"The City Planners" is a poem written by Margaret Atwood.
The poem's central theme is the destruction of natural resources and landscapes to make room for real estate development. The poem is critical of urbanization at the expense of nature's depletion.
The title itself is a commentary...
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"The City Planners" is a poem written by Margaret Atwood.
The poem's central theme is the destruction of natural resources and landscapes to make room for real estate development. The poem is critical of urbanization at the expense of nature's depletion.
The title itself is a commentary on the expansion of the city. Humans "plan" to create infrastructures—which is supposed to show our civilization's sophistication and advanced technology—and yet these same developers and government officials do not make any plans for natural regeneration to offset the negative effects of urbanization.
The word "planners" in the title also conveys a sense of malice. In the poem's context, the word "planner" can be read as "plotters" who plot to destroy the natural landscape of the country to make way for industrialization.
"The City Planners" is not only a criticism of architectural uniformity and urbanization, it is also Atwood's ode to nature.
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