THE ECOLOGICAL IMAGINATION:LIFE IN THE CITY AND THE PUBLIC REALM
This article start off by pushing the belief of the importance of the human imagination in shaping how people relate to the natural world and to each other. It is also argued for the importance of creativity in enriching the ecological in every day experiences. The author uses the phrase life in the city due to it referring not only to natural processes and human health, but also to the pleasures of social life and interaction in urban public spaces. This broad concept of "life in the city" paints a more inclusive and holistic version than the more often used and binary formulation of "nature in the city," allowing for social life, culture, and interaction to be an integral part of the equation.
It is talked about how the habits to overcome initially are is the instrumentalist's belief that science, technology, metrics, and linear interventions should govern the design of both natural systems and cities. The aesthetic, subjective, poetic, and imaginative designs are second rate systems when in reality they should all be on the same playing field as equals.
A painting by Max Ernst called "The Bewildered Planet" is used by the author to show the codependency of order, regularity, geometry and repetition coexist with the codependency of errant and erratic behavior. The idea is that order and errancy are both needed for advancement.
Humans are talked about how they are ever growing and putting out our expression on the canvas of the earth. In doing so we corrupt the planet that we live on and destroy the natural beauty around us. This concept is what lead us to begin to utilize and attempt to get better control of our environment, through resource management, sustainability planning, infrastructure engineering, policy, and design.
Talking about site regeneration and ecosystem creation, the keys to success are manufacturing new soil in site through organic farming, growing new seed and young trees on-site, and orchestrating a process of adaptive management over time. This was mentioned when talking about the project they were working on called lifescape. Their reason for lifescape as a name is “In our design, we branded this "lifescape" in order to emphasize the "scaping" of life systems as distinct from more scenic ideas associated with landscape or beautification.”
Overall, urban spaces are meant to be changed and adaptable with the natural world and need to be able to intertwine with that which is around it. The urban public realm is a dynamic ecosystem that demands porosity, mobility, and interconnectedness and provides an open platform that is both anonymous and spectacular in its effects. In such an interactive milieu, design can function as a "life agent," if you will, a physical catalyst and cool for further evolving life, environments, and experiences.
