Re-imagining cities as ecosystems: environmental subject formation in Auckland and Mexico City

Abstract

The constitution of environmental subjects by governments and civil society organizations around the world has taken place within a framework of neoliberal urbanization. This entails promoting an individual sense of responsibility over urban environments among city dwellers. The approach used is not so much governmentality as environmentality, because of its focus on environmental matters. We claim that the tools used in this process are designed to generate among urban dwellers an imaginary of the cities they inhabit as ecosystems. Using qualitative methods, we examine cases in Auckland and Mexico City regarding water management.