Article: Sustainable Cartography: Mapping the Ecological Imagination of Cities

You can find below my latest collaboration in the Proceedings of the International Conference Repurposing Places for Social and Environmental Resilience
Editor: Anastasia Karandinou

Published in 2023 by Counterarchitecture, in collaboration with University of East London and Arup. ISBN (ebook): 9781739268107

Abstract

This paper presents the theoretical framework of a mapping method of cities called Sustainable Cartography. Over the past few years, a growing body of research has explored the complex relationships between infrastructure systems, environmental sustainability, and energy justice. Simultaneously, cities are increasingly being looked to as sites to develop long-lasting solutions to global warming. In this context, how can we address the relationship between architectural imaginaries and the environmental resilience of cities in the 21st century? One possibility is to assemble multidimensional maps of buildings and infrastructure networks that facilitate the flow of water, food, electricity, and fossil fuels.

The purpose of the cartographic system is to construct a mapping method of drawing-reading-interpreting the city via an ecological lens. It visualizes cities as biospheres regulated by infrastructure networks, which are life-support structures that influence the ecological footprint of cities and regions of the world. The objective is to register spatial and symbolic interactions of multiple architectural expressions of these flows. What networks do they form? How do they influence the design of human settlements? What is the impact of those spaces on the ecological imagination of cities?

The operalization of this mapping framework focuses on concepts such as Eco-Utopias, Eco-Dystopias, Eco-Centrism, and Techno Centrism to explore the size, scale, and networks of infrastructures in the pursuit of environmental justice in cities of the world. This work incorporates research methods from the fields of Architecture, Urban Geography, and Cultural Studies.