Studio: How To Live With Stones
This product was developed as part of Ryerson University’s Master of Planning studio course, PL8109. In September, 2019, our team of six Master of Planning students and our supervisor began this studio research project titled, How to Live with Stones: Landscape and Planning Beyond Closure (Sardinia, Italy). This work is the continuation of ongoing research hosted by our client, the Centre for Biocultural Landscape and Seascape at the University of Sassari. Our team was given the task of providing research and materials at the intersection of mine closure planning, landscape design and critical geography. Utilizing these research and materials, our work intends on developing strategies for future land use plans that encourage an open, publicly accessible, living environment, for the Santu Miali gold mine located in the town of Furtei in southern Sardinia. Understanding that the gold mine, now closed and in its first year of fill and cap remediation, exists in contrast to the image many have of Sardinia’s idyllic coastline, our team worked closely with quantitative and qualitative data, and looked to the stories of those affected by mining internationally, with a particular emphasis of those held by local individuals connected to the mine in Sardinia. Based on local knowledge, this required spatial analysis quantitative and qualitative methods, while working with local individuals and organizations to tell the story of the mine from the point of view of those who lived in the area.
On the left, the first document a process report covers the journey of this studio from start to finish. The second document presents the findings of our research.
