Foregrounding Nature: An Invitation to think about Shifting Nature–City Boundaries

Abstract

Although nature in the form of “environment” has sometimes been part of sociological discussions of the city, it is typically treated as background, as a social construction, or as a metaphor for social processes. Less familiar is a view of nature as an active participant in a relationship of codetermination, an “actor” that constructs outcomes along with human beings in the communities that they inhabit. in this essay, I explore this more agentic reading of nature, bringing together insights from environmental and urban/community sociology. I explore four areas in which taken–for–granted boundaries between nature and city are shifting: ecological restoration projects, human–animal interactions, “postnatural” environments of toxic pollution, and simulated/artificial environments that substitute for nature. I suggest that urban sociology would benefit from a socioecological approach that enriches our understanding of nature and city and that allows us to participate more fully in discussions of sustainability.