Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference

Thisbookengageswiththepoliticsofsocialandenvironmentaljustice,andseeksnewwaystothinkaboutthefutureofurbanizationinthetwenty-firstcentury.Itestablishesfoundationalconceptsforunderstandinghowspace,time,placeandnature-thematerialframesofdailylife-areconstitutedandrepresentedthroughsocialpractices,notasseparateelementsbutinrelationtoeachother.Itdescribeshowgeographicaldifferencesareproduced,andshowshowtheythenbecomefundamentaltotheexplorationofpolitical,economicandecologicalalternativestocontemporarylife.Thebookisdividedintofourparts.PartIdescribestheproblematicnatureofactionandanalysisatdifferentscalesoftimeandspace,andintroducesthereadertothemodesofdialecticalthinkinganddiscoursewhichareusedthroughouttheremainderofthework.PartIIexamineshow"nature"and"environment"havebeenunderstoodandvaluedinrelationtoprocessesofsocialchangeandseeks,fromthisbasis,tomakesenseofcontemporaryenvironmentalissues.PartIII,isawide-rangingdiscussionofhistory,geographyandculture,exploresthemeaningofthesocial"production"ofspaceandtime,andclarifiesproblemsrelatedto"otherness"and"difference".Thefinalpartofthebookdeploysthefoundationalargumentstheauthorhasestablishedtoconsidercontemporaryproblemsofsocialjusticethathaveresultedfromrecentchangesingeographicaldivisionsoflabor,intheenvironment,andinthepaceandqualityofurbanization.Justice,NatureandtheGeographyofDifferencespeakstoawidereadershipofstudentsofsocial,culturalandspatialtheoryandofthedynamicsofcontemporarylife.Itisaconvincingdemonstrationthatitisbothpossibleandnecessarytovaluedifferenceandtoseekajustsocialorder.