Phantom Ecology: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Ecology

Abstract

Visible from space, the Athabasca bituminous sands region of Northern Alberta, Canada, is currently being engineered at a scale equal to or greater than any other human landscape projects. This massive earth moving operation which at first glance could be confused for a regional urban development, has but one single objective: oil.

Yet we do not see landscape architects engaged in the design and specifically the topographic shaping of these sites of extraction, production, waste, and reclamation. Nor are there many examples of landscape architects contributing smaller scale interventions that acknowledge the human occupation of these sites, their experience and material realities. Thus, ten rest stops are proposed to set in the working industrial landscape of the Athabasca bituminous sands, though they might not be built, to emphasize the importance of remembering that these landscapes already exist, showcasing the contemporary Canadian landscape.

Keywords

Oil Sands / Extraction / Infrastructure / Industrial Landscape / Restoration

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press