Thursday, July 30, 2015 2:30 pm
-
2:30 pm
EDT (GMT -04:00)
Of
the
thesis
entitled: Pulsing
Territories,
Perpetual Frontiers
Abstract:
The
construction
of
the
Ngurah
Rai
International
Airport
in
Bali in
1969
facilitated
the
birth
of
mass
tourism
on
the
island,
as
well
as
an increasing
concentration
of
tourist-centered
developments.
As
the
tourism industry
now constitutes
70%
of
the
island’s
GDP,
tourist-dominant
developments are
highly
economically
profitable,
but
often
culturally
and
environmentally unsustainable.
Developments
are
continuously
pushing
boundaries
into
an increasing number
of
neighboring
towns
as
tourists
persistently
search
for “untouched”
territories
offering
“authentic”
cultural
experiences.
In
the context
of
an
island,
with
a
finite
amount
of
land,
these
sprawling developments
are
confronted
with both
physical
and
environmental
constraints.
The thesis seeks to propose an alternate form of tourism development that works cyclically, leveraging seasonal activities over time, rather than one that sprawls outward. Departing from traditional notions of static developments, the thesis questions the possibilities of designing infrastructures that work in synchrony with contextual cycles. The design of a networked infrastructure investigates how tourist developments and local economies can cycle between periods of high activity, periods of dormancy, and periods of regeneration. The proposal also seeks to question how an infrastructure could facilitate a symbiotic relationship between tourism and agriculture, effectively managing resources between the two industries through these cyclical periods. In addition how can these strategies generate new spatial experiences for tourists? How can spaces facilitate the possibilities of enhanced translatability in terms of the different stakeholders involved and their unique aspirations and often competing desires?
The thesis seeks to propose an alternate form of tourism development that works cyclically, leveraging seasonal activities over time, rather than one that sprawls outward. Departing from traditional notions of static developments, the thesis questions the possibilities of designing infrastructures that work in synchrony with contextual cycles. The design of a networked infrastructure investigates how tourist developments and local economies can cycle between periods of high activity, periods of dormancy, and periods of regeneration. The proposal also seeks to question how an infrastructure could facilitate a symbiotic relationship between tourism and agriculture, effectively managing resources between the two industries through these cyclical periods. In addition how can these strategies generate new spatial experiences for tourists? How can spaces facilitate the possibilities of enhanced translatability in terms of the different stakeholders involved and their unique aspirations and often competing desires?
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
Committee Members:
Lola Sheppard, University of Waterloo
Maya
Przybylski,University
of
Waterloo
Fionn
Byrne
External Reader:
Dr. Luna Khirfan, University of Waterloo
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Thursday
July
30,
2015
2:30PM
ARC
2003
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.