Synanthropia : Anthropocentric Ecologies Examined Through the Lens of Speculative Fiction

Within urban landscapes, there exist numerous novel niches for organisms to live alongside humans in spaces ostensibly designed bespoke for our needs and wants. Called “synanthropes” by ecologists, these organisms often have a net neutral effect on human populations, whether by balancing positive and negative or having no effect at all, a form of symbiosis called “commensalism”. This project uses the framework of an imagined present-day False Creek Flats, set in an alternate universe, to explore how—with only a few changes to our urban and landscape design values and methodology—vastly more commensal/synanthropic niches and urban biodiversity can exist.