Waawiyaataanong [The Curved Shores] Transect is the initial step of a research project that tells a story of ecology, urban design, and patterns of human settlement from the end of the most recent Ice Age to present day. Traveling along a path used by indigenous peoples from Detroit to the Northwest called the Saginaw Trail, a cross-section is documented with photographs and maps along with historic representations from various eras. This survey of the urban landscape reveals an evolving attitude towards land and human settlement from the time of the American Mastodon through European colonial settlements, the upheavals of the 20th Century, to present day.   

Field recordings from 50 points along the transect from Jackson Park in Windsor, Ontario to Silver Lake in northern Oakland County serve as touch points along the physical route, revealing evidence of issues related to urban design, ecology, and human settlement patterns. Analytical maps…