Interested in how decolonization can address issues of environmental degradation and create pathways towards environmental justice, this Thesis investigates the agency of architecture to combat issues of social injustice in Boston. LANDBACK learns from Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship and decolonization, which is the return of Indigenous land and support of Indigenous sovereignty, as a way to address large-scale systematic issues. Focused on issues of watershed degradation, this Thesis uses Deer Island, the main water treatment facility that serves much of the city and state, as a case study. In 1675 during King Philip’s War, around 500 people, primarily members of Nipmuc Nation, were forcibly removed from their homes and imprisoned on Deer Island. Prioritizing community engagement and reimagining the built environment to learn from and embrace the traditional knowledge and stewardship of the Indigenous groups that claim ties to the land, the goal of the Thesis was to imagine a future and an architecture grounded in understanding and mutual respect.
STUDENT
Anahita Mojahed
FACULTY
El Hadi Jazairy