 |
A paper presented as part of the AILA 2009 conference |
Good Landscapes
the Relevance of Design in Urban Ecological Planning
Dom Galloway
University of Canberra
Landscape Architecture
>>> Full Thesis
Abstract
Modern cities are facing pressures to their fundamental structure from growing populations, building intensification, land scarcity, and climate impacts. The previously reliable engineered solutions to infrastructure can no longer fully cope and ‘ecosystem services’ will have to play a significant role in keeping our urban centres healthy. This is the basis of effective urban ecological planning. However, there has been difficultly in translating and implementing lessons from ecological research at the practical level of urban planning.
The integration doesn’t happen easily and currently often doesn’t happen at all.
This paper examines the general issues that occur in the pursuit of cross disciplinary, collaborative, development projects. A timely example of this is the East Lake development in the ACT. This project, based on a partnership between the local planning authority (ACTPLA) and Australia’s peak science body (CSIRO), is intended to be a national showcase for ’sustainable’ development. Although still at an early stage, the project is showing encouraging signs due to the strong, early relationship established between these collaborators. However, there remain indications that the problems experienced by others may yet be repeated.
Problems occur from a plurality of language, a confusion of intended outcomes and lack of clarity in the roles of the organisations involved. The involvement of landscape architects, from the initial development phase, can not only help resolve these issues, but enhance the long term outcomes.
The profession has the potential to form a bridge between potentially divergent disciplines and provide a design dimension that is often lost to other, more immediate demands. Planning is about the function of the built form, ecological science is about understanding the natural function, and design is about framing all of this in a form that is accessible and engaging to the community. Without this shared understanding of disciplinary contribution, the chances of successful outcomes are significantly reduced.
Achieving this requires the professions involved to understand what they each contribute and their different capabilities.
While landscape architects are generally proficient in understanding both ecology and planning (and there is a role for facilitation between these potentially divergent groups) their real contribution should be in developing an urban landscape form that engages the community and as a consequence includes them as an integral part of the fundamental ecological function.
© Dom Galloway
Abstract / Paper / Appendix A / Appendix B / Bibliography
