Technological frontier, urban–rural frontier: Dracula urbanism in no man's land

Abstract

Extending Wilson & Wyly's concept of Dracula urbanism, I examine interactions between technological, social, and political forces in fueling global capitalists’ addiction to metropolitan expansion in urban-rural frontiers. This expansion contributes to fulfilling Lefebre's complete urbanization thesis at the planetary scale. To my understanding, building frontier technological enclaves and megaprojects on the urban-rural frontier of metropolises and megaregional intermediate places entails “destructive creation” rather than standard “creative destruction.” Crucial to their survival, global capital networks build parasitic relationships with incompetent governments. Wilson & Wyly's Dracula urbanism uses “accumulation by seduction” (and degeneration) strategies, rather than brute “accumulation by dispossession” strategies, to kill the underserved sections of the societies and jeopardize the state's capacities silently and slowly.