Urbanizing physical geography

The physical environment of cities and processes of urbanization have a long-standing presence in the field of physical geography and can give physical geography a renewed relevance in urban sustainability and planning. Existing approaches in physical geography will be a valuable component of this work. New insights and understanding of urban environments may be gained by engaging with ideas of urban landscapes as socio-natures; adopting critical, political, and reflexive modes of thought and practice; and thinking beyond the physical structures and spatial boundaries of the city to planetary urbanization. Thinking about urban environments in these ways also opens up possible changes in the scope of, and approaches to, physical geography as a whole.