Associate Professor

Tawab Hlimi is an Associate Professor at SAPL and landscape architect whose work predominantly addresses environmental issues in the fields of ecology, infrastructure, and urbanism. However, he is increasingly focusing on the intersection of environmental and social justice, recognizing the deep connections between these areas. Hlimi’s research challenges and expands the traditional boundaries of landscape architecture to incorporate broader social justice concerns and a consideration of the complex political nature of engaging with these topics. He seeks to subvert and disrupt systems through design, research, and teaching. As a leader and mentor, he inspires, guides, and supports students in navigating systems of social injustice.

Hlimi’s journey in landscape architecture has shown him the necessity of addressing both environmental and social justice issues. “What I’ve learned is that social justice issues are so deeply intertwined with environmental issues.” Recognizing that all systems of oppression are interconnected, he emphasizes the need to go beyond the conventional scope of his discipline, and advocates for a holistic approach that engages with the broader social dynamics shaping urban environments. “Social justice really does matter and it’s a global issue.” He sees politics as an important element for environmental design to engage with “because that’s the only way that we can meaningfully address a combination of issues all at once, which cross scales, too, from the local to the global.” While these challenges are daunting, Hlimi recognizes the unique opportunity that his position in academia provides to address important issues and advance the field of architecture. “I’m not a conventional practitioner who’s limited by what a client wants me to do.” His teaching role also enables him to “inspire the next generation of landscape architects to work at expanding the field of landscape architecture so that we do address matters of social justice.”

In his work, Hlimi highlights the marginalization of both natural processes and certain communities within urban settings. “For example, I’ve always been a cyclist. I’ve always been someone who prefers to take active modes of transportation. I find that especially in this city, I’m a minority, I’m marginalised.” These experiences have fostered a sense of empathy towards other people and process living in the margins of the urban landscape, including natural processes. “I think there’s potential for solidarity when it comes to various kinds of marginalization.” His project, Metabolic Movements, exemplifies this approach by integrating active transportation with stormwater management. This initiative aimed to restore natural processes in urban landscapes while promoting cycling, showcasing how infrastructure can serve both environmental and social purposes. “I think that through design, we are able to shift that power dynamic so that we empower the marginalised, and we create a more just society through urban design. I think this is where landscape architecture can be more meaningful in transforming society.”

Hlimi is particularly interested in infrastructure and its inequitable service to people and natural processes. “Infrastructure is everywhere. It connects the city and it serves the city.” He focuses on roads, which house all the infrastructure, whether below or above ground. While most people see these infrastructures as mechanical systems, Hlimi approaches them through a philosophical lens, exploring their potential to affect societal change. “Most designers tend to see potential in just about anything. We see more than the actual thing, we see a potential of what it could be or how it could change or be transformed through design.” He sees this imaginative capacity as one of the greatest strengths of the design field to transform society. ”We’re responsible for shaping human culture through design. Design affects the way people behave, it affects the way people relate to each other. There’s a social dimension to this hard infrastructure that we see almost as something that’s fixed in space, when in fact, it has the potential to be something else.”

A significant project exploring this potential was the Fourth Avenue flyover in the Bridgeland neighbourhood of Calgary, where Hlimi employed a tactical urbanism approach to disrupt and subvert conventional urban systems and reimagine spaces for greater equity. This involved reclaiming spaces designed for automobiles and making them more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. “The idea was that it would be a tactical installation as a way of testing out some ideas and maybe even changing the perception of the space.” This project was a practical application of his belief that design can empower marginalized groups and create more just societies. This involved a strong public engagement component, which revealed broader complexities and challenges. “You become aware of the politics of these projects, and not everyone’s there to play as a team. It felt like there was wanting of ownership of this project and not wanting to share it.” Hlimi found this experience disillusioning, “because I went in there wanting to play as a team and wanting to share, and I thought that’s what collaborations were all about.” In the end, the project did succeed in making a tangible impact on the area and was even granted the National Design Award by the CSLA, RAIC, and CIP. However, the process of navigating the political landscape of this project made him aware of its extensive influence on landscape design and revealed even deeper structural issues. “What we put out to the public is very different than what exists in the background.” He explains that gentrification was an implicit goal of the project, with the intent of pushing away the homeless people currently occupying the site. “There are always these kinds of very insidious intentions in most projects, and a lot of landscape architecture projects are guilty of this.”

Through this learning experience, Hlimi was confronted with the peripheral role that social justice often plays in urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture. “We certainly do care, and we want to make a difference, but the problem is, how do we go about it from our disciplinary perspective?” He believes one of the primary hindrances has been understanding the limitations of the field and of individual designers. “We need people who are specialists, who have expertise on the human dimension of social justice matters and the broader systemic structures that are perhaps underpinning these issues.” He suggests a collaborative approach that supports an exchange of ideas. “There’s so much that you can learn from other people, their points of view, their values, what’s important.” By reflecting on these differences in perspective, he is able to expand his understanding and define his values. “I think your identity evolves almost out of that process of relating to others.”

Hlimi also fosters a learning environment where students are encouraged to reflect on their own values and how these influence their work. He believes this reflective approach is crucial in developing a deeper understanding and commitment to social justice in design, especially for students that are more detached from notions of social justice. “I feel like there’s almost a responsibility for teachers to integrate aspects of humanistic approaches to design into the curriculum.” These ideas can be considered subversive to structural systems of marginalization, which he believes “should actually make us work to push these ideas even more, because we are hacking a system in a way through our approaches… it’s not about maintaining the status quo. That’s not our intention to design. Design should be about reshaping or disrupting it so that we can shape a more equitable future.” He plans to continue mentoring students and integrating explorations of oppressive systems into the curriculum, inspiring the next generation of landscape architects to consider social justice in their work.

Moving forward, Hlimi aims to deepen his focus on social justice within environmental design. “I feel I hit a brick wall when it comes to the limitations of environmental issues… I feel like there needs to be more effort in finding ways or approaches through practice and also research on how environmental systems could be a complement to social issues.” While continuing to explore how infrastructure can be made more equitable and socially just, he is looking to expand his scope to relay this work into practice. Recognizing the challenges of operating within a capitalist system, he seeks ways to bridge the gap between academia and professional practice, ensuring that his designs have a real-world impact. “For me, there’s a lot of question marks, and I would like to learn more about social justice issues because it’s still a frontier for me... I need to understand these issues in order to be able to act in a way that has the capability of affecting change.” While seeking greater expertise in the field of social justice, he also finds value in reflecting on lived experienced. “I think it’s important to be introspective because that’s where the passions really come from.” He believes these passions should be channelled into bigger goals but acknowledges the difficulties of navigating an unsupportive system. “It’s almost like you’re swimming against a current.”

Social justice is an issue that factors into Hlimi’s work through both academic and personal dimensions. As a minority in a position of leadership, he has “experienced both aspects, both privilege and also marginalization.” He considers these identities to be “contextual as where we operate in the world, where we are at a particular moment in time.” In his current position, this has meant acting as a role model. “It was a role that was imposed on me that just sort of naturally comes with this job.” While not something he initially intended to happen, he has embraced both the responsibility and the opportunities this has brought. “My minority status has become more important to me, because I know that the only way I can be authentically a good role model is by channelling whatever actually matters to me. That comes from my background.” This led to an increasing awareness of the issues around him, many of which have a racial dimension. “We absolutely live in a racist society. Based on what I’m seeing... this is the reason some of our brown or black students who are talented still can’t find jobs.” Hlimi believes that the school has a responsibility to address these issues and has been using his position as a mentor and role model to have a positive impact. “I’ve went out of my way to help these kids actually land jobs because I feel like otherwise, they wouldn’t work, they’d be struggling.”

Tawab Hlimi’s innovative approach to integrating social justice with environmental design exemplifies the transformative potential of landscape architecture. By challenging traditional boundaries and seeking to create more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban environments, Hlimi’s work paves the way for a more just and resilient future.

Tawab Hlimi CV

<< Back to Faculty