| In pre-industrial societies, the acts of building and dwelling were so integrated that the history of a place and its inhabitants could be read in their built spaces. Following the Industrial Revolution, increased mobility and changes to the building process severed this intimate connection. The North American city, in particular, has been shaped by mobility, although its inhabitants maintain connections to their origins elsewhere. This thesis questions whether it is still possible to formulate meaningful ways of building and dwelling in the post-industrial city, in harmony with both the transient mode of dwelling, and which allow for the inhabitants of the city to participate in the making of it, without reverting to nostalgic building practices. Specifically, this thesis explores the potential of narrative, fiction, and storytelling as poetic forms of making capable of responding to the conflicting attractions of origin and home, and the freedom of movement and migration. |
