Beyond the Pristine: Reframing the Notion of Nature Conservation through the Agency of Plant 'Vagabonds' in Toronto's Rouge National Urban Park

Protecting nature in its pristine state and within designated geographic boundaries is embedded within historical framings of conservation. Yet, in the context of today's rapid anthropogenic change, this concept is increasingly flawed and irrelevant. This thesis draws from interdisciplinary literature in political ecology, geography, and landscape architecture to explore Rouge National Urban Park, Toronto's newest category of urban nature preserve. It foregrounds Botanist Gilles Clément's research on "vagabonds" as valuable ruderal species with design agency. Using fieldwork, mapping, document analysis, and model making as catalysts for design intervention, the work proposes the park's transformation into a vagabond living lab, employing a network of experimental design instruments across the landscape. Each design frames the site as a testing ground for new understandings of nature conservation within urban contexts—done by exploring the role of vagabonds. Ultimately, this thesis speculates what future urban landscapes can be like in conditions of environmental flux.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Soltani, Saman

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2022 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2022-15067

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/42734