Traditional ecological knowledge and sustainability in cities

Abstract

This thesis is an exploration and analysis of the most efficient and appropriate ways policy makers, planners, and individuals can tap into the knowledge held by indigenous peoples around the world in order to improve urban environments to make them more sustainable and resilient to the effects of the climate crisis. Now more than ever, it is crucial to contextualize all human behaviors and practices with our history as a species. One of the best ways of doing this is lifting the voices of historically marginalized and silenced groups. By incorporating knowledge and wisdom that has been traditionally ignored into all individual and societal practices, the boundaries between the “natural” and “human” worlds can be redefined. By examining the potential that the wealth of knowledge held within indigenous cosmologies, traditions, and practices has in regard to improving urban sustainability, a number of possibilities for integrating indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into the modern sustainability movement are assessed.