Start Date
01/15/2026
End Date
01/15/2026
Description
In “Lo—TEK: Co-creating a Compatible Future Through Indigenous Intelligence,” Julia Watson challenges dominant narratives of innovation by elevating Indigenous ecological knowledge as critical climate technology. The talk explores how Indigenous communities have long cultivated regenerative systems that work with nature, not against it—positioning plants as sentient infrastructure and culture as a form of engineering.
Drawing on the concept of TEKnological Urbanism, Watson proposes a paradigm shift: from cities built with steel and concrete to cities grown from living systems—where infrastructure is biotic, memory is ecological, and design is rooted in reciprocity. Through examples like the Khasi Living Root Bridges, Peruvian totora reed islands, and the revived chinampas of Mexico, she illustrates how TEK offers not nostalgia, but a blueprint for the future—a radical act of remembering in a time of ecological forgetting.
Rather than extracting from land, TEKnological Urbanism centers Indigenous science, ceremony, and sovereignty—redefining resilience as rooted, not poured in concrete, and reclaiming design as a pathway toward biocultural continuity.
Location
New York, NY
Distance Learning
No
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Rural Landscape
Site Planning
Sustainable Development & Design
Water / Stormwater Management
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.0
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand Indigenous Water Knowledge Systems:
Participants will learn how Indigenous, place-based water management practices documented through the Lo—TEK framework function as resilient, nature-based solutions for flood control, water purification, and climate adaptation across diverse geographies.
2. Apply Lo—TEK Water Strategies to Contemporary Landscape Architecture:
Participants will explore how ancestral water infrastructures—such as living canals, wetlands, and tidal systems—can inform contemporary landscape architectural design, planning, and policy to address urban flooding, sea-level rise, and watershed health.
3. Evaluate Cultural, Ecological, and Climate Benefits of Living Water Infrastructure:
Participants will be able to assess the social, cultural, and ecological performance of Lo—TEK water systems and identify opportunities to integrate Indigenous-led knowledge into equitable, climate-responsive landscape projects.
Instructors
Julia Watson
Course Codes
Provider
New York Chapter of ASLA