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The Urban Rookery

Rookery: a colony of breeding animals, generally birds. A rookery is generally reserved for a colony of gregarious…
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Insect Homes

In the face of global pandemic it would appear that the health of our ecosystems, biodiversity and particularly our insect life is more important than ever. This post from 2014 is a reminder of just how simple, and fun creating a little extra biodiversity can be - especially for kids! Check out the links below for additional information on the design and construction of insect homes.
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Announcing: Contributing Editor, Amartya Deb

We are happy to introduce our newest contributing editor to the Expanded Environment  - Amartya Deb. Amartya comes to us from India often writing from locations in Dehli, Calcutta, Bangladesh and elsewhere.
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Companion Species

Today’s cities, not only Western but cities in general, have almost no animal life in their cores, and if they do, it is strongly curtailed.
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OP-ED: Post-Harvey Houston

There should be no suggestions to the contrary - we have (willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or not - it doesn't really matter) created climate systems of massive power and energy and we have placed our cities in their paths. This was an act of Human. The faster we get a grip on this the faster we can face ourselves and our future.
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Concrete Chimney Swift Tower

The evolution of the Chimney Swift is closely intertwined with modernity and the changing habitats of humans. Although originally nesting in caves and rotted trees, Chimney Swifts now primarily nest in, well -- chimneys and other man-made habitats. They adapted to chimneys in the first place due to a scarcity of standing, rotted trees - as these have a tendency to fall onto property and are quickly taken down.
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Urban Umwelt

Recently Ned presented via pre-recorded video at the "Untaming the Urban" Symposium at the Fenner School, Australia National University. The full-length (it's only 15 minutes) viedo is here for your viewing pleasure.
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Syn-Urban Assemblages

Throughout North America, the suburbs are a pervasive condition that emerge at the periphery of every major metropolitan…
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Natural Urbanism

Despite the fact that more than half of the world’s population today lives in cities, the attention given to urban ecosystems in the ecosystem services literature has yet been relatively modest.
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Decompositions; Part 3

[Animals, with their myriad superhuman senses, can teach us new unprecedented ways of occupying space. Shared spaces can…
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Decompositions; Part 2

Can design bridge land and water? Could shared spaces teach us what it’s like to occupy underwater spaces, and navigate through oceans and waterways?
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Between Human and Animal

The space of greatest tension between human and animal is the domestic territory of the house. Suburbs are therefore at the front line of the confrontation between humans and synanthropic animals. As woodlots and agrarian landscape are converted into residential communities, highly adaptive animals seek out new habitat opportunities.
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Decompositions; Part 1

How can sharing spaces lead us to a deeper understanding of our space? Can we learn the senses of other species? Can we gain an animal’s superpowers? The following projects offer another reason for sharing our spaces with non-human species: the enrichment of our spaces and our own perception.
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Knowing the Synanthrope

Humanity defines animals by their relationships to humans. Through this lens non-human species are categorized into two forms; domestic – dependent on humans for survival and augmented to live as companion species to humans, and wild – independent, capable of sustaining life without anthropogenic support. These relationships are based broadly on the level of human intervention required for an animal to survive.
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Introducing Guest Contributors – Sarah and Brandon

This month we are thrilled to include the voices of two new guest contributors to the Expanded Environment team - Sarah Gunawan and Brandon Youndt. Sarah and Brandon will be featured regularly in the coming months and we thoroughly encourage you to check out their work and thoughts.
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BioCity on NPR

Recently Ned Dodington spoke with NPR station KUHF, Houston Matter's Paige Phelps about the BioCity installation on display at Lawndale from January 22, 2016 to June 11, 2016. Check out the interview below!
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Object Relations; Part 3

Our lives are inundated by a growing presence of things. How we manage and relate to these objects, these piles and piles of things, and better understand their complex realities is of serious importance...
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Object Relations; Part 2

As we continue our discussion of the trans-worlding properties of objects we stroll through a woodland prairie with J. Von Uexkull and others...
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Object Relations; Part 1

Our lives are inundated by a growing presence of things. How we manage and relate to these objects, these piles and piles of things, and better understand their complex realities is of serious importance...
Weather Species
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Announcing the MONSTER Award Winners!

For Immediate Release: Announcing the 2015 Expanded Environment Award Winning projects. First Place is awarded to Lullaby of Weather Species, by Suo Ya. Second Place to In Praise of Dust by Young-Tack Oh and Thrid Place to Walk into the Sea By Zhi Wang. COngratulations to all contestants!