Espionage Technology and the Future of Gardening

Fall 2019

This class invites students to explore the history of espionage technology through the

guise of guerrilla gardening - a movement of individuals who illicitly cultivate neglected

spaces in order to transform them into beautiful gardens. Inspired by clandestine

devices and technologies developed for covert operations, students will design and

produce systems and tools that enable individuals to secretly conduct gardening

missions in unused urban spaces. From secret seed dispersal methods to gardening

gadgets, students will develop their design process while being exposed to themes of

environmental justice, food access and urban gardening. This course is both a seminar

class and a production studio. What stealth tools, technologies and methods can be

designed in order to support urban gardening?