Magdalena Haakenstad, Postdoctoral Scholar in Urban Planning for Health in the University of Washington Department of Urban Design and Planning in Seattle, Washington, USA. She is a cultural anthropologist interested in environmental health, means and strategies of political negotiation, visual communication in public space, and decolonizing methodologies. As a part of her research, she had an opportunity to work with historically marginalized communities in Mexico, the US and Slovakia on public art projects, storytelling, photo essays, and filmmaking to help amplify their voices. She holds a PhD in General Anthropology from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
Research Theme: Arts & Humanities & Urbansim
Studies of civic culture, including public art and community design-build efforts
Elizabeth Golden wins ASCA course development prize
The ASCA Course Development Prize was awarded for the course “Climate | Material | Shelter” developed by Elizabeth Golden, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, and Marc Neveu (Arizona State University). “The course will advance the University of Washington and Arizona State University’s mission to leverage place, enable student success, and transform society through use-inspired research.” More information about the course can be found here.
Voices of Precarity in Taipei
Chu, A-Yong and Jeffrey Hou. 2023. Voices of Precarity in Taipei. Topos, 125: 78-84. https://shop.georg-media.de/topos-125/
Abstract
This issue marks 125 issues of topos, the unique magazine for landscape architecture and urban planning. 1 2 5 issues of topos magazine. But: We do not want to use this anniversary to celebrate ourselves. Instead, we want to use this anniversary to focus on an urban issue that is so brutal that almost everyone would rather look the other way than take action: poverty. We want to use this issue of topos magazine to celebrate, in conversation with planners, city leaders and entrepreneurs, those people and projects, that work every day to create a more equitable metropolis of the future that provides warmth, food and shelter for everyone. So this is what’s #125 about. Celebrate with us what truly matters in the city of tomorrow.
Color as metaphor in architectural design
Minah, G. (2023). Color as metaphor in architectural design. Color Research and Application, 48(5), 536–542. https://doi.org/10.1002/col.22872
Abstract
In the early stage of a building design, forming a design concept is the first step. The architect must assimilate and organize information involving spatial needs, engineering, building codes, and budget considerations. They must also consider its visual appearance, how the building fits into its physical context, and, most importantly, how to conceive of the building holistically as both functional and aesthetic. A process for accomplishing this will use a methodology associated with intuition and imagination. A metaphor is used that gives form to the building through an analogy that imitates its activities and function and serves as a device for conceiving of the building as a whole. Making a design diagram that defines the concept using the metaphor and showing the relationship of the critical parts of the building is the biggest challenge in this stage. A new approach is to assign color to these parts in the design diagram. With the metaphor as guide, the hierarchical status of the parts will be shown by the perceptual weight of the colors in juxtaposition to one another by contrasts in hue, value, and chroma. The results show that the addition of color increases the clarity and comprehension of the design concept in the eyes of the designer, in visual presentations to faculty in academic settings, and to clients in the profession. The color decisions latter in the process may differ from those used in the diagram, but these decisions will adhere to the established hierarchies of the building parts as foreground or background colors. This methodology is intended to be a tool for students in architecture as well as professional architects.
Cities of the Anthropocene: urban sustainability in an eco-evolutionary perspective
Alberti, Marina. (2023). Cities of the Anthropocene: urban sustainability in an eco-evolutionary perspective. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 379:20220264. 20220264.
Abstract
Cities across the globe are driving systemic change in social and ecological systems by accelerating the rates of interactions and intensifying the links between human activities and Earth's ecosystems, thereby expanding the scale and influence of human activities on fundamental processes that sustain life. Increasing evidence shows that cities not only alter biodiversity, they change the genetic makeup of many populations, including animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. Urban-driven rapid evolution in species traits might have significant effects on socially relevant ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, pollination, water and air purification and food production. Despite increasing evidence that cities are causing rapid evolutionary change, current urban sustainability strategies often overlook these dynamics. The dominant perspectives that guide these strategies are essentially static, focusing on preserving biodiversity in its present state or restoring it to pre-urban conditions. This paper provides a systemic overview of the socio-eco-evolutionary transition associated with global urbanization. Using examples of observed changes in species traits that play a significant role in maintaining ecosystem function and resilience, I propose that these evolutionary changes significantly impact urban sustainability. Incorporating an eco-evolutionary perspective into urban sustainability science and planning is crucial for effectively reimagining the cities of the Anthropocene.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis’.
Associate Professor Manish Chalana Embarking on Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship March 2024
Historic preservation (or “heritage conservation” in India) is the practice of identifying, managing, and interpreting the historical record in the built environment. For many people, the resulting presence of these tangible reminders in their day-to-day world plays a major role in shaping their perceptions of who has contributed what to their nation’s development. The magnitude and challenges of these tasks have increased dramatically in contemporary times, as the field has begun to grapple with the complexity of history. This is…
Analysis of the Dong bao Ye as sacred landscape and its Putative therapeutic mechanisms
Yang, S., Liu, J., & Winterbottom, D. (2023). Analysis of the Dong bao Ye as sacred landscape and its Putative therapeutic mechanisms. Health & Place, 83, 103102–103102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103102
Abstract
Humans have innately established close and profound ties with the, and through these relationships shaped many kinds of landscapes. Among these are sacred landscapes, which have drawn the attention of researchers due to their cultural significance. In the field of health geography, large-sized sacred regional landscapes are now the focus of studies for their therapeutic properties. However, few scholars have focused on small sacred landscape systems at the community level (constructed by local communities) or the physical and psycological health benefits that these landscapes offer to the local residents. These small-sized and widespread, but often hidden, sacred landscapes are closely tied to people's daily lives and work. They have evolved and grown over millennia to become critical sociocultural phenomena. This study takes the sacred bao ye landscape of the Dong people of China as the research subject. By adopting the case study approach, field research, semi-structured interviews, and textual analysis, it summarizes the types, geographical distribution, rituals and processes of bao ye as a sacred landscape of the Huanggang village in Guizhou Province, and concludes with an analysis of motivation and health benefits to the bao ye worship. In this paper we argue that bao ye is a sacred landscape system focusing on the healthy development of children, and constitutes a local belief developed in an isolated environment lacking medical resources, which remains in practice. The sacred landscape of bao ye offers a therapeutic environment, providing children with increased opportunities to engage with and build deep connections to nature. Thruogh this process children may develop a bond with nature that inspires them to protect nature on their own accord. We argue that bao ye offers an important case study for understanding the landscape-people healing interactivity at the community level.
Keywords
Sacred landscape; Therapeutic landscape; Dong
Global Collaboration Studying Untold Narratives About Sustainable and Equitable Urban Change
A new international research partnership aims to spark dialogue and learning through storytelling about sustainable and equitable urban development. Collaborators from five global cities have partnered to shift common practices of how stories of successful urban change are told and who tells them. The study involves three case study cities that are exemplars of sustainable and equitable development. Local collaborators include academics and their community-based partners in Belfast (Queen’s University), Northern Ireland, Belo Horizonte (Federal University of Minas Gerais Brazil…
Alternative gentrification: coexistence of traditional and new industries in historic districts through transfer of development rights in Dihua Street, Taiwan
Sho, K., Chen, Y.-L., & Oshima, K. T. (2023). Alternative gentrification: coexistence of traditional and new industries in historic districts through transfer of development rights in Dihua Street, Taiwan. International Journal of Heritage Studies : IJHS, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2023.2250776
Abstract
The transfer of development rights (TDR) has been widely used in the preservation of historic districts. The Dihua Street TDR (DS-TDR) in Taipei, Taiwan, successfully preserves the exteriors of historic buildings and traditional landscape in Dihua Street, without significant displacement of previous residents or increases in rents. This study describes this process as 'alternative gentrification', which facilitates the coexistence of traditional and new industries in historic districts, unlike typical gentrification in other cities. Although new shops gradually replace existing shops, the rent level remains relatively affordable compared with other shopping streets in the Taipei city centre. These aspects enable the coexistence of a clustering of new creative-industrial stores and existing stores within the buildings restored and landscaped by the DS-TDR.
Keywords
Historic district; transfer of development rights; historic buildings; restoration; landscaping; Commercial Gentrification; Heritage; Displacement; TDR; Urbanization; Conservation; Neighborhood; Culture; State
Dylan Stevenson named to the Population Health Initiative Executive Council
Dylan Stevenson was selected by University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce to serve on the Population Health Initiative executive council beginning Autumn 2023. Assistant Professor Stevenson brings expertise to the team, including his research interests surrounding how culture informs planning strategies and influences land relationships. More specifically, he investigates how tribal epistemologies structure notions of Indigenous futurities by centering Indigenous cultural values at the forefront of environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. See the full list of new council appointees…