This seminar explores the practices and institutions of land and property from the
perspective of design. Land mediates power, yet, the design professions have
largely taken it — and its social, cultural, and legal dimensions — for granted.
Accordingly, this course will articulate how to navigate property and transpose its
political stakes onto matters of design. We will cover two main areas. The first,
Histories and Concepts, introduces the formative settings, conditions, and
technologies that precipitated the evolution of real property and corresponding
spatial formations from early cities to present territories. The second, Struggles
and Opportunities, emphasizes contemporary realities to identify the political,
material, and ecological design potentials of alternative land-based practices,
such as community land trusts, cooperatives, and struggles for decolonization. The
course format will include lectures, reading roundtables, site visits, spatial practice
case studies, and team-based visual research projects. Students will gain an
understanding of how real property structures spatial politics and how designers
can contribute to its remaking.
Meets
Mon 8:30-11:30am 2222 A&AB