Apropos of feral cities, Steven Johnson's book The Ghost Map is due to be released tomorrow ( I have a copy on pre-order. Why is it we can't wait for these things?), and uses the 1854 London cholera outbreak as a jumping off point for discussing of cities, urban living conditions, mapping, and many things of interest to the discussion of, or in contrast to, smartspaces.

Boing Boing nicely provides links to a pre-view interview of Johnson, who also authored the provocative "Everything Bad is Good for You". 

Speaking of London and decay, I came across this piece on a future where London returns to marshland. Interesting reading and a fascinating application of botano-futurism, and forms part of the New Scientist's focus on a Post-Human Planet.