Urban Prosperity

Uncertainty is a constant in human existence. We must never forget that life in the universe is itself an accident within the full arc of 'universal' history. Perhaps equally accidental is the formation of those fertile nuclei of life, like coral reefs, and yet more remarkable still is the creation of the city: born of the human need to share the existential isolation that each of us carries. The city is the tacit expression of our need to find others with whom to share existence, to transmit our joys and sorrows, and, above all, to prosper.

Any concept can be made as complex as one wishes, though the simpler the framing the more plausible the explanation. Urban prosperity, as understood here, has three dimensions: first, a place conducive to the existence of livelihoods; second, a place where that environment is genuinely appealing to human experience; and third (arguably the most complex), a space where the quality of existence is such that it allows human beings to enjoy their lives, to whatever extent their circumstances permit.

In the many discussions I have had about what urbanity means, I have consistently favored a social definition: the city as a high-density space of human interaction, expressed through both physical and intangible arrangements. Informing that view is the Foucauldian tradition of communicative artifacts, which explains how symbols and positionings redirect the course of collective decisions. My position has repeatedly been challenged by those devoted to the urbanism of stone (a quasi-Cretaceous-Paleogene sensibility) that sees the city as nothing beyond the physical. My own inclination to reinterpret human understanding runs squarely in the other direction, toward what lies beyond the physically evident: Venus figurines and their fertility symbolism, ceremonial burials, and more. I cannot reduce my understanding of cities to the poverty of the urban grid and its reductive representation of what human life actually entails.

Urban prosperity depends, at its foundation, on an element that has been undervalued for decades: the State. Faithful to the Venetian tradition of statecraft, resistant to the mystique captured by atypical entities, the State consolidates as the primary form of protection, the primary mechanism for generating agreements, and above all the creator of aesthetic and aspirational conditions for life. This human invention has enabled an enormous capacity for people to meet their basic needs, to desire lives of full and happy experience, and to produce imaginaries robust enough to inspire generations.

COVID and the reality it brought is a faithful testament to the fragility of human existence, not only in individual terms but (and here lies the tragedy) in terms of our social existence as well. I frequently read and hear voices proclaiming the end of urbanity, the end of human coexistence, the end of the very essence of what human beings desire at every moment. I refuse to join such an unfortunate position. Now more than ever, humanity's greatest collective efforts are bearing fruit, and that is thanks to the scaffolding we call Cities.

Two extraordinary pieces of evidence stand out: on one hand, the global effort to defend human life from our own contempt for the environment; on the other, the implicit vindication of academia and the State as humanity's best defense.

The international cooperation we have witnessed would never have been possible without cities, where effective (and ineffective) treatments, medical supplies, equipment, diagnostic methods, analytical methodologies, and emblematic case studies are shared. Cities and our multilateral channels of communication generated an ultra-connected global network through our Foreign Ministries, which worked together to find joint solutions that are only explicable by the existence of common meeting spaces, spaces made possible through pacts forged in Cities.

It bears remembering that the battle to defend the environment is far from over. As long as what is extracted from the environment is economically worth more than the ecosystem itself, we will remain on this trajectory. The adaptation thesis invites us to believe that resources will eventually be redirected toward resolving the climate emergency, but to think that capitalism's capacity will be sufficient to reverse the damage is naive. In some measure, we should be grateful to COVID for revealing the importance of ecosystems, the fragility of the biosphere, and the enormous global responsibility we bear to confront it. The planet comes first. And one concrete way for all of humanity to grasp the existence of 'ONE SINGLE INTERCONNECTED ECOSYSTEM' is the COVID crisis itself: if I protect myself, I protect others, and vice versa.

Academia and basic/applied research have become humanity's true shield in the planet's battle for the survival of the species. Hundreds of billions of euros, dollars, and yuan that, until recent decades, were dismissed as 'wastefully invested' now demonstrate that these brilliant minds, thinkers disciplined by the scientific method, are our most effective defense. Academia, long misunderstood, criticized, and frequently disregarded, as reflected in the sustained global reduction of funding to knowledge-producing institutions, today reclaims its rightful place in society.

The global efforts to defend life through states and their scaffolding make clear that without academia and research, we could not generate a viable trajectory or a shared imaginary through which to move forward. Both are necessary and inseparable. As Mazzucato would say: 'the greatest entrepreneur in capitalism is the State,' and its start-ups are 'publicly sponsored science.' Today, they are what will save us.

Cities, for their part, are the spaces that generated the state scaffolding, the multilateral institutions, the research universities, and the centers of basic and applied science, and where, at the same time, you and I both aspire to live a full and joyful life.

Understanding the city as a scaffolding of social relations, now fragmented by its urban assassin, COVID-19, we face the greatest test of the resilience of that human yearning: to share, to create, and to reimagine where we wish to take the meaning of our existence for the generations that follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the three dimensions of urban prosperity?

The author identifies three dimensions: first, a place that enables livelihoods; second, an environment genuinely appealing to human experience; and third, a space where the quality of existence allows people to actually enjoy their lives, to whatever extent their circumstances permit.

Why does the author believe COVID-19 vindicates cities rather than undermining them?

Rather than signaling the end of urbanity, COVID-19 revealed that cities are the scaffolding through which global cooperation becomes possible. International coordination on treatments, medical supplies, and research methodologies all depended on multilateral institutions and meeting spaces that cities enable.

What role does the State play in urban prosperity?

The State is presented as the foundational layer beneath urban prosperity, the primary mechanism for protection, agreement-building, and creating aspirational conditions for a good life. Drawing on Mazzucato, the essay frames the State as capitalism's greatest entrepreneur, with publicly funded science as its most consequential output.