Workshop
Ecologies of Cities
This module explores urban environments through ecological and systems thinking, viewing cities as ecosystems with significant impacts on surrounding landscapes. It examines urban environmental histories and contemporary challenges like climate change, species extinction, loss of natural system complexity, and resource insecurities. The module also explores systems-based ecological design typologies for urban intervention, focusing on their implications for environmental quality and justice.
Ability to read a city – its history, development and current functioning – through an eco-systemic lens characterized by flows and processes. Course participants will be able to describe urban areas as ecosystems and speak to the ecological impacts of urbanization as demonstrated through background analysis on the case study city.
Ability to understand and critique recent and contemporary efforts to create more “ecological” cities as demonstrated through critical responses to the approaches examined.
Ability to collaborate effectively through a process of active engagement, honing one’s own sensibilities, and bringing them to bear in a ‘atelier-style’ team setting as evidenced by participation in discussions and the quality of project-based assignments.
Ability to deploy creative and systems-thinking skills in speculating about the future ecologies of cities as demonstrated through the development of an urban ecological design project brief.