The Unbuildable Portion of Our Regions

Natural cycles and responsible urbanization

The environmental balance of our regions is underpinned by a vital ecological framework, made up of a web of areas that we call “voids”—even though they are actually inhabited by the agents and manifestations of nature and the living world. Their preservation and restoration, which we know is absolutely necessary, implies a radical turnaround in how we urbanize our regions.

To begin with, we need to understand how these ecological cycles play out, include them in our designs, and decide what should not be built, rather than filling areas to accommodate human needs and leaving voids behind as simple by-products of our developments. Indeed, the buildable portion of our regions is composed of hollow parts that allow natural phenomena, natural agents, to play out and maintain continuity to complete their cycles.

Including the unbuildable in our plans reveals what can be built, what can be urbanized, and what can be sealed without endangering natural phenomena. We need to define the framework for the unbuildable portion of our land, and only then should we, working in the new negative space, define the areas suitable for construction and human activities.