Genealogy of Landscapes

Urban complexity can serve as a critical leitmotif for disentangling different strands of environmental discourse. The diverse cultures of nature encountered in cities problematize the meaning of “ecological authenticity” and attempts at landscape restoration (Gandy 2018). By appealing to their numerous histories, one can understand the various social, cultural, and political layers that construct landscapes like wastelands and wetlands. Therefore it is not just through linear exploration but rather through an analysis of the contradictory or lesser known layers that one can reveal the traces of ideologies as they emerge or as they are contested.

 

Emilie Rážová, in her project, investigates the underlying politics of several former coal mining sites revealing the historical layers. Lisa Rohrer explores 350 years of history in the US case of Charleston, South Carolina, from an English Colony to a present day tourist site to understand the relationship between man and nature. Marina Pushkar assesses the intimate connections that locals develop to their neighbourhood in the case study of the urban regeneration project Insects' Highway in Tallinn, Estonia. Ahmad Tahir explores the political and cultural understanding of wastelands and how they have been valued historically in Pakistan