Friend, Richard Morris orcid.org/0000-0001-5861-1523 and Hutanuwatr, Khanin (2020) Fixing a swamp of cobras:the clash between capital and water in shaping urban vulnerabilities. Antipode. ISSN 0066-4812
Abstract
This paper addresses how capital can refashion landscapes and patterns of risk and vulnerability. Drawing on the emblematic case of the conversion of Thailand’s Cobra Swamp into Suvannabhumi International Airport we argue that there is a fundamental clash between the internal logic of capital accumulation and the ecology of water that occurs in places in which land is under water for much of the year. Counterintuitively investment in public infrastructure such as airports targets locations that are exposed to flood risks. While the literature on capital fixes tends to treat ‘land’ writ large, this paper adds a dimension that has been overlooked in the theoretical work, by highlighting the significance of the ecology of the land in which such fixes occur as a means of understanding patterns of investment, land use change and vulnerability. Our analysis draws on three separate but related concepts of capital ‘fixes’ – spatial, technological and high/low road fixes. We argue the importance of recognising the specific ecological characteristics of land that capital ‘fixes’. This perspective has global significance in providing critical insight into the ways in which capital creates and accommodates the kinds of vulnerabilities and risks associated with climate change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors |
Keywords: | capital fixes,urban vulnerability |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Environment and Geography (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Sep 2020 11:40 |
Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2024 00:10 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12682 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/anti.12682 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:165104 |
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Description: Fixing a Swamp of Cobras: TheClash between Capital and Water inShaping Urban Vulnerabilities
Licence: CC-BY 2.5