Anarres is the mostly desert planet on which the main character, Shevek, and his utopian society live. The Anarresti are descendents of settlers who left Urras to found a society based on anarchy, communal property, and mutual aid.
Urras is the Earth-like planet from which the Anarresti's ancestors came. Unlike Anarres, it is green and teeming with resources that are unevenly shared among its inhabitants; there is great wealth but also great poverty, and its nations fight among each other for political and scientific supremacy.
The place at which ships from Urras, bearing imported goods, land, it is surrounded by a wall to keep the Urrasti from venturing onto the planet. It is also the place from which Shevek leaves on his journey to Urras.
Mindful is the ship Shevek travels on to.....
