Territorialism

The book makes use of a series of situated design experiences on the North-America city to put forth some more general themes about the Megalopolis and the contemporary urban condition. Reflecting on territorialism means to reflect on the notion of territory at a high conceptual level. Territorialism is also the appropriation of a certain territory from a species or a group that in this process defines its own territory and the self-limitation of movements inside a precise area. Process of inclusion and of exclusion are connected to the idea of territorialism. As well as boundaries and defensive strategy. The research followed two E-W and N-S sections in the Boston Metropolitan Area up to the Berkshires. It focused on the disconnections and enclaves inside the homogenous ground described by MacKaye in The New Exploration and by Gottmann in Megalopolis. Some of the important transformations affecting the social landscape, together with the economic and natural ones, have been highlighted through the intense work of the design studio team at the GSD. Territorialism and territoriality, formidable agents that constantly shape the environment in function of habits, social and cultural values and ideals.