Ecological Urbanism

摘要

In a radio interview recorded in 1971, Edwin Newman asked Marshall McLuhan about the relation between his work and the notion of ecology. McLuhan's reply was in form of a question: 'Do you know the origin of the word ecology?' As the interviewer quickly provided his definition, the Canadian media theorist pointed out that the etymology of the word was still uncertain. McLuhan maintained that its origin also stemmed from Greek mythology in which Echo was a tantalising nymph whose voice would repeat anything she had heard. What he implied was that ecology was not simply identifying an area of studies' preoccupied with living organisms and their organisation, but also, and perhaps more importantly, a type of connection between things. Similar to sound which is generated in a specific place and propagates to affect and be affected by the surrounding, living organisms also follow complex patterns based on interactions, feedback loops and echoes.