Counter-Cartography of Copper

This chapter employs counter-mapping to explore the entangled dynamics of extraction and the limitations of theories like Planetary Urbanisation (Brenner et al. 2012) in understanding Krivelj, Serbia. GIS data, field recordings, satellite imagery, data science, and community-driven mapping reveal how copper mining disrupts local ecologies through river rerouting, soil contamination, and toxic waste and fractures communities via Zijin Mining Group’s relocation policies. Residents’ testimonies reveal economic dependency and labour precarity tied to global copper markets, highlighting local marginalisation. Grounded in Cindy Katz’s theory of countertopography, the study reframes Krivelj as an “inside” to Planetary Urbanisation, where seamless global integration is resisted. This approach links localised resistance to broader critiques of urbanisation, challenging the analytical flattening of urban processes by emphasising their situated, relational nature. The chapter argues that sites like Krivelj are not peripheral but central to understanding urban contradictions, and it calls for urban theories that centre on local agency, resistance, and the potential for alternative urban futures.