Dynamic urban islands

seasonal landscape strategies for resilient transformation

authored by

Vilja Larjosto

supervised by

Martin Prominski

Abstract

This landscape architectural research investigates spatial transformation, seasonal dynamics, and resilience in islands. Islands are distinctive cases of urban development and ecology. In the Anthropocene, impacts of urbanization and climate change are accentuated, and many islands are increasingly exposed to external and internal hazards. Future design and planning strategies need to address the specificities of islands. In a broad overview, I conceptualize Dynamic Urban Islands as the interplay of islandness, forces of the Anthropocene, and potential resilience. This thesis elaborates the hypothesis that understanding seasonal phenomena and integrating them into landscape design can increase the resilience of urban islands. In the three case studies of Sylt (Germany), Malta (Malta), and Itaparica (Brazil), I apply Research through Design to address the following questions: How are spatial transformations linked with seasonal dynamics on islands? How can seasonal dynamics be employed in landscape design to build resilience on islands? The results from the three islands uncover multiple seasonal-spatial dynamics such as tourism, bird migration, and periodical flooding. In projections, I test how the findings could contribute to biodiversity, flood-risk reduction, livelihood security, and coastal adaptation. I critically discuss these resilience-building efforts against the backdrop of island spatiality and resilience principles that I have identified for islands. The thesis demonstrates that addressing seasonality can be meaningful for developing time-sensitive design approaches and building resilience in islands. The results provide insights and strategies for design and planning, and for island studies. I position Research Through Design as transformative because it is integrative, application-oriented, and projective. Although the research has not integrated a transdisciplinary collaboration, I argue that it has produced system, target, and transformative knowledge about seasonal phenomena and building resilience in urbanizing islands.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Open Space Planning and Design

Type

Doctoral thesis

No. of pages

344

Publication date

2019

Publication status

Published

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.15488/7073 (Access: Open)