Animals are more than just guests or co-habitants in our cities, according to an article in New Scientist—they're a critical component of the infrastructure that keeps cities running.
"When we think of cities, traditionally this brings to mind roads, homes and vehicles," writes Geoff Manaugh. "But animals are as much a functional part of the modern city as subways and skyscrapers."
In fact, declares Manaugh, "[t]his is the age of animals as infrastructure."
Manuagh goes on to provide a few examples of the concept, ranging from the O'Hare Grazing Herd of sheep, llamas, goats, and donkeys, which keep grass and shrubs at bay in difficult to maintain areas, to the insects of New York and the pigs of Cairo, which act as the "unacknowledged garbage disposal" of those cites, to a final, more futuristic take on what the future of animals as infrastructure might become.
Read the full story: New Urbanist: Our infrastructure is expanding to include animals
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