Zuhri James

Zuhri’s MPhil research examined the interplay between urban nature and landscape design in a town in south-east London called Thamesmead. Extending this interest to three new sites across London, his PhD explores how designers, architects, and urban planners are increasingly pursuing new urban landscapes capable of responding to the pressures posed by the climate crisis. By situating these developments within the wider recasting of cities as laboratories where speculative ecological scenarios and future natures can be investigated, he looks to examine how the incorporation of nature into landscape design is increasingly giving way to new forms of experimentalism. In doing so, he will work through a series of questions. Who has the legitimacy to speak on behalf of London’s ecological future? Should the design of new natures and landscapes across contemporary London be the sole purview of private architects and landscape design firms? Where is the space for alternative, potentially radical futurities? Ultimately, when speaking about London as a transitional metropolis in the Anthropocene, are we speaking about one trajectory, or multiple trajectories?

Zuhri has published in a range of journals including Antipode and Transactions of The Institute of British Geographers and has a forthcoming paper in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. He has also written for The London Magazine and Failed Architecture.