Polycrisis

South Africa finds itself in a polycrisis in terms of dealing with economic development, to alleviate poverty, within water and energy constraints (see fig. 2).

The first implies an ethics of sufficiency and cooperation which undercut the capitalist values of individualism and crass materialism that are of little use when it comes to considering alternatives to the polycrises we now face.

If cities are to have a sustainable future, are to respond to the poly-crises and are to provide the necessary opportunities for future populations, the governance roles in responding and adapting to all aspects demand a very different view of governance and leadership within the city.

It should also be said that the economic sphere is increasingly understood to be intricately connected to the ecological – as two sides of the same coin – and in many ways community development, deeply influenced by the broader 'development literature', has been reconstructed by the ecological polycrises upon us […].

In Palestine, polycrises constitute the everyday rhythm of life; cityscapes are saturated with colonial social relations across all scales; and othering and socio-spatial disconnects have become the channels through which economic exploitation, the furthering of dependencies, and the Israeli colonial project are enabled.

But the exchange feeds into an ever-more-common discourse: that the UK is facing “polycrisis” in almost every facet of life in Britain. From courts to the cost of living, transport to healthcare, environment to the asylum system – everywhere appears to be affected.