On the deployment of scientific knowledge for a new urbanism of the anthropocene

In this chapter, the author reflects on the experiences of working within international scientific assessments and expert groups and working to build new vocabularies for urban futures in the hope of influencing new climate urbanism models of the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is the age of global environmental assessments. These assessments examine the present state of knowledge about environmental problems and solutions on a planetary scale. They include various modalities of deliberative panels of international scientists, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and so on. The focus on heterogeneous configurations of infrastructure requires understanding that multiple ways of governing and accessing infrastructure coexist in cities. When assessments focus on cities and urban areas, they have to address the interests of policy makers, city managers, and planers in ways that restrict the framing of the report and define what is within or without its scope.