Nik Luka

I am a specialist inÌýethnography, landscape studies, and critical studies of design and planning. MuchÌýof my research and teaching activities explore what I call REURBANISM : the processes of transformation, contestation, and negotiation that occur in (re)urban(ising) landscapes. These are operationalised through action-research collaborations with public agencies and civil-society organisations as well as conventional investigative research and practical work on urban design and participatory governance. In a nutshell,ÌýI’m fascinated by how architects, planners, and other future-minded specialists engage with one another (or not…) and with non-specialists who offer other important forms of knowledge and expertise to develop techniques, possibilities, and capacities for transforming (sub)urban landscapesÌýto make better use of scarce resources while maintaining the qualities of place that people value about the settings that they know and inhabit on an everyday basis.

My interests in both research and professional practice encompass major themes that are familiar to most architects, landscape architects, planners, and geographers : housing, infrastructure, public space, cultural landscapes, urban design, and deliberative democracy. I typically do work that is inductive in a ‘constructivist’ orientation, and I am especially intrigued byÌýnarratives, representations, text, and discourse as they apply to the futuring work of architecture, urban design, and urban planning.ÌýWhat sorts of stories do we tell about the complexities of human settlements and the processes by which places become ‘(sub)urban’ ? How do specialists and non-specialists engage with the transformations, continuities, and ruptures that come with the passage of time, notably the liminal or transitional phases ‘from’ some condition ‘to’ some other condition ? How can design can act as a hinge between natural process and human culture to guide change ? More strategically, my activities focus on the deliberate policy-led remaking of everyday space through what is known in German asÌýStadtumbauÌý(literally the reworking of cities and suburbs).ÌýI also have enduring interests in the dynamics of the rural-urban fringe (often described as ‘periurban’ or ‘exurban’ settings), including second homes and the ways in which landscape amenities affect patterns of growth and development over time.

My current work falls into three overlapping domains :

1. Comparative critical studies of densification and transformation of postwar landscapesÌý(including equitable, high-quality transit-oriented development) in Canada, Sweden, and parts of continental Europe
2. DevelopingÌýstrategic community-based policy and design responses to the current housing crisisÌýthroughÌýÌý(as part ofÌýÌýcosponsored byÌýÌýandÌýthe Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) andÌý, also sponsored byÌý
3. Applying methods for the meaningful coproduction of viable andÌýequitable futures by combiningÌýthe expertise of local nonspecialists with futuring professionals,ÌýincludingÌýa strategic Québec-based partnership onÌý, transdisciplinary strategies for landscape connectivity and ‘walkability’ in various contexts, andÌýa Montréal-centredÌýpartnership focusing onÌýcommoning in the Champ des Possibles

Professors need to engage in local communities of practice beyond the university campus, which I have done in various capacities over the last 20 years. I have beenÌýa member of the Conseil d’administration (Board of Directors) for several organisations including Montréal'sÌýÌý(striving for the development of vibrant civic life, including participatory urban design, planning, and governance), theÌýÌý(which promotes intercultural awareness and interprovincial mobility for young Canadians pursuing post-secondary studies), andÌý°ä´Ç²Ô±¹±ð°ù³¦¾±³Ùé,Ìýa non-profit MontréalÌýconsultancy that helped civil-society actors, project entrepreneurs, and policymakers to ensure that progressive human(ist) values are at the core of city-building and landscape planning. I also have worked withÌýÌý(a non-profit group based in Verdun which strengthens community through creative writing),ÌýÌý(linking community-based literacy organisations across Québec to empower people, impact lives, and build a stronger society), Before moving to Montréal, I was also a member of theÌýÌýin Toronto for 10 years, with which I recorded several compact discs and one film production (with the Mark Morris Dance Group).

Montréal is home, but I have also lived in Basel (Switzerland), Sheffield (England), Malmö (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Québec City, Toronto, and in Ontario’s ‘Near North’ (Manitoulin Island, Georgian Bay, and the Haliburton Highlands). My paternal grandparents were Magyars who came to Canada from the tattered remains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the interwar years, but my maternal family roots in this country can be traced to Scottish merchants who settled in Québec City in the 1760s, at least one of whom joined a small group of civic leaders who successfully lobbied the British Crown for the establishment of a parliament for Lower Canada (today's Assemblée nationale du Québec).

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