On Thursday, December 7th, at 6.00 pm for TMMT, the book review event of Todo Modo and Manifattura Tabacchi, Stefano Mancuso will present his new book Fitopolis, la città vivente, published by Laterza.

For too long, we have positioned ourselves outside of nature, forgetting that we respond to the same fundamental factors that govern the expansion of other species. We have conceived the place where we live as something separate from the rest of nature, against nature. That’s why a substantial part of our survival depends on how we envision our cities in the coming years.

In the course of a few decades, humanity has undergone a revolution in its ancestral habits. Without realizing it, our species, which until recently lived immersed in nature, inhabiting every corner of the Earth, has ended up occupying a truly negligible part of the planet’s land. What happened? From a generalist species capable of living anywhere, we have transformed, in a few generations, into a species capable of living in only one specific ecological niche: the city. A revolution comparable only to the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers that occurred 12,000 years ago. It is certain that in terms of access to resources, efficiency, defense, and species spread, this transformation is advantageous. But it is equally certain that it exposes us to a terrible risk: the specialization of a species is effective only in a stable environment. In changing environmental conditions, it becomes dangerous. Our urban success requires a continuous and exponentially growing flow of resources and energy, which, however, are not unlimited.

Moreover, a decisive factor is that global warming can permanently change the environment of our cities and constitute precisely that fatal mutation of conditions on which our survival depends. That is why it has become vital to bring nature back into our habitat. The cities of the future, whether newly built or renovated, must become ‘fitopolis,’ places where the relationship between plants and animals reconnects to the harmonious relationship found in nature. There is nothing of greater importance for the future of humanity than this.