Thesis Defence: Nashin Mahtani

Thursday, July 30, 2015 2:30 pm - 2:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)
Of the thesis entitled:Pulsing Territories, PerpetualFrontiers

Abstract:

The construction of the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Baliin 1969 facilitated the birth of mass tourism on the island, as well as anincreasing concentration of tourist-centered developments. As the tourismindustry nowconstitutes 70% of the island’s GDP, tourist-dominant developmentsare highly economically profitable, but often culturally and environmentallyunsustainable. Developments are continuously pushing boundaries into anincreasingnumber of neighboring towns as tourists persistently search for“untouched” territories offering “authentic” cultural experiences. In thecontext of an island, with a finite amount of land, these sprawlingdevelopments are confronted withboth physical and environmental constraints.

The thesis seeks to propose an alternate formof tourism development that works cyclically, leveraging seasonal activitiesover time, rather than one that sprawls outward. Departing from traditionalnotions of static developments,the thesis questions the possibilities ofdesigning infrastructures that work in synchrony with contextual cycles. Thedesign of a networked infrastructure investigates how tourist developments andlocal economies can cycle betweenperiods of high activity, periods ofdormancy, and periods of regeneration. The proposal also seeks to question howan infrastructure could facilitate a symbiotic relationship between tourism andagriculture, effectively managingresources between the two industries throughthese cyclical periods. In addition how can these strategies generate newspatial experiences for tourists? How can spaces facilitate the possibilitiesof enhanced translatability in terms of thedifferent stakeholders involved andtheir unique aspirations and often competing desires?

The examining committee is as follows:

Supervisor:

Committee Members:

Lola Sheppard,University of ݮƵ

Maya Przybylski,University of ݮƵ
Fionn Byrne

External Reader:

Dr. Luna Khirfan, University ofݮƵ



The committee has been approved as authorized by the Graduate Studies Committee.


The Defence Examination will take place:

Thursday July 30, 2015
2:30PM

ARC 2003

A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A.