A DISCOURSE ON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: AT THE INTERSECTION OF DESIGN, ECOLOGY, RESILIENCE, AND RESEARCH

Abstract

Most of the pressing challenges in the Anthropocene era are ecological, such as climate change and environmental degradation, all with profound impacts on socio-economics and equity. While ecology and resilience are among the most salient topics in contemporary landscape architecture, their inherent relationship and differences have deep implications on practice. The authors argue that ecology is all-encompassing and has a strong focus on system complexity without biasing or favoring any specific species or parts of the ecosystem. Resilience, when discussed in the context of planning and design, however, embodies a strong human-centric element. Ecocentric vs. anthropocentric perspectives provoke further discussion around an evolving relationship between ecological function and aesthetic forms that have been heavily informed by cultural and societal contexts. By translating environmental policies and social preferences, landscape architects command tremendous power to connect with the primary users of the built environment - the general public. Collaboration and integrated research are required to make significant progress on the complex environmental challenges the world faces today.