Sacred Landscapes : Indigenous Spatial Frameworks for Contemporary Practice

Positioned at the intersection of indigenous knowledge systems and spatial practice, this volume explores how ritualised, place-based epistemologies can reframe design and planning responses to global ecological crises.

Positioned at the intersection of indigenous knowledge systems and spatial practice, this volume explores how ritualised, place-based epistemologies can reframe design and planning responses to global ecological crises. Departing from reductive Cartesian abstractions, it interrogates the systemic erasure of sacred space and advances a generative turn toward relational ontologies and decolonial spatial imaginaries. Landscapes are approached not as static heritage artefacts, but as living, agentive systems that co-produce meaning, identity, and ethical responsibility. Drawing on global case studies and innovative methodological approaches, including VOICE, Spiritual Tectonics, and Afro-Cosmological Design, the contributions explore the temporal thickening of sacred sites, where ancestral continuities intersect with emergent technologies. By integrating traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary metrics of resilience and sustainability, the book outlines actionable pathways for spatial practitioners. It speaks to researchers and professionals across architecture, urban planning, religious studies, cultural geography, and the environmental humanities.