S-007: Reading – Edgelands

Edgelands, journeys into England’s true wilderness, Paul Farley and Michael Simmons Roberts

Chapter Notes:

M1 service station Planting schemes anchored in class. To appeal to male haulage drivers.
‘However, true pastoral is more likely to be found in the edgelands , where our slipstream has created a zone of inattention.’ P103
(On noticing a caravan while passing by) ‘how many other demobilised objects must lie out there, swallowed by each summer’s growth?’ P104
‘Does all managed urban green space aspire to the condition of an eighteenth-century landscape garden?’ P104
‘The result: a space that nobody takes much responsibility for.’ P105
(On allotments)
- they continue to exist on a borderline between recreation and utility’ p108
- ‘They offer an alternative to a life of getting and spending’ p108

Creative response:

Elaborate planting in central reservation and verges.
Class list planting schemes. Gardens planted accordingly. Create 3d (blender vivariums).
Maslow’s plant hierarchy. Also based on country/location.
Contemporary Russian class system / hierarchies. Bigger project.
Fast moving planting
- Spinning (roundabouts / centrifuge). Eg Still to 1000 rpm to still.
- Linear (motorway). Eg to scale and 70mph. Also other mpg, eg 50mph, 60mph, etc. consider extreme speeds. Eg car models top mph (can then be categorised to class hierarchies, eg Tesla at 170mph, Nissan micra at 90mph, etc).
(blender models + LiDAR scans)
Train landscapes. Passing by at speed.
- ‘There was a great fear of modern speed. Early railway travellers were anxious of the effects that those new velocities might have on their bodies, and it was speculated that cows in fields nearby a passing train would have their milk turned black.’ P103.