Student: Ben Small
Graduation date: May 2015
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2012
Summary
What we (read: humanity) build is what we leave behind. From ancient ruins to modern metropolises, the most visible marks we leave on our planet are seen in the ways we modify and construct our surroundings. Fittingly, our current geological epoch has been dubbed the Anthropocene, a reflection of the fact that there is virtually no biophysical region on the planet which remains untouched by this lasting human influence (Steffen et Al, 2011). I’m curious about current attempts to design “sustainable” buildings and specifically how the new geological epoch and intellectual underpinnings of the anthropocene will influence and inform development in the built environment. Buildings and cities are the physical incarnation of human dreams, desires, social movements, values, economics, and so much more. In a sense, the built environment reflects the dynamic evolution and growth of the human species. And now with more individuals impacting the planet with greater force than ever before coupled with an increasingly and vociferously responding planetary climate, the buildings and cities erected today will undoubtedly influence the future of human life on this planet while casting in concrete the legacy of the 21st century in geological time.
Certain districts in Portland have already experienced such transformations; the art and cultural centers such as the Pearl district and SE industrial district are examples of urban greening, aestheticization and gentrification. The NE quadrant of our city is going through the same process of aestheticizaton, gentrification and greening right now. On the other hand, the city of Detroit, after the exodus of large industrial complexes to the overseas market, has decayed into a state of dystopian squalor. Deindustrialized European cities such as Lisbon and Glasgow have also been experiencing the process of aestheticization (Lever, 1991). Lisbon, for example, has seen an increase in the number of gated communities within it’s metropolitan area, demonstrating a common “no alternative” response to the neoliberal organization of space (Raposo, 2006; Walks, 2006). International examples of development in response to climate change allow for interesting opportunities to compare and contrast the similarities of the process across cultural, economic, and political boundaries. As cities grow and evolve, can what started as the appropriation of the mantra of “sustainability” come to define urban form and function? There are many actors that contribute in various ways and degrees to this transformative process of greening the city. From the first flight of industry from a region to the evolution of a new regional economic foundation, from the artists and entrepreneurs who first occupy underprivileged neighborhoods to the policies implemented by established middle-classes, we must consider the wide array of actors and forces that contribute to the re-appropriation of de-industrialized cities, often times under the banner of “sustainability”. Long after the last semblance of industry has left the urban and peri-urban environments of various North American cities and moved elsewhere, after regional economies transition to the service, managerial, and financial sectors, what will become of these great cities and their surrounding regions? How might creative urban planning and design address issues such as climate change and deindustrialization in order to construct resilient and adaptive urban landscapes (Naveh, 1998)?
References
Lever, W. F. 1991. “Deindustrialisation and the Reality of the Post-industrial City”. Urban Studies. 28 (6): 983-999.
Naveh, Z. 1998. “Ecological and Cultural Landscape Restoration and the Cultural Evolution towards a Post-Industrial Symbiosis between Human Society and Nature” .Restoration Ecology. 6 (2): 135-143
Raposo, Rita. 2006. “Gated communities, commodification and aestheticization: The case of the Lisbon metropolitan area”. GeoJournal. 66 (1-2): 1-2
Steffen, Will, Jacques Grinevald, Paul Crutzen, and John McNeill. 2011. “The Anthropocene: Conceptual and Historical Perspectives.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 369 (1938) (March 13): 842–867.
Walks, R. Alan. 2006. “Aestheticization and the cultural contradictions of neoliberal (sub)urbanism”. Cultural Geographies. 13 (3): 466-475.
Warner, Sam Bass, and Andrew H. Whittemore. 2012. American urban form: a representative history. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Questions
- Descriptive: How is architecture informed by climate change discourse in de-industrialized cities?
- Explanatory: Which actors drive the “greening” of de-industrialized cities (in response to climate change, social/political movements, economic changes, etc.)?
- Evaluative: How effectively are current architectonic responses to the threat of drastic climate change addressing and incorporating mitigation and adaptation strategies into design programs?
- Instrumental: How can an understanding of the anthropocene inform urban design (in terms of both architecture and urban planning)?
Concentration courses
- HIST-239 (Constructing the American Landscape, 4 credits) Spring 2013 This class provides an in-depth history of Urbanism and Architecture in America from the 18th century to present. Furthermore, the course introduces various research methods and practices for interpreting the built environment.
- ENVS-490 (Topic: Digital Field Scholarship, 4 credits) Spring 2013 This course provides an opportunity to complete field research in Portland, OR. This class allows me to gain first-hand experience researching a topic of interest in the built environment.
- PHIL-203 (Philosophy of Art and Beauty, 4 credits) Spring 2013 This course provides a significant introduction to, and analysis of, major philosophical works concerning the visual arts and architecture.
- ENVS-350 (Environmental Theory, 4 credits) Spring 2014 This course provides a significant understanding of foundational literature in the field of Environmental Studies and includes an in-depth analysis of current environmental theory. Furthermore, this course includes the opportunity to complete a field-based "praxis-project" in semi-rural Southern Oregon.
Arts and humanities courses
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- ART-451 (Topic: Art History and Memory, 4 Credits) Fall 2014. This course is concerned with the topic of memory in Art History and provides an opportunity to do an advanced research project on the student's topic of choice. Relevance to environmental studies includes; weeks dedicated to human biology and the neuroscience of memory, and public monuments/memory in the built environment; exploration of various landscapes and cultures of memory and art.