The Ruralization of the World

We live, we are told, in a world that is urbanizing and that is urbanizing at a rapid pace. But the diagnosis of urbanization has lost all meaning. To fully make sense of current sociospatial transformations, we need to also analyze them from the perspective of that which is supposedly acted upon or being transformed. A focus on ruralization brings into view not only urban agriculture and urban wildlife but also boring towns and farmers in suburbs. This approach allows us to study new developments that only become visible once we abandon the narrow focus on urbanization, such as the emergence of new forms of improvisation in the face of failing infrastructures.