Redactiestuk Anarchisme

It might have been a bold choice to pick anarchism as the second TOPOS theme. Is the chaos that is associated with anarchy not directly in contrast with the orderliness that landscape architecture and urban planning aim for in their respective disciplines? What can we learn from a system that works outside of the societal and political boundaries that are so inherently connected to our professions? In this theme, TOPOS explores what happens when anarchism or anarchist principles are allowed to gain foothold in our current design tradition.

Anarchism is defined as “a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups” (Merriam-Webster, 2026). It tries to combine two ideas that are seemingly incompatible: absolute individual freedom and radical communitarianism (Kontrec, 2012). Applied to the domain of landscape architecture and urban planning, we discover spaces and people that work outside of the conventional systemic environment. They might be guerrilla gardeners or squatters. They might be owners of a community garden on an empty city plot. They might be neighbours transforming their street to better serve their community. It is about abstract concepts such as nomadic landscape design, porous spaces, and anarchitecture. It is about using design for people. 

Is our design solely meant for grand and complex projects? If we allow the hammer of anarchy to smash the pristine of our profession, can we be open-minded enough to see what might happen between the cracks? And if so, what might we learn and take home to enrich our future design trajectories? 

With kindest regards, 

Geert Walinga

Chair TOPOS

References

Merriam-Webster. (2026). Anarchism. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchism

Kontrec, Z. (2012). Anarchism and the built environment: Legacy of anti-capitalist rejection of social state in architecture, urban and regional planning. Academia. https://www.academia.edu/1991942/Anarchism_and_the_built_environment_Legacy_of_anti_ capitalist_rejection_of_social_state_in_architecture_urban_and_regional_planning