DE-densifying knowledge of cityness

Abstract

I do not see the city through increasing population density. I do not see tight spaces ruled by horizontal nor vertically densification. I see regional cities, increasingly common spaces throughout the world whose geographic boundaries are expanding, where cities are becoming visibly ruralized. Cities that are full of agricultural fields that are rapidly disappearing to accommodate residents desires for housing. Where population density is decreasing and the rural population does not understand what it means to be a resident of the city and furthermore, does not possess knowledge of cityness. I reflect on density through ruralization where people carry their past into their present habitus. People use their history and their knowledge to make sense of their new-found engagement and residency in cities. The concept of density is always about something else. In this understanding of density, it is about power, politics and relationships. Density is about the evolution of new roles and relations in cities that are being expanded or being formed. I see an on-going DE-densification of knowledge of cityness. Thinking about densification as knowledge and from the perspective of the rural has the potential to profoundly destabilize what we consider the urban throughout the world.