The Meaning of Ruins on the Landscape

As part of an ongoing series that has examined topics of interest to planners (including authenticity, shapes on the landscape and the juxtaposition of the flâneur and the desert), Chuck Wolfe examines the connection between urban, exurban, and natural landscapes and their interplay with human experience.

Wolfe explores how landscapes in the American southwest reveal ancient pueblo urbanism and cycles of settlement and conquest. He argues in the spirit of landscape essayist J.B. Jackson (who lived in Santa Fe) that ruins, whether found on trails, in museums, or in urban adapted urban environments, are integral to our understanding of history and culture.

He also applies Jackson’s ideas to urban settings, such as Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood, where remnants of old infrastructure like cable car bridges are juxtaposed with modern developments like light rail.

In conclusion, he emphasizes the importance of recognizing and learning from these historical layers, whether in urban or natural landscapes, to inform contemporary planning practice and societal reckoning with a colonial-driven past.

For his full series, which includes topics ranging from the role of Georgia O’Keeffe to the nature of the “authentic” or “fake” ambience of Santa Fe, see: https://resurgencejourney.substack.com/t/new-mexico