The city鈥恑sland鈥恠tate, wounding cascade, and multi鈥恖evel vulnerability explored through the lens of Malta

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce the concept of 鈥渃ity鈥恑sland鈥恠tate鈥� into a discussion of small highly urbanised islands. We place the 鈥渃ity鈥� at the forefront of our analysis by bringing together the geographies of the 鈥渃ity鈥� and 鈥渟tate,鈥� together with a wider discussion of factors that may cause both the wounding of the city and an increase in the precariousness of the 鈥渋sland.鈥� We apply this concept to the advanced city鈥恑sland鈥恠tate of Malta (Central Mediterranean), which is a densely populated, urbanised small island archipelago with about 500,000 inhabitants and operates as a single city with an urban core, suburbs, and a rural hinterland that is rapidly decreasing in size. This city鈥恑sland鈥恠tate is frequently considered as being 鈥渟afe鈥� from external geophysical, climatic, and anthropogenic wounding, but, in reality, Malta, as a city, an island, and an independent nation鈥恠tate, is faced with multiple internal and external pressures that increase its precariousness and vulnerability to such externalities. Some of these are socio鈥恊conomic, but others are environmental. We argue that the potential for wounding is particularly marked in Malta, that it is exacerbated by the contemporary globalised neoliberal world of flows and interconnectivities, and that this represents a multi鈥恖evel wounding cascade: wounding the city wounds the island and, by extension, the state.