The studio will consider significant themes from the historical record and the current discussions on the Fens:

Preservation of an exemplary historical (and Olmstedian) landscape (and what "preservation" means in this context)

The significant monetary, cultural, and personal costs of flooding

Concerns for ecological health and environmental quality (particularly in relation to water)

Social dynamics of public spaces, particularly a dynamics that includes the entire population

The Fens' place within a thriving and expanding cultural district

The role of municipal engineering in developing landscape designs and in developing cities

The relationships of private funding, semi-private/semi-public institutions, and public landscapes

How the invisible structures of territorial and issue-driven politics is as much a design issue as aesthetics