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Written as part of my BA Geography course, this conceptual essay explores ruination, aesthetics, decay, and the role landscape architects play in shaping experiences of urban modernity. It charts the genealogical contours of ‘urban wastelands’ as capitalist modernity’s resources and discards, unpacking and dramatizing the aesthetic politics, tensions, and paradoxes that underpin urbanization and urban as processes. The paradoxes latent in the ‘urban wastelands’ of the post-industrial city set up a problem space in contemporary landscape architecture concerning whether we can transform industrial ruins and ‘wastelands’ into parks in a way that acknowledges their past uses or whether the ruin fetish is inescapable.

Revision. The art of reviewing information. A Levels are tough - there’s no doubt about it. But I found that streamlining my revision workflow reduced my stress, by focussing on revision techniques that gave me the most benefit. I am by no means an expert, but I do think that I have some insights that I can share to help you discover your most efficient revision workflow. So, without further ado, here’s how I revised for my A Level Exams....

The 16th International Geography Olympiad was held just three weeks ago in Hong Kong, from 30th July - 5th August 2019. It was an absolutely incredible week - and I feel so thankful to have had the opportunity to meet with other students from around the world, explore the rocky, green and vertical sides of Hong Kong, and compete on the world stage through 3 academically rigorous tests. As with last year’s Olympiad, I’m delighted to share my experiences of iGeo 2019 on the blog, and if you have any questions about the Olympiad, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!...

This summer, I travelled to Canada for the 15th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) – a global competition that challenges the best 16 to 18-year old geographers from across the world – as part of Team UK. This year (2018), the event was based in Quebec City in Quebec, Canada – which was a terrific base, allowing us to appreciate the area’s human and natural landscapes through fieldwork activities and excursions....

Just a year ago, I was lucky enough to witness The Great American Eclipse. It was undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking celestial phenomena I have ever seen. It was a dry, smoke strewn day near the stunning Cascade Mountains in Oregon (nestled up in Cove Palisades State Park). It would be an ordinary day, if it were not for the sensational scurry of campers in the early hours of that Monday morning....

The wind blows through the craggy rocks of an otherworldly caldera. In the distance, cable cars slide up the volcano, while warm rocks lie beneath your flip-flops. Just an hour away, the sea splashes alongside tourists strewn across the sand. This is Tenerife: a juxtaposition between the wet and dry; tamed and untamed; saharan sand and black sand. The Canary Islands sit just off the West Coast of Africa, Tenerife being the largest and most populous member....