Tuesday, 1 July 2008, 10:00–14:00 hrs, at Berlage Institute, for final presentations second-year research studios, seminar of the Associative Design “Urban Ecologies”. Tutor: Peter Trummer. Using housing development surrounding Phoenix, Arizona, the fastest grow­ing American city, the studio will investigate the region’s specific social, economic, political, climatic, and material environments. It will be argued that new forms of housing neighborhoods may learn from local heritage and site specificity to present a serious alternative to the contemporary housing production. Located in a wide valley that has allowed for low-density urbanization with few limitations, Phoenix has maintained rapid and sustained growth since the end of World War II. “Pro-growth” civic policies have helped fuel an economy that, along with the area’s natural amenities, has attracted many new residents. This growth has resulted in the need for more water, much of it now coming from the Colorado River. This has also created regional and sectorial conflicts between Arizona and its neighboring states as well as be­tween agricultural and urban land uses. Demand for electricity, especially for air conditioning, continues to escalate. An abundance of motor vehicles, but lack of highway infrastructure, has led to increased air pollution and traffic congestion. These specific site circumstances and limited natural resources has made Phoenix an environmental ecology between growth and supply. The studio will investigate how administrative governance and extreme capitalism has controlled Phoenix’s urban growth. The studio will design a population of housing units that together form new neighborhood models by means of associativity. Field research was conducted in Phoenix in January 2008. Info: tel +31 10 4030399 fax +31 10 4030390 www.berlage-institute.nl