A cidade: sua distância da natureza / The city: its distance from nature

Abstract

Cities are artifacts and worlds of artifice placed at varying distances from states close to nature. They can be arranged along a scale, using the physical criteria of 1) cutting agricultural ties, 2) civilizing winter, and 3) conquering night. Ancient cities, despite their monumental facades, had close ties with the countryside. Agriculture remained an important activity in English cities at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Whereas the country comes to life in the warm season, the glamorous metropolis blooms in winter. The natural rhythm of day and night, of work and rest, is disrupted in the city whose cultural status is measured by the vigor of its night life. Artificial lighting, a recent technological triumph in the long history of the city, can turn night into day. Cities differ greatly in their distance from livelihoods intimately tied to nature.