The Anthropocene and the urbanization of nature: towards sustainability?

The aim of this essay is to critically reflect on two major“obstacles”(absences) that preclude from seriously investigate the contemporary world ecological crisis. The first one is connected to the contemporary politics and narratives existing around the idea of‘sustainability’, its current depo- liticization and technocratic use. The second one, on the other hand, recognizes the urban process – here conceived as“metabolic flows”of nature which enters/exits the city – as responsible for the contemporary ecological crisis. Through the theoretical lenses of post-ecology (Bluehdorn & Welsh 2007) and urban political ecology (Heynen et al, 2005), I unfold the flaws that are currently hindering a socio-ecological theorization for more sustainable futures. The theoretical lenses adopted in this article are deeply rooted in critical perspectives of post-ecology (Bluehdorn and Welsh, 2007) and urban political ecology (UPE) (Heynen et al., 2005). The first approach entails that, today, sustainability is mainly conceived as a technocratic practice aimed at managing unpleasant implications of ecological change (un-sustainability) for as long as possible, through politics which prioritize interests of today, discounting those of future generations (Bluehdorn 2011, 2013).