Reflecting on ‘Hinterland Ecologies in the Anthropocene’

As part of the UCL/University of the Witwatersrand Public Voices programme, Associate Professor Pushpa Arabindoo travelled to South Africa to share her latest research on ecological urbanism and the extended landscape of Chennai, India. 

During the visit, she delivered a seminar titled ‘Hinterland Ecologies in the Anthropocene’ at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town.

Chaired by Professor Nancy Odendaal, the session explored the persistent neglect of Chennai’s hinterland—a space undergoing rapid urban expansion—within the city’s flood mitigation and urban planning efforts.

Pushpa drew attention to the watershed region overlapping with this hinterland, making the case for “humid thinking” and more-than-human planning approaches that accommodate shifting land-water dynamics. 

Her reflections form part of a broader inquiry into Chennai’s Third Master Plan and the ecological futures of the city’s extended territory.

The Cape Town seminar was one of several presentations Pushpa gave during her South African visit. 

At the Gauteng City Region Observatory, she delivered a talk titled ‘Hinterland Urbanised? Chennai’s Third Master Plan’, and at the 9th Annual IIES Science and Policy Workshop she presented her paper ‘Chennai’s Climate Action Plan: ‘Decarbonisation’ and Low-Carbon Transitions’. 

She also met with academic colleagues at Wits University’s School of Architecture and Planning and WISER  to explore collaborative research opportunities.