Landscape urbanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_urbanism 

Landscape urbanism is a theory of urban design arguing that the city is constructed of interconnected and ecologically rich horizontal field conditions, rather than the arrangement of objects and buildings. Landscape Urbanism, like Infrastructural Urbanism and Ecological Urbanism, emphasizes performance over pure aesthetics and utilizes systems-based thinking and design strategies. The phrase 'landscape urbanism' first appeared in the mid 1990s. Since this time, the phrase 'landscape urbanism' has taken on many different uses, but is most often cited as a postmodernist or post-postmodernist response to the "failings" of New Urbanism and the shift away from the comprehensive visions, and demands, for modern architecture and urban planning.

The phrase 'landscape urbanism' first appeared in the work of Peter Connolly, a Masters of Urban Design student from RMIT Melbourne. In 1994, Connolly used the phrase in the title for his Masters of Urban Design proposal at RMIT Melbourne. Here, he suggested that 'a language of "landscape urbanism" barely exists and needs articulating', and that 'existing urbanisms ... are limited in the exploration of the landscape'. He also used the term 'landscape as urbanism' in his 1994 essay, '101 Ideas About Big Parks'. In 1996 Tom Turner wrote that

The city of the future will be an infinite series of landscapes: psychological and physical, urban and rural, flowing apart and together. They will be mapped and planned for special purposes, with the results recorded in geographical information systems (GIS), which have the power to construct and retrieve innumerable plans, images and other records. Christopher Alexander was right: a city is not a tree. It is a landscape.

In the late 1990s, concepts of 'landscape urbanism' were often used by landscape architects in the United States in the re-organisation of declining post-industrial cities, such as Detroit. From the 2000s, it was used in Europe by architects to mean a highly flexible way of integrating large-scale infrastructure, housing and open space. By the late 2000s, the phrase became associated with highly commercialized, multi-phase urban parks, such as Olympic park design. Landscape urbanism strategies in the U.S. are now widely used in waterfront redevelopment, recapturing urban vacancy, urban agriculture, and green infrastructure. LU, EU, and IU strategies are rising in importance with growing concerns over climate change.

History

The first major event to do with 'landscape urbanism' was the Landscape Urbanism conference sponsored by the Graham Foundation in Chicago in April 1997. Speakers included Charles Waldheim, Mohsen Mostafavi, James Corner of James Corner/Field Operations, Alex Wall, and Adriaan Geuze of the firm West 8, among others. The formative period of Landscape Urbanism can be traced back to RMIT University and University of Pennsylvania in the late 1980s, at a time when Peter Connolly, Richard Weller, James Corner, Mohsen Mostafavi, and others were exploring the artificial boundaries of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Architecture, searching for better ways to deal with complex urban projects. However, their texts cite and synthesize the ideas of influential modernist methods, programmes and manifestoes that appeared in the early twentieth century. Charles Waldheim, Anu Mathur, Alan Berger, Chris Reed, amongst others, were students at the University of Pennsylvania during this formative period for Landscape Urbanism. After the Chicago conference, European design schools and North American design institutions formed academic programs and began to formalize a field of Landscape Urbanism studies, including the University of Toronto, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Oslo School of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and London's Architectural Association. 

The development of an actual operative response to the broad and often vague concepts surrounding landscape urbanism was largely developed at the Architectural Association in London. Prior to this period of design exploration, landscape urbanism had never been clearly developed as an actual design practice. Today, much of the design culture that has come to be associated with landscape urbanism was initiated and developed in the AA Landscape Urbanism program during its early formative period and its influence persists in many educational institutions. A number of practices that have chosen to adopt the design and conceptual approach towards urbanism have also adopted many of these design strategies.

Themes

James Corner is the author of an essay entitled "Terra Fluxus." He has identified four general ideas that are important for use in Landscape Urbanism. They are as follows: 

1. Process over time - Understanding the fluid or changing nature of any environment and the processes that affect change over time. A respect for natural processes (Ecology) - the idea that our lives intertwine with the environment around us, and we should therefore respect this when creating an urban environment. Landscape Urbanism is concerned with a working surface over time – a type of urbanism that anticipates change, open endedness and negotiation.
2. Horizontality - The use of horizontal alignment in landscaping, rather than relying on vertical structuring.
3. Working Methods /Techniques - Those who practice the idea of landscape urbanism should be able to adapt their techniques to the environment that they are in.
4. The imaginary - That in many ways the failing of twentieth century planning can be attributed to the absolute impoverishment of the imagination to extend new relationships and sets of possibilities 

Ten characteristics

Tom Turner summarized the ten characteristics of landscape urbanism in the book Landscape design history and theory: landscape architecture and garden design origins:

1. Broad scale context: Landscape urbanism does not belong to a specific scale. It can be considered in small or large-scale projects.
2. Landscape is a context which contains architecture and civil engineering.
3. Landscape is seen as a third machinery arm that makes a connection between its components. Mohsen Mostafavi, the author of Landscape Urbanism : A Manual for the Machinic Landscape used the same phrase.
4. LU projects can provide the opportunity of increasing the social interactions. Also, Emily Talen, one of the writers of Landscape Urbanism and its Discontentes talks about social aspects of a LU project "by forming three theoretical alliances: one with post-structuralism, one with ecology, and one --peculiarly-- with Marxism."
5. Function is the most significant concern in LU machine, which gives the appearance of a project less importance.
6. LU discovers the potentials and opportunities in landscapes.
7. The infrastructure are highlighted in LU projects.
8. LU projects will develop the interrelationship between natural and engineered systems.
9. LU will break the boundary between the landscape and the city and will organize them as one.
10. The answer to the projects which are complex or have ecological concentrations, is landscape urbanism

Projects

The following are Landscape Urbanism projects that are available that can provide more information about the theory in practice:

• Madrid Rio, Ginés Garrido [Director] Burgos & Garrido / Porras La Casta / Rubio A.Sala / West 8
• Fresh Kills Landfill Competition, Field Operations/James Corner
• The High Line, Field Operations/James Corner
• Downsview Park Competition, all finalist entries 
• Schouwburgplein, Rotterdam, West 8/Adriaan Geuze
• Also see projects by Stoss/Chris Reed 

Criticism

Landscape urbanism has been criticized as an idea that is only loosely defined from a set of flashy projects. These are expensive schemes with a commercial and esthetic purpose that satisfy a local or regional ambition to invest in ecology or sustainability without posing a more globally applicable approach. A true merger of landscape architecture with the field of Urban Ecology lacks. From this criticism Frederick Steiner introduced landscape ecological urbanism as an approach that can include the field of urban ecology and Wybe Kuitert has shown how such integrative planning and management of the city should rely on analysis. Discerning the potential quality of wild nature in the city is a first step to see how new urban ecology might be developed. Potential vegetation maps for a city are the tool to this end.

One opponent to Landscape Urbanism is New Urbanism, led by Andres Duany, which promotes walkable communities and smart growth with its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND). In response to landscape urbanism’s focus on expansive green space in urban development, Duany stated that “density and urbanism are not the same.” Further, “unless there is tremendous density, human beings will not walk.”  The result is patches of green sprawl that lose connectivity to the greater network. 

Emo Urbanism is another philosophy critical of Landscape Urbanism. The movement contends that Landscape Urbanism views ecology as an aesthetic element of style and not urban ecology. The artificial ecology replaces the entropic state to re-create a landscape that fits a particular brand or aesthetic. The loss is a dynamic, adaptive, and certainly essential urban system. Emo urbanism differs by making evolving "nature" a key component of the design process. The realization of this process is called “Urbanature" and "Big Nature." As an evolving urban ecology, Charles Morris Anderson has described this connection as the “thinness.” It is the simultaneous perception and implicit understanding of the past, present, and future. Emo Urbanist projects include the built work of Charles Anderson at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, WA; The Anchorage Museum Common in Anchorage, AK; the yet to be constructed Project Phoenix in Haiti and Hellinikon's Metropolitan Park in Athens, Greece. 

Ian Thompson has published a critical review of landscape urbanism in which he identifies its ten tenets and asks six critical questions. His conclusions are:

... there are ideas with the Landscape Urbanism discourse which have great merit, among which I would include the breaking down of professional distinctions, the integration of ecological thinking, the foregrounding of infrastructure, the interest in the positive use of waste materials and the emphasis upon functionality rather than mere appearance. There is also a quantity of dubious philosophy, unhelpful imagery and obscurantist language that Landscape Urbanism ought to dump. ... Larding the case for Landscape Urbanim with Deleuzian and Derridean references was a mistake, since it was done principally to impress an academic elite, and it has even left large sections of its intended audience bemused'.

Landscape architecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_architecture 

Stourhead in Wiltshire, England, designed by Henry Hoare (1705–1785), "the first landscape gardener, who showed in a single work, genius of the highest order"

 

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions that will produce the desired outcome. The scope of the profession includes landscape design; site planning; stormwater management; erosion control; environmental restoration; parks, recreation and urban planning; visual resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision; and private estate and residence landscape master planning and design; all at varying scales of design, planning and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect.

Definition of landscape architecture

Landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of botany, horticulture, the fine arts, architecture, industrial design, soil sciences, environmental psychology, geography, ecology, civil engineering and urban design. The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public parks and parkways to site planning for campuses and corporate office parks, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infrastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape architects work on structures and external spaces with limitations toward the landscape or park aspect of the design – large or small, urban, suburban and rural, and with "hard" (built) and "soft" (planted) materials, while integrating ecological sustainability. The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces. The landscape architect can conceive the overall concept and prepare the master plan, from which detailed design drawings and technical specifications are prepared. They can also review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work. Other skills include preparing design impact assessments, conducting environmental assessments and audits, and serving as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues. Landscape architects will focus on planning the gardens on how will they look and what will have to be done.

Education

Landscape Architects are required to take four to five years of college to get a degree on the field. Must know how to create projects from scratch, such as residential or commercial planting and designing outdoor living spaces. Are willing to work with others to get a better outcome for the customers when doing a project.

Field of Study	Landscape Architect
Degree Required	Bachelors or Masters
Yearly income	$75,000+

History

Orangery at the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris

For the period before 1800, the history of landscape gardening (later called landscape architecture) is largely that of master planning and garden design for manor houses, palaces and royal properties, religious complexes, and centers of government. An example is the extensive work by André Le Nôtre for King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles. The first person to write of making a landscape was Joseph Addison in 1712. The term landscape architecture was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason in 1828, and John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) was instrumental in the adoption of the term landscape architecture by the modern profession. He took up the term from Meason and gave it publicity in his Encyclopedias and in his 1840 book on the Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphry Repton.

The practice of landscape architecture spread from the Old to the New World. The term "landscape architect" was used as a professional title by Frederick Law Olmsted in the United States in 1863^{[citation needed]} and Andrew Jackson Downing, another early American landscape designer, was editor of The Horticulturist magazine (1846–52). In 1841 his first book, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America, was published to a great success; it was the first book of its kind published in the United States. During the latter 19th century, the term landscape architect begun to be used by professional landscapes designers, and was firmly established after Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and Beatrix Jones (later Farrand) with others founded the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in 1899. IFLA was founded at Cambridge, England, in 1948 with Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe as its first president, representing 15 countries from Europe and North America. Later, in 1978, IFLA's Headquarters were established in Versailles.

Fields of activity

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, established 1759
The Palm House built 1844–1848 by Richard Turner to Decimus Burton's designs

 

Urban design in city squares. Water feature in London, by Tadao Ando who also works with landscapes and gardens

 

The variety of the professional tasks that landscape architects collaborate on is very broad, but some examples of project types include:

• Parks of general design and public infrastructure
• Sustainable development
• Stormwater management including rain gardens, green roofs, groundwater recharge, green infrastructure, and constructed wetlands.
• Landscape design for educational function and site design for public institutions and government facilities
• Parks, botanical gardens, arboretums, greenways, and nature preserves
• Recreation facilities, such as playgrounds, golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities
• Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments
• Estate and residence landscape planning and design
• Landscaping and accents on highways, transportation structures, bridges, and transit corridors
• Contributions to urban design, town and city squares, waterfronts, pedestrian schemes
• Natural park, tourist destination, and recreating historical landscapes, and historic garden appraisal and conservation studies
• Reservoirs, dams, power stations, reclamation of extractive industry applications or major industrial projects and mitigation
• Environmental assessment and landscape assessment, planning advice and land management proposals.
• Coastal and offshore developments and mitigation
• Ecological design (any aspect of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with natural processes and sustainability)

Landscape managers use their knowledge of landscape processes to advise on the long-term care and development of the landscape. They often work in forestry, nature conservation and agriculture. 

Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from site surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of particular species in a given area.

Landscape planners are concerned with landscape planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban, rural and coastal land use. Their work is embodied in written statements of policy and strategy, and their remit includes master planning for new developments, landscape evaluations and assessments, and preparing countryside management or policy plans. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning. 

Green roof (or more specifically, vegetative roof) designers design extensive and intensive roof gardens for storm water management, evapo-transpirative cooling, sustainable architecture, aesthetics, and habitat creation.

Relation to urban planning

The combination of the traditional landscape gardening and the emerging city planning combined together gave landscape architecture its unique focus. Frederick Law Olmsted used the term 'landscape architecture' using the word as a profession for the first time when designing the Central Park.

 

Through the 19th century, urban planning became a focal point and central issue in cities. The combination of the tradition of landscape gardening and the emerging field of urban planning offered landscape architecture an opportunity to serve these needs. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have a significant influence on the practices of landscape architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York and Boston's Emerald Necklace park system. Jens Jensen designed sophisticated and naturalistic urban and regional parks for Chicago, Illinois, and private estates for the Ford family including Fair Lane and Gaukler Point. One of the original eleven founding members of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the only woman, was Beatrix Farrand. She was design consultant for over a dozen universities including: Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey; Yale in New Haven, Connecticut; and the Arnold Arboretum for Harvard in Boston, Massachusetts. Her numerous private estate projects include the landmark Dumbarton Oaks in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since that time, other architects – most notably Ruth Havey and Alden Hopkins – changed certain elements of the Farrand design. 

Since this period urban planning has developed into a separate independent profession that has incorporated important contributions from other fields such as civil engineering, architecture and public administration. Urban Planners are qualified to perform tasks independent of landscape architects, and in general, the curriculum of landscape architecture programs do not prepare students to become urban planners.

Landscape architecture continues to develop as a design discipline, and to respond to the various movements in architecture and design throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Thomas Church was a mid-century landscape architect significant in the profession. Roberto Burle Marx in Brazil combined the International style and native Brazilian plants and culture for a new aesthetic. Innovation continues today solving challenging problems with contemporary design solutions for master planning, landscapes, and gardens. 

Ian McHarg was known for introducing environmental concerns in landscape architecture. He popularized a system of analyzing the layers of a site in order to compile a complete understanding of the qualitative attributes of a place. This system became the foundation of today's Geographic Information Systems (GIS). McHarg would give every qualitative aspect of the site a layer, such as the history, hydrology, topography, vegetation, etc. GIS software is ubiquitously used in the landscape architecture profession today to analyze materials in and on the Earth's surface and is similarly used by urban planners, geographers, forestry and natural resources professionals, etc.

Profession

In many countries, a professional institute, comprising members of the professional community, exists in order to protect the standing of the profession and promote its interests, and sometimes also regulate the practice of landscape architecture. The standard and strength of legal regulations governing landscape architecture practice varies from nation to nation, with some requiring licensure in order to practice; and some having little or no regulation. In Europe, North America, parts of South America, Australia, India, and New Zealand, landscape architecture is a regulated profession.

Argentina

Since 1889, with the arrival of the French architect and urbanist landscaper Carlos Thays, recommended to recreate the National Capital's parks and public gardens, it was consolidated an apprentice and training program in landscaping that eventually became a regulated profession, currently the leading academic institution is the UBA University of Buenos Aires"UBA Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo" (Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism) offering a Bacherlor’s degree in Urban Landscaping Design and Planning, the profession itself is regulated by the National Ministry of Urban Planning of Argentina and the Institute of the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden.

Australia

The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) provides accreditation of university degrees and non statutory professional registration for landscape architects. Once recognized by AILA, landscape architects use the title 'Registered Landscape Architect' across the six states and territories within Australia. 

AILA's system of professional recognition is a national system overseen by the AILA National Office in Canberra. To apply for AILA Registration, an applicant usually needs to satisfy a number of pre-requisites, including university qualification, a minimum number years of practice and a record of professional experience.

Landscape Architecture within Australia covers a broad spectrum of planning, design, management and research. From specialist design services for government and private sector developments through to specialist professional advice as an expert witness.

Canada

In Canada, landscape architecture, like law and medicine, is a self-regulating profession pursuant to provincial statute. For example, Ontario's profession is governed by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects pursuant to the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects Act. Landscape architects in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta must complete the specified components of L.A.R.E (Landscape Architecture Registration Examination) as a prerequisite to full professional standing. 

Provincial regulatory bodies are members of a national organization, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects / L'Association des Architectes Paysagistes du Canada (CSLA-AAPC), and individual membership in the CSLA-AAPC is obtained through joining one of the provincial or territorial components.

Indonesia

ISLA (Indonesia Society of Landscape Architects) is the Indonesian society for professional landscape architects formed in 4th February 1978 and is a member of IFLA APR and IFLA World. The main aim is increase the dignity of the professional members of landscape architects by increasing their activity role in community service, national and international development. The management of IALI consists of National Administrators who are supported by 20 Regional Administrators (Provincial level) and 3 Branch Managers at city level throughout Indonesia.

Landscape architecture education in Indonesia was held in 18 universities, which graduated D3, Bachelor and Magister graduates. The landscape architecture education incorporate in Association of Indonesian Landscape Architecture Education.

Italy

AIAPP (Associazione Italiana Architettura del Paesaggio) is the Italian association of professional landscape architects formed in 1950 and is a member of IFLA and IFLA Europe (formerly known as EFLA). AIAPP is in the process of contesting this new law which has given the Architects' Association the new title of Architects, Landscape Architects, Planners and Conservationists whether or not they have had any training or experience in any of these fields other than Architecture. In Italy, there are several different professions involved in landscape architecture:

• Architects
• Landscape designers
• Doctor landscape agronomists and Doctor landscape foresters, often called Landscape agronomists.
• Agrarian Experts and Graduated Agrarian experts.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) is the professional body for Landscape Architects in NZ www.nzila.co.nz.

In April 2013, NZILA jointly with AILA, hosted the 50th International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Congress in Auckland, New Zealand. The World Congress is an international conference where Landscape Architects from all around the globe meet to share ideas around a particular topic.

Within NZ, Members of NZILA when they achieve their professional standing, can use the title Registered Landscape Architect NZILA.

NZILA provides an education policy and an accreditation process to review education programme providers; currently there are three accredited undergraduate Landscape Architecture programmes in New Zealand. Lincoln University also has an accredited masters programme in landscape architecture.

Republic of Ireland

The Irish Landscape Institute [ILI] (www.irishlandscapeinstitute.com) is the officially recognized (by the Irish State) professional body representing landscape architects and parks professionals, in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The ILI was formed in 1992 by the merger of the ILHI (Institute of Landscape Horticulture of Ireland) and the IILA (Irish Institute of Landscape Architects), representing the related disciplines of landscape architecture and landscape horticulture. The Institute currently (October 2017) has a total membership of 160 (approx.) within 7 membership categories (student, graduate, affiliate, parks professional, corporate, fellow, honorary). In the absence of state regulation of the profession or title 'landscape architect', ILI is self-regulating, as for example in its adoption of the trade-marked title, 'Registered Landscape Architect', that is solely permissible for use by corporate members.

At international level, the ILI is a full member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) through its European Region (IFLA-Europe). The ILI has play a consistent and active role in IFLA and the current president of IFLA-Europe is Irishman and ILI Past President, Mr. Tony Williams MILI. In the Republic of Ireland, the ILI is a member institute of the Urban Forum, which represents 5 built-environment professional bodies in engineering, architecture, planning, quantity surveying and landscape architecture.

ILI promotes the landscape profession by its accreditation of the master's degree programme in University College Dublin, its certification of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for its members, administration of professional practice examinations, advocacy and lobbying in respect of government policies, guidelines and standards (e.g. the National Landscape Strategy, National Planning Framework, Blue-Green Infrastructure), conferences and seminars, public lectures and design awards.

The profession grew rapidly during the Irish economic boom of the early 21st. century, benefiting from the upsurge in the construction and development sectors and from the States' capital investment in infrastructure. The recession brought a sharp reduction in membership numbers. The profession and ILI has proven resilient with clear evidence of a slow but steady recovery through growth in membership and in employment, since the commencement of economic recovery in 2014.

A key challenge remains: there is still no professional regulation or protection registration of title in Ireland, despite calls for such on successive government by ILI over many years. Therefore, there is no state-guarantee or protection of clients, for example in terms of insuring and verifying educational qualifications, professional indemnity insurance or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of those claiming to be landscape architects. Notwithstanding this, there is a growing awareness in some important sectors (e.g. government departments, media, construction, tourism) of the profession. This is due - to some degree - to the ongoing work of the ILI in promoting the benefits of landscape architecture to Irish society, economy and environment.

Landscape architects in Ireland work in private practice, public sector bodies at local government level and in some state bodies (e.g. transport, national heritage) and in academia. The demand for their professional services is often associated with public infrastructure projects (e.g. roads, motorways, renewable energy facilities, water treatment plants, etc.), Blue-Green Infrastructure (planning, design and management of parks, greenspaces, amenity trees) and with construction projects related to land use developments, principally residential, commercial and mixed-use developments in urban landscapes. 

Landscape architects are employed in design of: green infrastructure, public realm, institutional/medical/industrial campuses and settings, parks, play facilities, transport (road/rail/cycle/port) corridors, retail complexes, residential estates (including plans for remediation of now-abandoned housing 'ghost' estates), village improvements, accessibility audits, graveyard restoration schemes, wind farms, wetland drainage systems and coastal zones. They are also significantly employed in preparation/review of statutory impact assessment reports on landscape, visual and ecological impacts of planning proposals.

Norway

Landscape architecture in Norway was established in 1919 at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) at Ås. The Norwegian School of Landscape Architecture at the Faculty of Landscape and Society is responsible for Europe's oldest landscape architecture education on an academic level. The departments areas include design and design of cities and places, garden art history, landscape engineering, greenery, zone planning, site development, place making and place keeping.

South Africa

In May 1962, Joane Pim, Ann Sutton, Peter Leutscher and Roelf Botha (considered the forefathers of the profession in South Africa) established the Institute for Landscape Architects, now known as the Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa (ILASA). ILASA is a voluntary organisation registered with the South African Council for the Landscape Architectural Profession (SACLAP). It consists of three regional bodies, namely, Gauteng, KwaZula-Natal and the Western Cape. ILASA’s mission is to advance the profession of landscape architecture and uphold high standards of professional service to its members, and to represent the profession of landscape architecture in any matter which may affect the interests of the members of the Institute. ILASA holds the country’s membership with The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

In South Africa, the profession is regulated by SACLAP, established as a statutory council in terms of Section 2 of the South African Council for the Landscape Architectural Profession Act – Act 45 of 2000. The Council evolved out of the Board of Control for Landscape Architects (BOCLASA), which functioned under the Council of Architects in terms of The Architectural Act, Act 73 of 1970. SACLAP’s mission is to establish, direct, sustain and ensure a high level of professional responsibilities and ethical conduct within the art and science of landscape architecture with honesty, dignity and integrity in the broad interest of public health, safety and welfare of the community. 

After completion of an accredited under-graduate and/or post-graduate qualification in landscape architecture at either the University of Cape Town or the University of Pretoria, or landscape technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, professional registration is attained via a mandatory mentored candidacy period (minimum of two years) and sitting of the professional registration exam. After successfully completing the exam, the individual is entitled to the status of Professional Landscape Architect or Professional Landscape Technologist.

United Kingdom

The UK's professional body is the Landscape Institute (LI). It is a chartered body which accredits landscape professionals and university courses. At present there are fifteen accredited programmes in the UK. Membership of the LI is available to students, academics and professionals, and there are over 3,000 professionally qualified members.

The Institute provides services to assist members including support and promotion of the work of landscape architects; information and guidance to the public and industry about the specific expertise offered by those in the profession; and training and educational advice to students and professionals looking to build upon their experience.

In 2008, the LI launched a major recruitment drive entitled "I want to be a Landscape Architect" to encourage the study of Landscape Architecture. The campaign aimed to raise the profile of landscape architecture and highlight its valuable role in building sustainable communities and fighting climate change.

As of July 2018, the "I want to be a Landscape Architect" initiative was replaced by a brand new careers campaign entitled #ChooseLandscape, which aims to raise awareness of landscape as a profession; improve and increase access to landscape education; and inspire young people to choose landscape as a career. This new campaign includes other landscape-related professions such as landscape management, landscape planning, landscape science and urban design.

United States

In the United States, Landscape Architecture is regulated by individual state governments. For a landscape architect, obtaining licensure requires advanced education and work experience, plus passage of the national examination called The Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.). Several states require passage of a state exam as well. In the United States licensing is overseen both at the state level, and nationally by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB). Landscape architecture has been identified as an above-average growth profession by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and was listed in U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Jobs to Have in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The national trade association for United States landscape architects is the American Society of Landscape Architects. Frederic Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York City, is known as the "father of American Landscape Architecture."

Land-use planning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land-use_planning

Land-use planning is the process of regulating the use of land in an effort to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. Goals of land use planning may include environmental conservation, restraint of urban sprawl, minimization of transport costs, prevention of land use conflicts, and a reduction in exposure to pollutants. By and large, the uses of land determine the diverse socioeconomic activities that occur in a specific area, the patterns of human behavior they produce, and their impact on the environment.

In urban planning, land use planning seeks to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land use conflicts. Governments use land use planning to manage the development of land within their jurisdictions. In doing so, the governmental unit can plan for the needs of the community while safeguarding natural resources. To this end, it is the systematic assessment of land and water potential, alternatives for land use, and economic and social conditions in order to select and adopt the best land use options. Often one element of a comprehensive plan, a land use plan provides a vision for the future possibilities of development in neighborhoods, districts, cities, or any defined planning area.

In the United States, the terms land use planning, regional planning, urban planning, and urban design are often used interchangeably, and will depend on the state, county, and/or project in question. Despite confusing nomenclature, the essential function of land use planning remains the same whatever term is applied. The Canadian Institute of Planners offers a definition that land use planning means the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities. The American Planning Association states that the goal of land use planning is to further the welfare of people and their communities by creating convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive environments for present and future generations.

History

Land use planning often leads to land use regulation, which typically encompasses zoning. Zoning regulates the types of activities that can be accommodated on a given piece of land, as well as the amount of space devoted to those activities, and the ways that buildings may be situated and shaped.

The ambiguous nature of the term “planning”, as it relates to land use, is historically tied to the practice of zoning. Zoning in the US came about in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to protect the interests of property owners. The practice was found to be constitutionally sound by the Supreme Court decision of Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. in 1926. Soon after, the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act gave authority to the states to regulate land use. Even so, the practice remains controversial today. 

The “taking clause” of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from taking private property for public use without just compensation. The case of Dolan v. City of Tigard demonstrated the criteria that determine the threshold of what is considered taking. One interpretation of the taking clause is that any restriction on the development potential of land through zoning regulation is a “taking”. A deep-rooted anti-zoning sentiment exists in America, that no one has the right to tell another what he can or cannot do with his land. Ironically, although people are often averse to being told how to develop their own land, they tend to expect the government to intervene when a proposed land use is undesirable. 

Conventional zoning has not typically regarded the manner in which buildings relate to one another or the public spaces around them, but rather has provided a pragmatic system for mapping jurisdictions according to permitted land use. This system, combined with the interstate highway system, widespread availability of mortgage loans, growth in the automobile industry, and the over-all post-World War II economic expansion, destroyed most of the character that gave distinctiveness to American cities. The urban sprawl that most US cities began to experience in the mid-twentieth century was, in part, created by a flat approach to land use regulations. Zoning without planning created unnecessarily exclusive zones. Thoughtless mapping of these zones over large areas was a big part of the recipe for suburban sprawl. It was from the deficiencies of this practice that land use planning developed, to envision the changes that development would cause and mitigate the negative effects of such change. 

Suburban development near Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

 

As America grew and sprawl was rampant, the much-loved America of the older towns, cities, or streetcar suburbs essentially became illegal through zoning. Unparalleled growth and unregulated development changed the look and feel of landscapes and communities. They strained commercial corridors and affected housing prices, causing citizens to fear a decline in the social, economic and environmental attributes that defined their quality of life. Zoning regulations became politically contentious as developers, legislators, and citizens struggled over altering zoning maps in a way that was acceptable to all parties. Land use planning practices evolved as an attempt to overcome these challenges. It engages citizens and policy-makers to plan for development with more intention, foresight, and community focus than had been previously used.

A broader description and application of land use planning

Description of land use planning

Land use planning is defined as: the process by which optimum forms of land use and management are indicated, considering the biophysical, technological, social, economic and political conditions of a particular territory. The objective of planning land use is to influence, control or direct changes in the use of land, so that it is dedicated to the most beneficial use, while maintaining the quality of the environment and promoting conservation of the land resources. The territorial diagnosis and the generation of alternatives of management and environmental protection for the planning of the use of the land produces the indispensable knowledge necessary for the formulation of the policies of use, contributing to the search of competitive and sustainable productive and extractive activities and systems. The methodological process of land use planning contributes to: orienting the location of economic and social activities regarding the aptitude of the land and providing solutions to conflicts of use; indicate the base of natural resources that should remain and protected areas; point out the areas exposed to natural hazards and their management; identify sustainable productive and extractive activities and systems; guide the planning of land uses and indicate the areas that require land adaptation or recovery projects. 

Planning Process and Parties Involved

In most countries, the local municipal council/local government, the body responsible of the Environment and oftentimes the national government assume all the functions of land use planning; among them the corresponding function to territorial ordering (OT). For this reason, the highlighted bodies have among other responsibilities the promotion of the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, establishing policies, criteria, tools and procedures of the most appropriate efficient and sustainable territorial order in coordination with any other relevant corresponding entities such as construction companies and the public.

Application of Land Use Planning

• "Developing cities and towns": Land use planning is an important component of city planning. The nature of cities required to the most beneficial use in terms of maximization of economic factors and promoting convenience, while maintaining the quality of the environment and promoting conservation of the land. The only way to achieve this is the utilization of the elements of land use planning.
• "The concept of Zoning": Zoning is the process by which areas of land are split into zones by appropriate establishments within which several users are assigned to each zone. Therefore, this makes zoning very important modus operandi in land use planning where it is used to design urban areas in many countries (Lewis-Roger, 1987). The topic of zoning is considered within the context of land use planning and design as a systemic perception. Zoning is used as a fundamental component of territorial planning, which is incorporated in the stages of the logical model of regional development. In the process of zoning, the actor divides land into units of different sizes, shapes and locations, according to the characteristics of the terrain and the corporality of a culture. The actor who generates a multiplicity of spaces using zoning, based on global spatial unit and the preferences of user who uses these spaces in multiple use form, decomposes his vision of it into four different dimensions namely; deontic, cognitive, expressive and aesthetics functions. Each of these dimensions represents land in different forms, intensities, positions and areas, which may not coincide with each other. The deontic space is that of the transforming actions of the world, of the duty to be and to do. The cognitive space is apprehended by the faculties of knowledge from the senses to the reason, such as the ecological and technological spaces. The aesthetic space refers to the scopes of feel and beauty. The expressive or indexical space corresponds to the internal and cultural expression of the identity of the person who organizes the space. Often, a fifth space is included, that is, the administrative space, which concerns the positioning of the legal, authoritative and legislative base being planned. Zoning should not be considered as the end in itself, but only as a means of approximation in relation to geographical reality. Instead of imposing pre-established categories, it is about looking for landscape discontinuities. The category system (taxonomy) must allow a deepening (level) of the landscapes according to their scale. For each order of phenomena there are thresholds of manifestation and “extinction” that by themselves can justify the systematic differentiation of landscapes into hierarchical units. The study and zoning of the coverage and land use requires first defining the concepts of land, coverage and use in order to avoid the problems of interpretation associated with the management of these concepts. The concept of land is defined as an entity formed by the mutual interaction of living and non-living nature in a recognizable portion of the Earth's surface. It is a more geographical than edaphological definition. The earth is conceived as the result of the integration of biophysical and socioeconomic elements whose interrelation generates certain particular spatial units or landscapes, therefore, land and landscape are considered in this guide as synonyms. Land cover, on the other hand, is defined as the different features that cover the land, such as water, forest, other types of vegetation, bare rocks or sand, man-made structures, etc. In general, these are the traits that can be directly observed in aerial photographs and frequently in satellite images. The concept of use, applies to the employment that man gives to different types of coverage, cyclically or permanently to meet his material or spiritual needs. Basically, this is where the need for zoning arises.

Conditions Necessary for Land Use Planning

1. Community relation: For any land planning activity to be commenced the involved actors must involve the community or the member of the public in order to put into consideration their opinions on the proposed land planning initiatives. After all, the land is being planned so that the public can enjoy the benefits that comes from land use planning.
2. Government and legal support: the government can support land use planning initiatives in a myriad of ways. The first is by financing or subsidizing a section of land use planning activities. The second way is by reducing bureaucracy and administration bottlenecks that comes with obtaining permits and licenses.

Pros and Cons of Land-Use Planning

Pros

• Land use planning is an important growth framework: certainly, prosperous urban areas have a vision that they must follow through a framework to achieve a development in a well-ordered way. Hence, land use planning provides this framework.
• A well planned urban area is a well-prepared urban area: Anticipating the future allows for better preparedness. Indeed, the presence of natural phenomenon that represents a threat to human life activities implies a limitation in the use of land. It is necessary then, to plan the use of the land taking into account its limitation in order to allow the containment of natural phenomenon and its manifestations either by restricting the presence of human life and/or activities, adapting infrastructure conditions in a manner that reduces its vulnerability to natural phenomenon or implementing plans conducive to risk mitigation. The absence of territorial planning plans, the lack of definition of areas exposed to threats and the lack of studies on natural phenomena that might bring threats, ensure an increase in the number and magnitude of disasters of natural origin. The process of land use planning developed putting into consideration this aspects, allows the identification, location and evaluation of areas exposed to natural phenomena, hence allowing the implementation of measures that guarantee risk mitigation.
• Good land use planning positively impacts the development of urban economy.
• Promote the national territorial order and economic ecological zoning as a support for the conservation, use and sustainable use of natural resources and biological diversity, as well as the orderly occupation of the territory.
• Incorporate the analysis of natural and anthropic risk in territorial planning processes, as well as adaptation measures to climate change.
• Promote mechanisms to prevent the settlement of populations and the development of socio-economic activities in areas with high potential for risks in the face of natural and anthropic hazards.
• Promote territorial planning as a basis for concerted development plans and border development, in the management of watersheds and coastal marine areas.
• Guides the actions of regional and local governments for the efficient fulfillment of their functions in this area of land use planning.

Cons

• The cost of land use planning is usually high, generally because of Malinvestment and the non-anticipation of Technology.
• Land use planning is often plagued by bureaucracy and administrative bottlenecks.
• Land use planning takes a lot of time.
• Administrative Bullying used to circumvents Eminent Domain is facilitated.
• Locally and privately applied remedies to problems such as flood control and reforestation are discouraged.

Land use planning and environmental sustainability

In view of sustainable development, land use planning is seen as a political and technical-administrative decision-making process agreed with social, economic, political and technical factors, for orderly occupation and sustainable use of the land under development. On the other hand, it seeks regulation and promotion of the location and sustainable development of human settlements, economic and social activities, and spatial physical development, based on the identification of potentialities and limitations that consider environmental, economic, sociocultural, institutional and geopolitical criteria. By and large, these parameters are put in place in order to make sure that the environment is protected during land use or land development. Indeed, based on the recommendations of the United Nations in its Habitat conference, land is assigned a high importance for the development of human life as it is the fundamental support for its permanence and development, this being the most important objective of the policy of human settlements. That is, the land resource is recognized as an essential element, which supports the social, political and economic formation of society. As mentioned earlier, the use of land refers to the occupation of a certain area according to its agrological capacity and therefore its development potential, it is classified according to its location as urban or rural, it represents a fundamental element for the development of the city and its inhabitants since it is from these that its urban structure is formed and therefore its functionality is defined. For this reason, there is a need to ensure sustainability in order to ensure the we continue to enjoy the benefits that come from urban planning and to ensure that future generations will continue enjoying these benefits. 

To guarantee this, land use planning come into the fold. In a broader sense, this is a tool through which State defines the type of use land will have within a settlement, e.g. a city, while also determining the guidelines for its use in order to ensure effectiveness and sustainability. Land use, in this case, is assigned on the basis on its physical and functional characteristics that they have in the urban structure, and with the aim of occupying the space in an orderly manner and according to their physical capacity (occupation of areas suitable for urban development and environmental sustainability), which finally it translates into a harmonious growth of the city. This tool is structured through a planning system at the national and local level, which establishes the general guidelines that should be taken into account for the development of urban development. Here, the authorities involved might formulate a number of restrictions to guarantee sustainability, for example, banning land development in riparian zones or in national parks. Basically, the goal here is to protect the environment.

Types of planning

Various types of planning have emerged over the course of the 20th century. Below are the six main typologies of planning, as defined by David Walters in his book, Designing Communities (2007):

• Traditional or comprehensive planning: Common in the US after World War II, characterized by politically neutral experts with a rational view of the new urban development. Focused on producing clear statements about the form and content of new development.
• Systems planning: 1950s–1970s, resulting from the failure of comprehensive planning to deal with the unforeseen growth of post World War II America. More analytical view of the planning area as a set of complex processes, less interested in a physical plan.
• Democratic planning: 1960s. Result of societal loosening of class and race barriers. Gave more citizens a voice in planning for future of community.
• Advocacy and equity planning: 1960s & 70s. Strands of democratic planning that sought specifically to address social issues of inequality and injustice in community planning.
• Strategic planning: 1960s-present. Recognizes small-scale objectives and pragmatic real-world constraints.
• Environmental planning: 1960s-present. Developed as many of the ecological and social implications of global development were first widely understood.
• Tenure responsive planning: 2015-onwards. It recognizes that land use planning should be collaborative but with the purpose of tenure security improvement. This is a hybrid approach whereby traditional, advocacy, democratic and bottom-up efforts are merged in such a way that they focus towards tenure security outcomes.

Today, successful planning involves a balanced mix of analysis of the existing conditions and constraints; extensive public engagement; practical planning and design; and financially and politically feasible strategies for implementation.

Current processes include a combination of strategic and environmental planning. It is becoming more widely understood that any sector of land has a certain capacity for supporting human, animal, and vegetative life in harmony, and that upsetting this balance has dire consequences on the environment. Planners and citizens often take on an advocacy role during the planning process in an attempt to influence public policy. Due to a host of political and economic factors, governments are slow to adopt land use policies that are congruent with scientific data supporting more environmentally sensitive regulations. 

Since the 1990s, the activist/environmentalist approach to planning has grown into the Smart Growth movement, characterized by the focus on more sustainable and less environmentally damaging forms of development. Moreover, there is changes on the requirements of land use planning overtime. For example, whilst most of the urban planners suggest the distance from the landfill that a housing estate should be built, they must also take wind direction into consideration.

Aerial view of Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington, Virginia. High density, mixed use development is concentrated within ¼–½ mile from the Rosslyn, Court House and Clarendon Washington Metro stations (shown in red), with limited density outside that area. This photograph is taken from the United States Environmental Protection Agency website describing Arlington's award for overall excellence in smart growth in 2002 — the first ever granted by the agency.

 

Smart growth supports the integration of mixed land uses into communities as a critical component of achieving better places to live. Putting uses in close proximity to one another has benefits for transportation alternatives to driving, security, community cohesiveness, local economies, and general quality of life issues. Smart growth strives to provide a means for communities to alter the planning context which currently renders mixed land uses illegal in most of the country.

Methods

Professional planners work in the public sector for governmental and non-profit agencies, and in the private sector for businesses related to land, community, and economic development. Through research, design, and analysis of data, a planner's work is to create a plan for some aspect of a community. This process typically involves gathering public input to develop the vision and goals for the community.

A charrette is a facilitated planning workshop often used by professional planners to gather information from their clients and the public about the project at hand. Charettes involve a diverse set of stakeholders in the planning process, to ensure that the final plan comprehensively addresses the study area.

Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, is a very useful and important tool in land use planning. It uses aerial photography to show land parcels, topography, street names, and other pertinent information. GIS systems contain layers of graphic information and their relational databases that may be projected into maps that allow the user to view a composite of a specific area, adding an array of graphically oriented decision making tools to the planning process.

A transect, as used in planning, is a hierarchical scale of environmental zones that define a land area by its character, ranging from rural, preserved land to urban centers. As a planning methodology, the transect is used as a tool for managing growth and sustainability by planning land use around the physical character of the land. This allows a community to plan for growth while preserving the natural and historical nature of their environment.

Natural ecology and historical identity of the city are matched to its topography in the Urban Landscape System approach that intends to mitigate effects of climate change and improve city branding through the ontology of place. 

Basis of land use planning authority in the United States.

Police power is the basis for land use planning authority in the United States. This authority is usually delegated by state governments to local governments, including counties and cities. It is these local governments that most frequently exercise police power in land use planning matters. The regulation of land use based on police power is distinct from the taking of private property by the government through the power of eminent domain. If the regulation of land use is done under the authority of the police power, the private property owner isn't typically entitled to compensation as they would be if property was taken under the power of eminent domain. The court decision in the case Commonwealth v. Alger was related to land use planning and dealt with the construction of a wharf on privately owned tidelands around Boston Harbor.

Practical Examples of Land Use Planning

Land Use Planning in Milan city

Milan city is located in northern Italy. It is the second most populous city in the country after Rome with a population of over 4 million (The CBD and its metropolitan Boroughs).

Every area in Milan is a segment that starts from the center and reaches the city limits, so that central areas and peripheral areas are part of the same area. In Milan, zones are not identified by names but numbers. The city hall area 1 of Milan includes the entire historical center, starting from the geographical center of Milan in Piazza Duomo up to the Cerchia dei Bastioni. The town hall area 2 goes from Piazza della Repubblica to Crescenzago, Turro, Greco and Precotto. The town hall 3 goes from Porta Venezia to Lambrate, passing through Città Studi.

Milan, Italy.

 

The town hall area 4 goes from Porta Vittoria to the Forlanini park, also including Porta Romana, Corvetto and Santa Giulia. The town hall 5 goes from Porta Ticinese to the Agricultural Park, passing through Chiesa Rossa and Gratosoglio. The town hall 6 goes from the Darsena, up to Barona, Lorenteggio and Giambellino. The city hall area 7 goes from Porta Magenta to Baggio and Figino passing through San Siro. The town hall zone 8 goes from Porta Volta to Quarto Oggiaro, passing through QT8 and Gallaratese. And lastly, the town hall area 9 goes from Porta Nuova to Niguarda and Bovisa. The idea here, is to allow members of the nine zones to get easy access to the CBD. Effective measures have been put in place to limit the impact of human activates on the many water bodies in this city such as restricting land development in riparian areas. In fact, the drive for the establishment of the city on the land where it stands was easy accessibility to water.

The Future of Land Use Planning

Due to the increasing discussions in the issues of climate change and global warming, the future of land use planning will be dominated by environmental sustainability themes more than economic convenience.