Urban desertification and a phenomenology of sustainability: the case of El Paso, Texas Online publication date: Tue, 29-Jul-2014
by Jules Simon
Interdisciplinary Environmental Review (IER), Vol. 15, No. 2/3, 2014
Abstract: My thesis is that current cities and the way that cities are being developed is unsustainable and poses global problems for the long-term flourishing of the world's inter-related and interdependent economies, for matters of justice and happiness in socio-cultural relations between peoples, and for the health of our natural environments. I argue that 'urban desertification' happens in the complex relationship between cities (both urban and suburban) and rural environments that support them as both a natural and ethical phenomenon that I study using a form of analysis called phenomenological ethics. First, I briefly present sketches of phenomenology and sustainability in order to introduce the method of phenomenological ethics to develop a more adequate understanding of urban sustainability. Then, I make a connection between desertification and urbanisation. Finally, I focus on the city of El Paso, Texas in order to provide an empirical and relevant case study of the existing problems of desertification and sustainability.
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