Case(s) in (Non)Point

Andrew Karvonen’s Politics of Urban Runoff and Daniel Schneider’s Hybrid Nature use case studies in urban stormwater management and sewage treatment infrastructure, respectively, to interrogate the political, technological, and ecological nature(s) of modern cities. Karvonen, primarily analyzing runoff management in Austin, Texas and Seattle, Washington, uses these examples to suggest a “civic politics” of urban infrastructure development that provides a more “relational” perspective on nature and the city. Schneider’s more purely historical account of wastewater management in British and American cities details the conflicts and contradictions inherent in what he calls the “industrial ecosystem” of modern sewage treatment. Taken together, Politics of Urban Runoff and Hybrid Nature provide new insights into the material and ideological struggles involved in managing the environmental and social consequences of urban and suburban life.