Political Economy and Political Ecology of the Hydro-Social Cycle