Living with nature: Learning from the production of space and everyday life practices in the settlements on naturally and organically formed land

Gunes, Yagmur Burcu 2024. Living with nature: Learning from the production of space and everyday life practices in the settlements on naturally and organically formed land. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Everyday life practices have been an essential part of the discussions around the production of space. Discussions regarding the role of the individual in the production of space question the dialectical relationship between the social and the spatial and criticise the macroscopic reading of space production solely through social, economic and political theories. On the other hand, architecture and urban design disciplines have of-ten been interested in the impact of natural factors on space from ecological and environmental perspectives. This research aims to reveal the effects of everyday life practices on the production of space through the land reclamation process by bringing together these three components (everyday life, natural factors and space), and to analyse the cross-relationship between them. This research focuses on the everyday life prac-tices of two different rural communities living in Cheriya Kadamakudy and East Manja-nakkad island in Kochi, India and their impact on the landform and settlement pattern of islands. It presents the analysis of this indigenous climate-adaptive farming method developed by the islanders against the harsh monsoon climate experienced by the re-gion through the land reclamation process. This research also aims to fill the gap by underlining the land reclamation process's role in sustainable and resilient development, which often causes environmental, ecological, political, economic and engineering de-bates in the literature. Methodologically, this research utilised a mixed-method approach (desk-based, toponymical, and ethnographic research) to investigate everyday life practices thoroughly and how they influence the formation of a landform and settlement pattern from a diachronic perspective in three scales (settlement, building, component) in two places (residential and agricultural areas). The research focused on spatial models and geospatial data through QGIS software (desk-based mapping), cadastral data obtained from deeds, plot names, land sale transactions and maps (archival research), observation and inter-views using video, photo recording, sketches and drawings (ethnographic research). This designed threefold research methodology enabled an in-depth exploration of everyday life practices and their transformative effect on land formation from a diachronic perspective. These three methodology phases complement each other in a reciprocal dialectic manner and interpenetrate. This research indicates that agricultural activities are the foremost priority among the islanders’ everyday life practices that affect their space production by creating an agricultural area surrounding and integrating the residential areas of the selected islands. Additionally, kin relationships affect the formation of main streets and alleys and the distribution of houses within the island and the parcel. This research also found that islanders’ belief systems and ancient knowledge of producing space impact the residential land's density and texture and the orientation of buildings. The rural island family's social structure affects the house's spatial layout, such as the distribution of public-pri-vate spaces and open-semi-open-closed space relationships. This research also found that the resilient agriculture model called integrated rotational farming of Pokkali-fish cultivation invented by rural communities living in the backwaters of Kochi through land reclamation affected the formation of landforms and settlement patterns of islands. The spaces the islanders produced with a bottom-up approach, both in residential and agri-cultural areas, have a spatial arrangement that takes advantage of Kerala's harsh monsoon-tropical climate. Daylight and ventilation were influential in the houses' orientation, spatial layout, and the shaping of building components. The islanders made all design decisions on the scale of settlements, buildings and building elements in a way that would be in harmony with nature, under the influence of their everyday life practices. In light of research findings obtained from selected vernacular settlements and the local knowledge of the islanders, recommendations are made, and guidelines are prepared to promote the development of more socially and economically sustainable communities and more climate-resilient settlements.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 November 2024
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2024 16:22
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/173889

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