The Well-Rounded Nest
What if we integrated circularity principles into planning?
What are circularity systems? Defined by Lo—TEK, “Circularity refers to systems that transport, exchange, and return nutrients or energy. It is not simply a closed loop, but a sacred relationship between land, life, and community——where nothing is wasted and everything participates in a living system of reciprocity.”
I think about the ancient city, Tenochtitlan. A friend once told me the story of how its land was chosen: the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus while devouring a snake, an image now centered on Mexico’s flag. This is what is believed they saw on top of the island Lake Texcoco, where present-day Mexico City now stands.
if you search for Mexico City today, you’ll notice that Lake Texcoco is gone. Spanish colonizers drained the lake after invading, believing they could control its frequent floods. What they did not understand was the sophisticated water technology the Aztecs had already developed.
It is estimated Tenochtitlan had a population as low as 50,000 or as high as 300,000 across just 5.4 sq mi, denser than Los Angeles. How did they manage floods with this high population? They had a complex aqueduct and irrigation system. During the conquest, the Spanish shut off the aqueduct access to the city, which destroyed the irrigation system. The Spanish rebuilt Mexico City in the image of a European city with streets, plazas, and stone buildings, rather than canals. They filled in waterways and drained parts of the lake, believing they could impose European urban forms onto a wetland environment.
Today, Mexico City is still impacted by these consequences. The Valley of Mexico is an endorheic basin. This means rainwater and runoff have nowhere to go except into the lakes or the ground. Without the Aztec technology, the water simply continues to flood the city.
Planners and future planners must consider how water circulates through our environments. We cannot design based solely on imported models from landscapes unlike our own.
For example, the Netherlands are often praised for their flood-control systems, yet these rely on keeping water out, not working with it. Their climate adaptation strategies may protect one region while displacing impacts downstream. True circularity asks us to design with nature, not against it, to participate in living systems of reciprocity rather than trying to conquer them.
This is just one example of how we can implement circularity systems into cities. Others include, food systems, human waste, building materials, and more.
“Understand the relationships of water and how that water should navigate itself within that landscape, and let urbanism be shaped by what already exists.”
—Julia Watson, Living Earth Core
Source: “Indigenous Teachings on True Circularity” — Lyla June (Circularity ’25)