Sinkhole Disasters, Urban Nature, and Financing Disaster Capitalism

• In Event: 3412 - Section on Marxist Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Ecological and Class Entanglements in Capitalism

Abstract

This paper is an examination of so-called natural disaster in the context of urban nature using the example of sinkholes. Cities have long lived with disasters – geological, climatic, and humanmade. One could say that disaster is part of urban nature. In turn, the built environment is both a response and consequence of disaster. Sinkholes, in particular, are phenomena that seem to appear out of nowhere creating visually arresting disasters. Yet, urban sinkholes are less a product of the earth’s fury – such as an earthquake – and more a product of a city’s inability to cope with waste water, infrastructure, and growth. As such, a study of sinkholes is valuable in that they lie perfectly at the intersection of human behavior, urban environments, and environmental concern. First, this paper will give a historical background of sinkholes and their relationship with urban nature. Sinkholes commonly appear in karst regions – or areas where bedrock can be dissolved by water. These are also places where natural resources such as water and minerals fuel urban growth. At the same time, sinkholes were also used as waste disposal sites with consequences for urban nature. Second, I will look at how the notion of sinkholes (even the term itself) reflects a lack of political will address natural disaster. Sinkhole, interestingly, is a term that is often attached to expensive government projects – even those that fix sinkholes. Finally, this paper will conclude with a discussion of disaster capitalism and whether sinkholes can be financialized the same way other catastrophes have been.

Author

• Albert S. Fu, Kutztown University