Indigenous Roots
Planning for a Cultural Movement
With Aroosa Ajani, Dillon Lateef Alwan, Donatella Donato, Ethan Floyd, Garryth Hoal, Olivia Jia, Mariam Aref Mahmoud, Daniela Perleche Ugas, Albert Rosario-Pichardo, Amalia Sutherland and Felipe Urrutia
Instructors: Anthony Borelli and Sybil Wa TA: Maureen Abi Ghanem
Our team has reviewed and synthesized scholarship on decolonizing planning, Anishinaabe histories, land back movements, and Indigenous planning processes in concert with our site proposals. At the core of our project lies a conflict between Western planning paradigms and Indigenous ways of knowing. Western planning has a tendency to prioritize individual property rights and economic incentives over communal ownership and land stewardship. More concisely, we ask whether urban planning can meaningfully contribute to Indigenous ways of life. Our studio reflects the position that Indigenous Nations must not only be consulted with, but included at all stages of the planning process. After reviewing the current urban planning procedures in Kanata, Tkaronto and Teme-Augama, we propose an amended planning process that centers Indigenous voices to begin to reconcile Western engagement practices. The amended engagement process prioritizes the co-production of knowledge between planners and Indigenous peoples.