Situating socio-natural relations in times of climate crisis by means of nineteenth-century literature

Abstract

The dynamics of urban and rural life shifted significantly in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, with infrastructure and labour taking on different forms. As opposed to the idea of returning to the countryside in the sense of a postmodern idyll, it is possible to identify ways of inhabiting spaces beyond the city that blend traditional and innovative elements. Inspired by integrative policymaking such as Italy’s National Strategy for Inner Areas, we address the complexities of this type of territory through two contrasting poems: Émile Verhaeren’s ‘La plaine’ (Les villes tentaculaires, 1895) describes the thrall of an all-consuming metropolis; Amy Levy’s ‘The Village Garden’ (A London Plane-Tree, 1889) evokes the fleeting charm of a tranquil greenspace.