Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice

by Kian Goh

An examination of urban climate change response strategies and the resistance to them by grassroots activists and social movements.

Cities around the world are formulating plans to respond to climate change and adapt to its impact. Often, marginalized urban residents resist these plans, offering “counterplans” to protest unjust and exclusionary actions. In this book, Kian Goh examines climate change response strategies in three cities—New York, Jakarta, and Rotterdam—and the mobilization of community groups to fight the perceived injustices and oversights of these plans. Looking through the lenses of urban design and socioecological spatial politics, Goh reveals how contested visions of the future city are produced and gain power.

Goh describes, on the one hand, a growing global network of urban environmental planning organizations intertwined with capitalist urban development, and, on the other, social movements that themselves often harness the power of networks. She explores such initiatives as Rebuild By Design in New York, the Giant Sea Wall plan in Jakarta, and Rotterdam Climate Proof, and discovers competing narratives, including community resiliency in Brooklyn and grassroots activism in the informal “kampungs” of Jakarta. Drawing on participatory fieldwork and her own background in architecture and urban design, Goh offers both theoretical explanations and practical planning and design strategies. She reframes the critical concerns of urban climate change responses, presenting a sociospatial typology of urban adaptation and considering the notion of a “just” resilience. Finally, she proposes a theoretical framework for designing equitable and just urban climate futures.

Genres: Climate Change, Nonfiction, Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Environment, Cities, Urbanism

298 pages, Paperback

Published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bleep bloop class book

[jillian krinsky:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok. i think a lot of it was obvious that “wow, sociopolitical experiences shape potential for urban resilience programs”. i liked goh’s analysis and methodology for his studies, but this is more textbook-esque. skipped a little bit around the first chapter & it’s very buzzword heavy if you don’t know what it’s talking about.

[Aubrie Methven · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone in the field of environmental studies who is still in academia, I have no idea who this book is for. The issues discussed and connections between Jakarta, Rotterdam, and NYC are important conversations to be having, but this book feels like it is preaching to the choir. The way in which it is written is bogged down by jargon and would be better suited to an academic article format, as it tends to repeat itself a lot. The author discusses community organization and grassroots work extensively to improve city resilience, but does not effectively act upon this sentiment in any meaningful way. Accessibility of information is at the core of any community organizing, and this is not what I would consider "accessible" information for the people that need it most. It reads a lot like the author is trying to reach a certain page number or word count, which is unfortunate because I truly believe that there are ideas in this book worth discussing.

[Sophia Rubin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For school

[Beckett Zinn-Rowthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on climate change I have read. Not only does goh demonstrate how “resiliency” and recovery efforts can perpetuate and even accelerate already existing urban inequalities, but she also demonstrates how substantive community engagement in these strategies can remedy these issues. A must read for anyone concerned with urban climate change.