Urban Ecologies on the Edge: Making Manila's Resource Frontier

Laguna Lake in the Philippines serves as a source of fish and water for Manila's urban region, but transforming it to provide multiple urban ecological functions has led to resource conflicts and contradictions. In Urban Ecologies on the Edge, Kristian Karlo Saguin explores the politics of resource flows and the narratives of Laguna Lake as Manila's resource frontier, showing how people interact with the state and environment to produce unequal landscapes of urbanization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 14 June 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Laguna Lake, the largest lake in the Philippines, serves as a vital source of fish and water for the bustling urban region of Manila, while also acting as a sink for its stormflows and waste. However, the transformation of this lake to fulfill these multiple urban ecological functions has sparked resource conflicts and contradictions that manifest unevenly across space.

In his book, Urban Ecologies on the Edge, Kristian Karlo Saguin delves into the politics of resource flows and explores the narratives surrounding Laguna Lake as Manila's resource frontier. Providing water to the city and safeguarding it from floods are both frontier-making processes that bring together diverse socioecological imaginaries, practices, and relations. Through a combination of fieldwork and historical accounts, Saguin showcases how individuals, both powerful and marginalized, interact with the state and the environment to shape the unequal landscapes of urbanization at and beyond the city's edge.

The book highlights the complex interplay between human activities, state policies, and environmental processes in shaping the urban landscape. It examines how the construction of dams, reservoirs, and other infrastructure projects have altered the hydrological dynamics of the lake, affecting its fish stocks and water quality. Saguin also explores the social and economic implications of these changes, including the displacement of communities and the emergence of new forms of livelihood.

Furthermore, Urban Ecologies on the Edge sheds light on the diverse ways in which people engage with the lake and its resources. It examines the role of local communities, such as fishermen and farmers, in managing and preserving the lake's ecosystem services. It also explores the challenges faced by these communities, including pollution, overfishing, and climate change.

The book offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of urban resource management and the challenges faced by cities in the globalizing world. It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and collaborative efforts to address the multifaceted challenges of urbanization and promote sustainable development.

In conclusion, Laguna Lake, as Manila's resource frontier, serves as a testament to the complex interplay between human activities, the environment, and the politics of resource allocation. Through the lens of Urban Ecologies on the Edge, Saguin provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the urban landscape and offers insights into the strategies needed to promote sustainable development in cities.

Weight: 286g
Dimension: 153 x 228 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520382664