Hey! Thank you for stopping by and reading/ watching! I appreciate your kind words.
Here is a list of books worth checking out:
Fiction
The Ministry for the Future (Kim Stanley Robinson): Near-future science fiction exploring extreme ecological adaptations in cities in response to climate change.
New York 2140 (Kim Stanley Robinson): Novel envisioning a partially flooded New York City, demonstrating creative urban adaptation to an altered environment.
The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin): Fantasy with complex worldbuilding emphasizing a deep interconnectedness between humanity and nature.
Non-fiction
The Nature of Cities: Ecocriticism and Urban Environments: Essay collection analyzing the intersection of cities and nature in literature and highlighting real-world environmental challenges that "jungle cities" would need to solve.
The Triumph of the City (Edward Glaeser): Explores the ecological efficiency of dense urban cores, a principle relevant to designing resource-conscious "jungle cities".
The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century (Dr. Dickson Despommier): Delves into vertical farming, a potential component of food production in densely-populated jungle cities.
Wild Ones: A Sometimes Dismaying, Weirdly Reassuring Story About Looking at People Looking at Animals in America (Jon Mooallem): Explores changing attitudes towards wildness and human connections to nature, concepts crucial for residents of a jungle city.
Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life (Stephen R. Kellert): Provides principles for incorporating natural elements into architectural design, essential for the deep integration envisioned in jungle cities.
Urban Ecology: Science of Cities (Ian Douglas): Offers a scientific framework for understanding the complex ecosystems present within urban environments, which is crucial for a functional and sustainable jungle city.
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You make an excellent point. The words "coexistence" and "dominion" carry very different connotations that may not fully capture the ideal relationship we should strive for with nature. Rather than a focus on mere tolerance or outright mastery, perhaps a more appropriate term would be "integration" or "symbiosis."
This article got me thinking about how a futuristic "jungle city" would function. True success can't mean simply shoving some greenery into urban planning. It hinges on understanding the city itself as a part of a wider ecosystem, dependent on it for air, water, and overall stability. This demands a reciprocal relationship, where we design structures and systems that benefit nature as much as they benefit us.
Thanks again for your time and words!
