Ralph Ghoche, assistant professor of architecture, co-edited the latest issue of the peer-reviewed, bilingual journal Les Cahiers de la recherche architecturale, urbaine et paysagère / Les Cahiers: Journal for the Study of Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape. Titled “How Environmentalist Mobilizations Shape Buildings, Cities, and Landscapes,” the issue includes articles and interviews dealing with environmental resistance movements in several European countries –– France, Belgium, Germany, and the former Yugoslavia –– as well as the United States and Lebanon. Professor Ghoche co-authored the introduction, which expands on the themes encountered in the issue, including the question of land use in relation to ecological and social issues, the revival of the commons, and the role of media (such as periodicals, exhibitions, and competitions) in the expansion of environmental consciousness to wider audiences.
As part of the issue, Professor Ghoche interviewed Belgian philosopher Lieven de Cauter in a piece titled “From Male Master To Caring Mediator.” The interview opened with a discussion on the question of the commons, situating it at the center of contemporary community practices, and moved to a conversation on present-day collective initiatives, such as Parckfarm, a bottom-up and self-organizing community park in a former industrial zone in Brussels.