Patterns of Interconnectedness: Venice Is Not Alone in the Anthropocene

This essay explores the interconnectedness of environmental phenomena in the Anthropocene through the lens of Venice’s waterscape. It argues that climate change, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events transcend national borders and must be approached systemically, combining natural sciences and the humanities. Using Venice and St. Petersburg as symbolic case studies, the text highlights how historically cosmopolitan water cities face parallel challenges—rising seas, infrastructural limits, and governance failures—that reveal broader global patterns. Drawing on planetary thinkers like Vernadsky and Chizhevsky, the essay calls for scalable, interdisciplinary approaches to environmental governance that connect the local with the global.