Ontopological natures

Abstract

Geographer John Wylie (2016) critiques problematic claims of belonging to place which suggest a natural connection between people and topos. Such ontopological beliefs in a homeland rely on environmental determinism or historicization to assert an inextricable link between blood and soil formed over centuries of human occupation and use. In this paper we consider how ontopology operates in New Zealand's protected areas, which as places that have a long history of human inhabitation and activity but are considered 'wild' and thus outside of the presence of people, provide an intriguing contrast for considering this concept and how it may be approached through design. Wylie (2016) identifies two counter-ontopological positions for landscape: one an orientation towards hospitality, welcome, and sanctuary; the other seeking to destabilise homeland thinking through unsettling, dislocating and distancing such troubling claims of belonging to place. Drawing on these directions, we examine a landscape design project undertaken by Lincoln University's Landscope Designlab at Ararira Wetland in the South Island of New Zealand, which reimagines what protected areas are by expanding the ways people might engage with them via counter-ontopological forms.