The term landscape is a polysemic term with multifaceted meanings across various disciplines. Geographer James Duncan describes it as both the appearance of an area and the assemblage of objects that create that appearance, while architect Patrick Nuttgens considers landscape as both a physical setting and an intellectual construct that defines human existence over time. Edward Relph adds to this understanding by viewing it as a mixture of natural and cultural, fabric and system; and change; shaped by historical, social, and ecological processes.
In the Anthropocene, humans have gained the ability to modify ecosystems, climate, and geological structures, blurring the line between natural and artificial. Yet, urban practices remain human-centric, even as challenges like air pollution, rising water levels, drought, deforestation, biodiversity loss, food security, AI, and inequality increasingly demand solutions that transcend human societies. This calls for a fundamental rethinking of urban environments—where technology, nature, and society can coalesce to address the planet's sustainability and resilience. Such emerging fields and technologies will inevitably shape future urban practices. This essay prize invites you to investigate the concept of Emerging Landscapes, an intricate assemblage of disciplines and discourses that bring about urban transitions.
