ABSTRACT
Our observations of the landscape are conditioned by our vocabularies, and everyday language points us towards oppositions between human forces and forces that people do not control. But cities are hybrids, part culture and part nature: establishing and sustaining dense settlements means instigating reciprocal, cumulative engagements with the varied processes of the environment. The bluntness of ordinary definitions means that the complexities of urban landscapes often go unrecognized and unconsidered in discussions about the future. For instance, infrastructure (a significant word in North American planning and policy debates) is usually understood as an abstract, generic indicator of concrete and cables. However, a close look at the shoreline of San Francisco Bay suggests meanings that extend beyond objects into systems, practices, and ideas. Each instance along the water’s edge—each operational definition—represents a negotiation between cultural intentions and natural phenomena. The range of possibilities in situ argues for a nuanced, place-based lexicon as a technical and political framework for planning, designing, and debating the evolution of urban landscapes.
