--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite the wishful thinking of…" description: "\"“Despite the wishful thinking of evangelicals impatient for the Rapture or deep ecologists who believe that Gaia would be happiest with a thin sprinkli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/mike-davis-61492_gaia_despite-the-wishful-thinking-of-evangeli_2817254.jpg" --- # Despite the wishful thinking of evangelicals impatient for… ![“Despite the wishful thinking of evangelicals impatient for the Rapture or deep ecologists who believe that Gaia would be happiest with a thin sprinkling of hunter-gatherers, megacities like Los Angeles will never simply collapse and disappear. Rather, they will stagger on, with higher body counts…” quote by Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/mike-davis-61492_gaia_despite-the-wishful-thinking-of-evangeli_2817254.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/mike-davis-61492_gaia_despite-the-wishful-thinking-of-evangeli_2817254.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/mike-davis-61492_gaia_despite-the-wishful-thinking-of-evangeli_2817254.jpg) > ““Despite the wishful thinking of evangelicals impatient for the Rapture or deep ecologists who believe that Gaia would be happiest with a thin sprinkling of hunter-gatherers, megacities like Los Angeles will never simply collapse and disappear. Rather, they will stagger on, with higher body counts and greater distress, through a chain of more frequent and destructive encounters with disasters of all sorts; while vital parts of the region’s high-tech and tourist economies eventually emigrate to safer ground, together with hundreds of thousands of its more affluent residents.”” [Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Megacities will persist despite collapse fears, facing more disasters and inequality. **In simple terms:** Cities endure, but with greater challenges. Key Takeaway Plan for resilient urban futures. Themes urbanism climate inequality Mood concerned urgent Type analytical policy environmental When to use this quote - policy - infrastructure - community resilience - migration Key Concepts environmental studies urban planning Questions to Reflect On - How can cities become more resilient? - What policies reduce disaster impact? A Different Perspective May underestimate adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gaia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaia/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [If you start any large theory, such as quantum mechanics, plate tectonics, evolution, it takes about 40 years for mainstream science to come around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/if-you-start-any-large-theory-such-as-quantum-mechanics-plate/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [I know that to personalize the Earth System as Gaia, as I have often done and continue to do in this book, irritates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/i-know-that-to-personalize-the-earth-system-as-gaia-as-i-have-often/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Cobbled streets and no shops open past six o'clock, a communal life that seemed to revolve around church, and where you could often hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/cobbled-streets-and-no-shops-open-past-six-o-clock-a-communal-life/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [“I call Gaia a physiological system because it appears to have the unconscious goal of regulating the climate and the chemistry at a comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-lovelock/i-call-gaia-a-physiological-system-because-it-appears-to-have-the/) [James E. Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-lovelock/) > [“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Leon.” And there it was. That unlocking inside him. That thing only she could do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caragh-m-o-brien/i-don-t-know-what-i-d-do-without-you-leon-and-there-it-was-that/) [Caragh M. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caragh-m-o-brien/) > [“There were times when I was blown away by the virgin beauty of the land. Kind of like that guy who lost his shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/there-were-times-when-i-was-blown-away-by-the-virgin-beauty-of-the/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“Gaia spoke in a complex language of predator and prey, of growth and dormancy, of birth and migration, of seasonal change, of storms, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-nagata/gaia-spoke-in-a-complex-language-of-predator-and-prey-of-growth-and/) [Linda Nagata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-nagata/) > [“In Lovelock's view the earth was a 'super-organism,' a cybernetic feedback system that 'seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/in-lovelock-s-view-the-earth-was-a-super-organism-a-cybernetic/) [Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/) > [Human history is a Gaian dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/human-history-is-a-gaian-dream/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Gaia is a thin spherical shell of matter that surrounds the incandescent interior; it begins where the crustal rocks meet the magma of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/gaia-is-a-thin-spherical-shell-of-matter-that-surrounds-the/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“Who are you?’ Gaia gasped. The girl froze for a moment. Looked at her. Smiled and said, ‘Who am I? I’m the Breeze, bitch!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/who-are-you-gaia-gasped-the-girl-froze-for-a-moment-looked-at-her/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [In the Gaia theory air, water, and soil are major components of one central organism, planet Earth. What we typically think of as life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/in-the-gaia-theory-air-water-and-soil-are-major-components-of-one/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [The superabundance is an ecological myth that we will never run out of resources, that the Earth, that Gaia, is in this perpetual state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-sullivan/the-superabundance-is-an-ecological-myth-that-we-will-never-run-out/) [Daniel O'Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-sullivan/) > [“A life without a miracle is not a life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-strigas/a-life-without-a-miracle-is-not-a-life/) [Christina Strigas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-strigas/) ## More by Mike Davis > [“South Central Los Angeles, for example, is a data and media black hole, without local cable programming or links to major data systems. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davis/south-central-los-angeles-for-example-is-a-data-and-media-black-hole/) [Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) > [“The car bomb is the poor man’s air force.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davis/the-car-bomb-is-the-poor-man-s-air-force/) [Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) > [“Although it costs taxpayers more than twice as much to send an 18-year-old to prison as to university, politicians reap greater rewards from lobbyists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davis/although-it-costs-taxpayers-more-than-twice-as-much-to-send-an-18/) [Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) > [“A recent Chicago study, for example, has shown that it costs $60,000 to hook up a new house in an outer suburb to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davis/a-recent-chicago-study-for-example-has-shown-that-it-costs-60-000-to/) [Mike Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) [Explore all 5 Mike Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davis/) ## More Gaia quotes > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The superabundance is an ecological myth that we will never run out of resources, that the Earth, that Gaia, is in this perpetual state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-sullivan/the-superabundance-is-an-ecological-myth-that-we-will-never-run-out/) [Daniel O'Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-sullivan/) > [In the Gaia theory air, water, and soil are major components of one central organism, planet Earth. What we typically think of as life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/in-the-gaia-theory-air-water-and-soil-are-major-components-of-one/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [“Who are you?’ Gaia gasped. The girl froze for a moment. Looked at her. Smiled and said, ‘Who am I? I’m the Breeze, bitch!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/who-are-you-gaia-gasped-the-girl-froze-for-a-moment-looked-at-her/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [“Gaia is a thin spherical shell of matter that surrounds the incandescent interior; it begins where the crustal rocks meet the magma of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/gaia-is-a-thin-spherical-shell-of-matter-that-surrounds-the/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [Human history is a Gaian dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/human-history-is-a-gaian-dream/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“In Lovelock's view the earth was a 'super-organism,' a cybernetic feedback system that 'seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/in-lovelock-s-view-the-earth-was-a-super-organism-a-cybernetic/) [Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/) > [“Gaia spoke in a complex language of predator and prey, of growth and dormancy, of birth and migration, of seasonal change, of storms, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-nagata/gaia-spoke-in-a-complex-language-of-predator-and-prey-of-growth-and/) [Linda Nagata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-nagata/) > [“There were times when I was blown away by the virgin beauty of the land. Kind of like that guy who lost his shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/there-were-times-when-i-was-blown-away-by-the-virgin-beauty-of-the/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Leon.” And there it was. That unlocking inside him. That thing only she could do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caragh-m-o-brien/i-don-t-know-what-i-d-do-without-you-leon-and-there-it-was-that/) [Caragh M. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caragh-m-o-brien/) > [“I call Gaia a physiological system because it appears to have the unconscious goal of regulating the climate and the chemistry at a comfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-lovelock/i-call-gaia-a-physiological-system-because-it-appears-to-have-the/) [James E. Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-lovelock/) > [Cobbled streets and no shops open past six o'clock, a communal life that seemed to revolve around church, and where you could often hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/cobbled-streets-and-no-shops-open-past-six-o-clock-a-communal-life/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I know that to personalize the Earth System as Gaia, as I have often done and continue to do in this book, irritates the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/i-know-that-to-personalize-the-earth-system-as-gaia-as-i-have-often/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [If you start any large theory, such as quantum mechanics, plate tectonics, evolution, it takes about 40 years for mainstream science to come around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/if-you-start-any-large-theory-such-as-quantum-mechanics-plate/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“A life without a miracle is not a life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-strigas/a-life-without-a-miracle-is-not-a-life/) [Christina Strigas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-strigas/) [Browse all 61 Gaia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Despite the wishful thinking of evangelicals impatient for the Rapture or deep ecologists who believe that Gaia would be happiest with a thin sprinkling of hunter-gatherers, megacities like Los Angeles will never simply collapse and disappear. 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