Elemental Cities

Catalog description

Focuses on the ecological imprints of atmospheric and organic elements on urban space. Explores how the hybrid and deeply entangled cultural politics of elements such as earth, air, water, fire, etc. have impacted the lived experience of urban spaces across ages. Our exploration of the elements will lead us to consider questions of genre. In the readings for this course, we will see how natural elements have refused to stay put and have disrupted the politics of planning in cities like London, Calcutta, New Delhi, Beijing, Warsaw, New York, and Dublin.