Social space and spatial architectonics, in the production of space, pp. Smiths research explored the broad intersections between space, nature, social theory, and history. Serial crises in the global economy have spurred renewed debate over contemporary transformations in geographies of uneven development. Nature, capital and the production of space as an opportunity to consider the seminal contributions the book has made for pushing scholars to more deeply consider the connections between the persistence of capitalism and social reproduction. Nature, capital and the production of space neil smith third edition with a new afterword and a foreword by david harvey verso books. Castillo 2 the production of nature at global scale and the creation of a. L48 1991 115dclo typeset in 10 on 12 pt sabon by photograpbics, honiton, devon 9021058 cip. To this extent the problems of nature, of space, and of uneven development are tied together by capital itself. Please join us for a lively discussion on neil smiths uneven development. Some of the more radical writers see this inequality as both a cause and a consequence of growing environmental vulnerability. His magnum opus is considered to be uneven development. Sustainability research in human geography and in the broader social sciences more generally, has raised important questions concerning spatial inequality and uneven development. Nature, capital and the production of space as an opportunity to consider the seminal contributions the book has made for pushing scholars to. Global production network gpn studies have not been inured to this trend.
Uneven development is the process by which the social relations of capitalist societies are translated into spatial forms. Pdf uneven development download full pdf book download. Uneven development is social inequality blazoned into the geographical landscape, and it is simultaneously the exploitation of that geographical unevenness for certain. Reviewed by thomas rogers published on hlatam october, 2012 commissioned by dennis r. Nature, capital, and the production of space 3 by neil smith, david harvey isbn. His dissertation at johns hopkins university was supposed to have been on urban processes, but was in fact a major theoretical treatise that became the book uneven development. New political economy surviving uneven development. Nature, capital, and the production of space 25 years after its publication. Nature, capital and the production of space, which he first released in 1984 ibid. These are typically areas where the strength of capitalistic relationships has diminished within a developed economy.
Featuring groundbreaking analyses of the production of nature and the politics of scale, smith. A critical evaluation of neil smiths production of. In uneven development, a classic in its field, neil smith offers the first full theory of uneven geographical development, entwining theories of space and nature with a critique of capitalist development. Nature, capital, and the production of space third edition, with a new afterword. The idea of the production of nature is indeed paradoxical, to the point of sounding absurd, if judged by the superficial appearance of nature even in capitalist society. Nature, capital, and the production of space by smith, neil isbn. The uneven and combined development of world capitalism. Marsden, in international encyclopedia of human geography, 2009.
Week 2 january 29th the production of spacenature readings. This third edition features an afterword updating the analysis for the present day. Not that the long development of the concept of space had been forgotten. Few books have made such productive contributions to expanding the horizons of political economy, particularly the spatiality of political economy, as has uneven development. In uneven development, a classic in its field, neil smith offers the first full theory of uneven geographical development, entwining theories of. As rapid environmental change and attendant political divisions and struggles return to the fore propelled in no small part by global climate change. Uneven development an overview sciencedirect topics. He works on the broad connections between space, social theory and history, and among his eight books are new urban frontier. A depleted community is a place that lacks economic growth mechanisms, but to which people maintain social valuations and place attachment. Featuring pathbreaking analyses of the production of nature and the politics of scale, smiths work anticipated many of the uneven contours that now mark neoliberal globalization. Uneven and combined development or unequal and combined development or uneven development is a concept in marxian political economy intended to describe dynamics of human history involving the interaction of capitalist laws of motion and starting world market conditions whose national units are highly heterogeneous the idea was applied systematically by leon trotsky around the turn of the. Nature, capital, and the production of space neil smith, david harvey in uneven development, a classic in its field, neil smith offers the first full theory of uneven geographical development, entwining theories of space and nature with a critique of capitalist development. The restructuring of spatial scale and the new global.
Uneven development results from the resolution of competing tendencies toward the. The law of uneven and combined development is a scientific law of the widest application to the historic process. It was in which, as this essay will come to argue, that smith advances a revolutionary understanding of nature and its relationship with capitalism. Nature, capital, and the production of space for free. Furthermore, we move on from this connection to consider the. These locations are products of uneven development, which some consider an inherent feature of capitalism. Of all published articles, the following were the most read within the past 12 months. Uneven development is one of the most important books of specifically geographical social theory to be written in the english language in the last 30 years. Gentrification and the revanchist city 1996 and uneven development.
Nature is generally seen as precisely that which cannot be produced. In uneven development, a classic in its field, neil smith offers the first full theory of uneven geographical development, entwining theories of space and nature with a critique of capitalism. David harveys theory of uneven geographical development. The philosophical premises of uneven and combined development volume 39 issue 3 justin rosenberg skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. This article takes the 25th anniversary of neil smiths uneven development. The debate between marxists about the origins of capitalism has divided into two broad campsworld systems theory and political marxism.
While each has its insights, they are both onesided. Nature, capital, and the production of space neil smiths uneven development is a classic work of marxist geography that deserves to be read by everyone trying to understand the way that capitalism shapes, and reshapes the natural world. Uneven development is the concrete process and pattern of the production of nature under capitalism. Nature, capital, and the production of space 3rd edition university of georgia press. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Production of space mainly means capital, power and class shape urbanisation and finally make urban space and urbanisation become their product, which becomes an important theory to study the urban issues and urbanisation since 1970s harvey, 1973. He has been called the father of gentrification theory, and is author of more than 160 scholarly. Nature, capital and the production of space in uneven development, a classic in its field, neil smith offers the first. This article, along with this special symposium, engages with the lasting significance of neil smiths uneven development. The marxist geographer, david harvey, has written extensively and influentially about the production of space under capitalism and, in particular, uneven. A key contribution of smiths book lies in his explanation of the tension in capitalist production between equalization and di. This law has a dual character or, rather, it is a fusion of two closely connected laws.