SITELINES Magazine
Sitelines - Spring 2022 (digital)
dis·place·ment
/dis’plāsmənt/
verb
1. take over the place, position, or role of (someone or something)
In this issue, we aim to bring together climate and social justice through the lens of displacement. We chose this theme because it represents itself across disciplines including planning, infrastructure, design pedagogy, health, social equity, and environmental law. As landscape architecture practitioners’ unique skills in facilitation and design become increasingly necessary, our knowledge and involvement in fields and frameworks outside our own is equally crucial. When the Fraser Valley floods happened in fall 2021 and a barge ran loose and aground at the place called English Bay, we were confronted with stark visuals of cultural, biotic and abiotic ecosystem changes that gravely affected supply chains, transportation routes and agricultural land. The barge made it apparent that we are in a state of flux regarding how we interact with natural disasters – displacement of First Nations peoples underlies the selfies and signs that take place on unceded lands. As we build new infrastructure, have the health, safety and welfare of all people been considered, or just those who attend public engagement meetings? The waters have subsided and innovative and collaborative visions are needed. Listening to the Lake (p. 10) speaks to possible paths forward. Sea2City initiative (p. 9) and the Black and Indigenous Design Collective (p. 13) are two major initiatives that instill hope: Working alongside First Nations in leadership positions, engaging with people, studying the land and its complex ecologies, future forecasting – generally upheaving from the status quo of how we design, and considering spaces and places as holistic and regional effects – these are the calls to action as we tackle the idea of displacement.
Sincerely,
Sitelines Editorial Advisory Board (SEAB)
Image: Artwork by Jaclyn Simon
The next edition has been scheduled for circulation in Fall 2022. Watch this space for details.
