A Process Over Time

Moshen Mostafavi writes that, “[w]e need to view the fragility of the planet and its resources as an opportunity for speculative design innovations rather than as a form of technical legitimation for promoting conventional solutions. By extension, the problems confronting our cities and regions would then become opportunities to define a new approach.” (Mostafavi, pg. 17). In his Introduction to Ecological Urbanism, Mostafavi brings up an excellent point. One of his main factors and reasoning behind his theory of ecological urbanism is the lack of impact behind singular buildings that follow LEED standards for sustainability. I definitely agree that issues of sustainability are not solved with singular objects. They can only be solved with big, innovative solutions that change the way we operate in our cities. A point that I took away from the lecture in relation to Ecological Urbanism is that it's a process that builds over time. As much as we would love an overnight solution to climate change… that’s not going to happen. So how can architecture do a better job at promoting long lasting sustainability at large scales?