Landscape planning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Landscape planning is a branch of landscape architecture. Landscape designers tend to work for clients with land and money who wish to commission construction work. Arnold Weddle, founding editor of the journal Landscape Planning (now called Landscape and Urban Planning), believed that landscape planners must look beyond the 'closely drawn technical limits' and 'narrowly drawn territorial boundaries' which constrain design projects.

Landscape planners tend to work on projects which:

    * are of broad geographical scope

    * concern many land uses or many clients

    * are implemented over a long period of time

Urban park systems and greenways of the type planned by Frederick Law Olmsted are key examples of urban landscape planning. In rural areas, the damage caused by unplanned mineral extraction was one of the early reasons for a public demand for landscape planning.

    * 1 Asian landscape planning

    * 2 European landscape planning

    * 3 US landscape planning

    * 4 Landscape planning legislation

    * 5 Landscape planning theory

    * 6 References

    * 7 See also

    * 8 External links

Asian landscape planning

In India, the history of landscape planning can be traced to the Vedas and to the Vaastu Shastras. These ancient texts set forth principles for planning settlements, temples and other structures in relation to the natural landscape. Relationships with mountains (the home of the gods) and with rivers (regarded as godesses) were of particular importance. A square form represented the earth and a circular form represented heaven. A mandala explained the relationship between heaven and earth. Square plans, for both secular and religious structures, were set out with their sides facing north, south, east and west. The earliest surviving stone temple set out in this way is Sanchi.

In China, landscape planning originated with Feng Shui, which is translated into English as 'wind and water' and is used to describe a set of general principles for the planning of development in relation to the natural landscape. The aim was to find 'the most auspicious environment possible, one sited in harmony with natural phenomena and the physican and psychological needs of man' (Chinese Architecture by Nancy Steinhardt et al Yale University Press and New World Press 2002, p.255)

European landscape planning

In Europe, the history of landscape planning can be traced to the work of Vitruvius. In discussing the planning of towns, he wrote about site planning with regard to microclimate, about the planning of streets and about the role of metaphor in design. Vitruvius' theories were revived during the renaissance and came to influence the planning of towns throughout Europe and the Americas. Alberti wrote on the need for town squares for markets. In North Europe this developed into the idea that residential squares should planned around green spaces. The first space of this type was the Place des Vosges. Residential squares were also made in Britain and their planning developed into the idea of incorporating public open space (public parks within towns. Frederick Law Olmsted gave momentum to this idea with his proposal for a park systems in Boston - the famous Emerald Necklace. Patrick Abercrombie took up this idea and incorporated it in his great 1943-4 Open Space Plan for the County of London.

US landscape planning

Landscape architects in the United States of America are active in landscape planning. But, unlike Canada and Europe, the US does not have a national land use planning system. Frederick Law Olmsted and Ian McHarg are the most famous American landscape planners. McHarg's work on overlay landscape planning contributed to the development of GIS and to the foundation of ESRI by Jack Dangermond.

Landscape planning legislation

The principles of landscape planning are now incorporated in various types of legislation and policy documents. In America, the National Environmental Policy Act was influenced by the work of Ian McHarg on Environmental impact assessment. In Germany, the Federal Nature Conservation Act requires the preparation of landscape plans. For the Europe Union as a whole, the European Landscape Convention has wide-ranging implications for the design and planning of relationships between development and the landscape. In Asia, major development projects are taking place and illustrating the need for good landscape planning. The Three Gorges Dam, for example, will have extensive impacts on the landscape. They have been planned to a degree but future monitoring of the project is likely to show that better landscape planning and design would have been possible.

Landscape planning theory

Landscape planners are concerned with the 'health' of the landscape, just as doctors are concerned with bodily health. This analogy can be taken further. Medical doctors advise both on the health of individuals and on matters of public health. When individuals take actions injurious to their own health this is regarded as a private matter. But if they take actions injurious to public health, these actions are properly regulated by law. The collective landscape is a public good which should be protected and enhanced by legislation and public administration. If, for example, mineral extraction has a damaging impact on the landscape, this is a proper field for intervention. Negative impacts on the landscape could include visual impacts, ecological impacts, hydrological impacts and recreational impacts. As well as protecting existing public goods, societies are responsible for the creation of new public goods. This can be done by positive landscape planning. There are, for example, many former mineral workings (eg the Norfolk Broads which have become important public goods. Medical doctors are trained in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry etc before becoming practitioners. Landscape doctors are trained in geomorphology, hydrology, ecology etc before becoming practitioners in design and planning. When qualified, they can specialize in areas of landscape planning:

    * Landscape of roads

    * Landscape of forestry

    * Landscape of energy

    * Landscape of urbanization

    * Landscape of recreation

    * Landscape of mineral extraction

    * Landscape of agriculture

    * Landscape of rivers

    * Landscape of archaeology

In each case, the aim is to take a specialist land use and make recommendations for what can be done to enhance its emplact on the stock of environmental goods.

References

    * Ecological design and planning George F. Thompson and Frederick R. Steiner, (Wiley, 1997)

    * Landscape planning : an introduction to theory and practice Hackett, Brian (Oriel, 1971)

    * Landscape planning and environmental impact design Tom Turner (2nd ed UCL Press, 1998)

    * Design with nature Ian L. McHarg ( Wiley, 1992)

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