The urban frontier in Amazonia is among the fastest growing in the world: 80 percent of it is “informal.” Under export-oriented, neo-extractivist policies, this trend is unlikely to revert. Nevertheless, scarce research has focused on the urban phenomenon in Amazonia. How can burgeoning forest cities be retrofitted/designed? Could urbanization be allied with forest resurgence in the region? Can environmental history and archaeology influence the way in which we approach Amazonian settlements? What can we learn from local communities? Could their ancestral knowledge be adapted to current needs and illuminate design? In this seminar, we critically probe current approaches to sustainability, aware that “green solutions” being advanced by the global north often demand further extraction of natural resources in the global south. We analyze the complex intertwining between global capitalism and Amazonia, as well as the critical role both are called to play in lieu of climate change. Limited enrollment.