Introduction

This introduction provides a wide-ranging synthesis of the theoretical background for the work in The Landscape of Utopia. It begins with a discussion of landscape as both project and relationship, and a frame for human conviviality. The landscapes people imagine shape the landscapes they inhabit, and thus the role of imaginaries and scenario-making in everyday life is examined. The philosophy of imaginaries and cognition are brought to the study of landscapes in everyday life, reaching into discussions of vast frames for human understanding, including concepts such as ‘modernity’ and ‘the West.’ The rise of neoliberalism and postmodernity in the late twentieth century are discussed with reference to Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of ‘liquid modernity.’ Then, the utopian and transgressive imagination is presented as a tool for thinking, leading to a discussion of anarchist imaginaries from the recent Occupy! movement to the early work in ecology, sociology, and geography undertaken by pioneering figures such as Peter Kropotkin.