Can there be a “gardening” of cities?

  • Publish On 23 April 2017
  • Marion Waller
  • 4 minutes

Marion Waller studied the environmental philosophy and urbanism at Sciences Po and the École Normale Supérieure.
In 2016, she published Artefacts naturels (Natural Artifacts). The purpose of this book is to give a frame to entities – “objects” – that are intentionally created by men but which can be related to natural processes and are likely to to acquire autonomy as a natural object. This notion of natural artifact allows us to rethink the practice of urban planning, reducing the opposition between city and nature.

Marion Waller is also advisor to Jean-Louis Missika, Deputy Mayor of Paris, in charge of urban planning, innovation and attractiveness issues.

Bibliography

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Raphaëlle Guidée is a specialist in narrative representations of economic, environmental and societal collapse. For over 10 years, she has analyzed the narratives surrounding Detroit’s bankruptcy in order to understand how an apparent ruin of capitalism can inspire discourses of domination or resistance. In La ville d’après : Détroit, une enquête narrative [The Aftermath City: Detroit, a narrative investigation] (Flammarion), rather than focusing on fictions, she seeks out testimonies and concrete stories, believing that modern times don’t need new narratives. We simply need alternative narratives. Read the transcription of her podcast below.

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