Down with the Cities!

The author argues that urbanization is the fundamental source of pollution and ecological collapse and therefore that cities must be dismantled to preserve human survival. The city is defined by its dominance of secondary and tertiary industries, and urban sprawl is shown spreading via roads, developments, and infrastructure into rural areas. Three intertwined forces — modernization as an unquestioned ideal, the human pursuit of convenience and luxury, and the profit motive of the money economy — drive endless construction and the smothering of land with concrete. The work urges decentralization and localized self-sufficiency as necessary responses to urban-driven environmental destruction.