Elisa Nacur
PHD Student in Urban and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Master in City Law of Estadual University of Rio de Janeiro
My name is Elisa Nacur Cassano
I am a researcher into the relationship between human society and nature. My focus is on investigating and pointing out ways of overcoming the country-city contradiction that is so present in the modern urban phenomenon. I believe that this requires an economic and epistemological transformation of cities towards cooperative organisations integrated with the ecosystem. In such a way that there are mutual socio-environmental benefits between the urban environment and the natural environment.
About
Always looking for answers
My academic journey has been characterized by a relentless quest for answers to new questions that emerge from my research, in a continuous cycle of inquiry and deepening.
I began this journey by investigating a specific river in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which led me to expand my scope during my master's studies, where I examined urban planning of rivers from the perspective of economic rationality, pointing to paths for environmental rationality.
Now, in my doctoral research, I am delving into the analysis of urban planning from an ecosocialist perspective, seeking to understand how emancipatory strategies can challenge the anthropocentric city and pave the way for the imagination of a post-anthropocentric city.
History
From an early age, I have been establishing an interconnection between social psychology, political economy, and urban dynamics, with the aim of understanding our socio-historical context. In doing so, I have sought to understand through both academic trajectory and engagement with popular movements how theory and practice are situated in the face of the constant transformation of these relationships.
Currently, in my doctoral studies, I am investigating actions and theories that support practices capable of transcending capitalist structures.
The social exploitation of nature, which generates unequal impacts according to the economic power relations of its agents, has pushed the global ecosystem to its limits. This situation traces back to the early stages of capitalist development, when, through colonialism, urban centers began to expand by subordinating rural areas and peoples to their cycles of economic and social development.
In our current stage of financial and rentier capitalism, the exploitation of nature is occurring in a diffuse and globalized manner, with often more intense and unequal scales of exploitation. This scenario demands immediate and coordinated mobilization.
In this context, it becomes crucial to pursue militant, engaged research committed to the radical transformation of the means of production. Integrating theory with efforts to commonize social life – in economic, political-emancipatory, and symbolic aspects – is essential to addressing the challenges of a society that increasingly fails to respond to socio-environmental injustices.
Thus, my research aims not only to critique capitalism but also to identify and study post-anthropocentric changes.