The Social Ecology of the Urban Periphery

With the rise of the metropolis, the development of new transport and leisure infrastructures, the rapid adoption of new technologies of communication (radio, television, internet), and the pervasive influence of marketed ""lifestyles,"" public spaces have lost much of their customary function as a common ground, while the periphery is invested as a new semi-public commons. This course explores the dynamic relation between the old politics of the architectural centre and the new social ecologies of the sub-urban and natural peripheries, to identify fresh design opportunities within the development economy of the sub-urban, semi-rural, and ""cottage-country"" edge. Consent of instructor required for those who do not have the required course.