Ruoyuan Chen

Six centuries ago, according to Ibn Khaldoun, an Arab thinker, history is a cycle: a dynasty typically lasts three generations before decadence sets in.  However, unlike the social cycle theories that argue that events and stages of society and history generally repeat themselves in cycles,  social evolutionism describes the changes of societies from the ancestral form as moving forward into new directions. In terms of the primary means of subsistence, it is commonly believed that there are six phases in the evolution of human societies: hunter-gatherer, pastoral, horticultural, agrarian, industrial, and post-industrial. As technology develops and the population rises, the surplus increases and mobility decreases in each phase. People started to centralize in the industrialized cities and become sedentary and individualistic, causing many environmental, social, and political issues which accelerate global climate change. 

Due to human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystem, the future of this planet and our society is uncertain. X is the variable commonly used in mathematics. Therefore, this thesis defines the next society as “X-ERA” for the increasing turbulence driven by the intertwined dynamics of people and the planet. We are still exploring the best lifestyle for the incoming situations.

The past is the key to the future. In contrast to the contemporary societies that are selfishly exploiting the common resource without limits exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle and still infrastructures, the communities from the traditional societies have been respecting and protecting nature collectively for such a long time with nomadic lifestyles and mobile practices. The research phase of the thesis mainly learned from the sustainable strategies of indigenous peoples living in two areas: the Imuhar in the arid Sahara desert, and Tikuna, Cocama, and Yagua in the wet Amazon Rainforest.

However, not everyone values the indigenous people's ancestral practices and traditional knowledge. Despite the ecological benefits of sustainable lifestyles, many governments even discriminatively restrict people’s access to land, natural resources, and self-determination. In the context of climate change and human societies' evolution, it is important that we recognize, document, and learn from the orally transmitted indigenous knowledge which infers us on how to survive in the unknown changes spanning terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the globe.

After learning from indigenous peoples living in extremely arid and wet areas, this thesis speculates an adaptive possibility for the upcoming X-Era to respond to flood and drought conditions.  Seasonal route systems, shifting responsibilities, seasonal infrastructures, micro-macro calendar, and seasonal law and property are the key ideas inspired by and transformed from indigenous sustainable knowledge. 

To reflect on the process of preparing for the X-Era as a landscape architecture student, I learned to respect culture by not interrupting when you are not invited. I learned to respect nature by understanding the meaning of adaptation. I have become more aware of the importance of archiving, comparing, and sharing knowledge than before. I realized that design could be a simple adaptive strategy rather than leaving erasable marks on the earth. I always see my limitations which encourages my curiosity to learn more. Last but not least, never be afraid to imagine.