Sustainability

UK describes what is a very basic principle of landscape architecture: the design process:6

Landscape architecture is rooted in an understanding of how the environment works and what makes each place unique. It is a blend of science and art, vision and thought. It is a creative profession skilled in strategic planning, delivery and management. Landscape architects bring knowledge of natural sciences, environmental law and planning policy. And they create delight with beautiful designs, protecting and enhancing our most cherished landscapes and townscapes.

(Landscape Institute, 2012)7

The more we study the major problems of our time, the more we come to realize that they cannot be viewed in isolation. They are systemic problems, which means that they are interconnected and interdependent.

(Capra, 1996)8

The underlying and contemporary foundation of landscape stewardship for environmental and cultural resources is to protect these resources for future generations through a rational planning and design process. The concept of protecting these resources for future generations is referred to today as sustainability. Sustainable landscapes are of sufficient integrity where the processes and support systems necessary for the plants and animals are able to continue functioning and to survive. Stewardship provides the underpinnings for sustainable thinking and well-informed land and resource management principles. The goal of achieving sustainable wild, rural, suburban, and urban landscapes while accommodating human development depends upon the application of environmentally responsible strategies of land management and land development. The application of responsible design and planning strategies would seek to achieve a mix of human spaces and healthy land, water, and wildlife systems across the landscape. Landscapes where humans dwell, work, and play, whether they are urban, rural, or wild landscapes, are a complex mosaic of earth, water, and sky. Sustainable designed landscapes are created by applying an array of independent design interventions and making comprehensive land use decisions. The accumulation of each design and land use decision of the past eventually has created fragmented landscapes, such as isolated slivers of wildlife habitats. Eventually these fragments have eroded a landscape to the point that they no longer serve as viable, self-sustaining habitats. In fact, they have eventually disappeared altogether. The small residual patches no longer are capable of functioning as robust and healthy natural systems. A forest may over time be subdivided with roads, utility lines, and other built structures so that eventually what remains of the original forest no longer has the capacity to support wildlife in a sustainable manner. Fragments of native forest and other ecosystems that once

were of an extent and level of health to sustain themselves and wildlife can no longer do so and are no longer capable of protecting or conserving the water quality of a site or region as well.

Incremental habitat modification over time leads to changes and losses in ecosystem diversity. Landscape architects, with their academic training, approach planning and design with the intent of preserving native landscapes as much as is feasible. This approach to design thinking is considered early in the development process of a project. Landscape architects are often the only profession in the process who are taught and trained to apply sound ecological and land management principles and therefore serve as the voice of reason for a more sustainable approach to planning and design. Working toward maintaining biodiversity by preserving functioning ecosystems has the most realistic chance of promoting positive change. The integration of ecological information with the design process can create a healthier union between land use and the natural environment. The protection and maintenance of healthy and functioning natural systems, even in urban and suburban areas, have gained increasing acceptance in the twentyfirst century. Achieving sustainable landscapes through development is an approach that is now understood to build in economic value to new neighborhoods and infrastructure. Sustainable design, together with responsible stewardship, creates economic value, with the result that these environments are considered desirable places to live and work in the marketplace.9 Sustainable design can provide a competitive advantage in a competitive commercial or residential market.

McHarg was a twentieth-century pioneer, whose own work and similar work by his contemporaries raised the public’s understanding of landscape architecture from garden art to making landscape architects into significant players in sustainable design. Their work has contributed to creating more livable and disaster-resilient urban settlements and more responsible resource development. Topics that are now an integral aspect of the academic training and professional practice of landscape architects include the following:

Site analysis and site suitability:

❍ systematic approach to site planning and design, incorporating natural factors ❍ greenway planning and design ❍ design within zones of wetlands, floodplains ❍ design in harsh environments, such as deserts and dry areas, permafrost, hillside slope erosion and slope failure ❍ microclimate moderation to improve energy efficiencies and reduce negative impacts, such as the reduction of heat islands in cities.

Landscape design contributes to better health:

❍ healing gardens ❍ livable and walkable communities ❍ smart growth and other community planning strategies to create more livable cities.