Deforestation began in ancient times, and the karstification of the Mediterranean region is no new phenomenon. However, the fact is that human intervention in the environment has led to irreversible interference, the intensity of which has progressively increased – although not necessarily linearly. The “forest dieback” of the 1980s did not have the apocalyptic consequences predicted at the time and, due to the postindustrial abandonment of land, may even have been forgotten somewhat before the problems began to arise again amidst the global environmental crisis.
Today, global warming constitutes the biggest problem with the most far-reaching consequential damage. Some of the driving forces of this development and some of the consequences are presented in the graphics on the inside of the foldout flap of this issue’s front cover. We are confronted with the dramatic decline of biodiversity and the accelerating extinction of species, but also with increasing migration flows – be they of plants, animals or humans.
The term Anthropocene has come into common use since the year 2000 – followed somewhat later by the term Capitalocene – to identify the age, generally understood as having begun with industrialization, in which humans have become a force that influences the earth and changes it. In order to break this dominance of the human species, what is needed first of all is a change in human self-understanding, that is, people need to turn away from anthropocentrism. When Bruno Latour reflects on the Parliament of Things or – as in this issue – Donna Haraway calls for the Chthulucene, it is in the spirit of a new materialism, as an effort to bring about a new, more equitable relationship of humans to animals, plants and objects, which is based not least on the principles of modesty and sustainability. This issue on the subject of Coexistence is an attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice. If thoughts are to be followed by deeds, it is necessary to ask how the postulate of coexistence can become a fundamental factor in the design of both architecture and landscape.
The Editors