Ecological Urbanism
Mostafavi in talking about Ecological urbanism gets at an idea that I find really important: that climate change is a deeply political and social issue, the technological challenges associated with it are secondary. I think this understanding validates his argument for a new mode of thinking about sustainable design: most simply if a design doesn’t somehow challenge the zeitgeist - it probably isn’t “sustainable design”. If we are to think as ecological urbanists we are to create alternate lifestyles and political forces through our designs, we have to challenge the prevailing forces that have made life unsustainable.
As a part of this, we are creating new modes of identity and ethics when it comes to urbanism, ecologies, and ourselves. As he wrote about how analyzing garbage helps us to understand who we are, similarly any design issue can be broken down into a portrait of society - many times unflattering and unfiltered. But it is from there - from asking who we are, that we can ask who we want to become.
Edward Burtynsky, Manufactured Landscapes
I really appreciate when you said "we have to challenge the prevailing forces that we have made life unsustainable". In my post I try to get at the same idea but you put it so much more precisely. We have formed so many patterns of behavior before understanding climate change and its impacts. At the time of these inventions, like air conditioning or the automobile, there was no reason to regulate use or to hold back. But, now, how do we revert back to a way of life before those things? It's our lifestyle decisions as a society that are so unsustainable. Our desire for quick, convenient, and comfortable are generally incompatible with "sustainability" and need to become a second priority to we need to re-prioritize if we are to move forward in a responsible way.
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