Course overview

Creating sustainable cities and landscapes (SCL) is a pathway toward a common sustainable future. The strategies for doing are bound to vary across places given local specific history, current needs, and future aspirations.  In many contexts the concept of SCL is still be explored and its realization tried. Perhaps in no place on earth exists a better laboratory than the Galapagos islands to offer a setting in which to study SCL. According to UNESCO, the Galapagos Islands have been called a "unique living museum and showcase of evolution." The islands are situated at the intersection of four maritime currents, possessing a broad mix of species and various marine ecosystems. A series of urban settlements exist within this delicate and complex natural environment. The challenges of accommodating a growing human population on these ecologically distinctive islands seem intractable. The studio will focus on zero-footprint, high-impact spatial interventions driven by socio-ecological agents. The studio elaborates on socio-ecological interactions that have been recognized as urgent in Galápagos, such as: 1) water scarcity, 2) food security, 3) energy generation and efficiency, 4) land management, 5) building technology, and 6) waste management.