Wild Spaces in Urban Development: Grassroots Imaginaries in a Globalising World

"In this wide-ranging study Amartya Deb brings a range of recent debates about marginal urban spaces to an Indian context. Deb’s street level ethnographic focus explores the complexities of urban nature from multiple vantage points." Matthew Gandy, Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK 'Amartya Deb’s Wild Spaces in Urban Development: Grassroots Imaginaries in a Globalising World, expands our understanding of urban nature by focusing on what he terms ‘landscape fractions’ – the microsites in cities where wild nature asserts itself and often flourishes. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, particularly in Kolkata and Bengaluru, Deb highlights how such small spaces teeming with plant life enhance the urban environment, especially for communities without parks or other designed green spaces. Not incidentally, these scattered and informal wild spaces sustain diverse animals – including wildlife such as birds, insects, and small mammals, as well as grazing cattle – allowing them to persist and thrive. Deb’s extraordinary work makes clear why we should tend, and protect these small yet vital spaces for wild nature.' Jennifer Wolch, Dean Emerita, College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, USA