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Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 31341

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Fabio Di Carlo

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Department of Architecture and Design, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy
Interests: landscape architecture; art of gardens; urban and environmental design; urban forestry; water design; landscape and literature; landscape and arts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The current challenge for sustainability calls for ever wider answers, which cannot be limited to a mere technical and scientific discourse. Decisions for a new global-scale ecology require steps that necessarily places all actions also in an aesthetic, ethical, and meaningful dimension, even if the positivistic scientific discourse about nature often tries to overshadow these concerns on landscapes.

Landscape architecture has always been placed in a dialectical posture between ecology and society. It interprets the relationship between culture and nature and, even in its most abstract or artificial expressions, is aimed at building conditions of wellbeing aimed at society as regards its reference habitats.

While von Humboldt and Haeckel built the fundamentals of ecology, in parallel, Olmstead and others founded a discipline that, ever since, has shaped and given form to ecology through design, also defining new physical and orientation focuses for societies.

Although the speed of the twentieth century has sometimes separated the design and planning discourses from the scientific one, a crisis in modernity and a rethinking of this approach have already emerged since the post-war period. The motto “Design with nature” was a common basis from which many different lines of design action were built. Thus, today, environmental quality has become a necessary condition for any intervention on landscapes, to construct new forms of natures as a response to current challenges. Overcoming any distinction between urban and non-urban, creating more and more projects for parks, gardens, public space, and green infrastructures, landscaping for abandoned areas and infrastructures, as well as coming up with proposals for rural and natural areas are focused on a sustainable approach balancing representation of contemporary, everyday life, use of resources, and conservation for the future. Constructed natures of landscape architecture represent more than a system of solutions. They are virtuous action and processes that reconnect human transformations to environmental systems, from small interventions up to the planetary dimension.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to overcome this dichotomy and highlight the added value of the landscape project in the context of attention to sustainability. We hope that multidisciplinary groups will want to present contributions that combine different approaches to human–environment interaction and sustainability in order to address these issues across different regions all over the world.

Studies are expected to address:

Description of relevant recent and past study cases;
Landscape architecture and global changes;
Implementing new approaches toward sustainability;
Cross-cutting knowledge framework;
Beauty and ecology in landscape projects;
Landscape transformations and social perception
Educational and trans-disciplinary approaches;
Reflection on the position of L.A. relating UE, ERC and 2030 Goals;
Defining perspectives and innovation;
Prevent environmental degradation and risks in natural, cultivated and urban environments.

Prof. Dr. Fabio Di Carlo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

nature-based design
landscape design and urbanism
beauty and ecology in landscape architecture
turning points in landscape architecture
new landscapes for global change

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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13 pages, 3380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Dialectics of Ecology and Design in the Reform of Contemporary Landscapes

by Roberto Pasini

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6217; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106217 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2620

Abstract

In the face of the impending crisis of the biosphere, the debate in the design disciplines has been attracted to the disciplinary precincts of ecology and its dynamics, while the notion of landscape continuum tends to englobe that of territory. The intention to contaminate traditional land transformation approaches with sustainable approaches derived from landscape ecology has been recorded. At the same time, a particular focus on the study of the metabolism of territorial entities has emerged beside the traditional interest in the study of their morphology. This paper tackles the theme of the special issue on ‘Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecologies through Landscape Design’ by adopting the recurrent method of human sciences, via discursive analysis of literature and case-studies. First, the paper characterizes the origins and reasons for the ecological crisis. Secondly, we review the recently growing interest developed in the landscape design disciplines for the ecological/metabolic aspects vis-à-vis the traditional focus on morphological/compositive aspects. Finally, we review three case-studies representative of distinct contemporary approaches to landscape reform responding in distinct manners to the impending ecological crisis. The compared analysis of the case-studies identifies strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches. The paper’s conclusions summarize the profile of a virtuous approach to the reform landscape apparatuses and draw possible lines of further research and experimentation in the field of landscape design and its relationship to ecology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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23 pages, 10251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Living Amidst the Ruins in Rome: Archaeological Sites as Hubs for Sustainable Development

by Alessandra Capuano

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3180; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063180 - 8 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5032

Abstract

In Rome, the intertwining of natural and built environments is structural, and has consolidated over the centuries. In the contemporary fabric, the overabundant presence of archaeology, always in symbiosis with vegetation, plays an important role for the image of the city and has helped maintain the alternation of voids and solids. Porosity can be seen therefore as a permanent morphological urban character of the city, particularly significant nowadays for environmental considerations. Ruins, which only a few years ago were perceived more as a brake to urban transformation, in recent years are emerging as an interesting potential in terms of biodiversity spots and social catalysts to implement more sustainable development. Out of the concept of sustainability, we can in fact recognize new and more cutting-edge ways of planning and designing heritage territory. This article describes a different approach to the enhancement of archaeological areas, through three case studies—The Appian Way Park, Rome’s City Walls and ArchaeoGRAB—that consider heritage as a sustainable integrated system. These projects present, through a holistic and multidisciplinary perspective, possible ways in which landscape design can contribute to the preservation of natural and heritage environments, as well as the development of healthier lifestyles and strengthening of local culture for the communities that dwell therein. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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16 pages, 48954 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Don’t Split Them Up! Landscape Design of Multifunctional Open Spaces Suitable for Coping with Flash Floods and River Floods

by Gabriele Paolinelli, Marco Cei, Nicoletta Cristiani, Ludovica Marinaro and Flavia Veronesi

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2316; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042316 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3791

Abstract

Pressures arising from agriculture, infrastructures and settlements have gradually reduced natural spaces of European watercourses limiting their self-regulation capacities, environmental and social potentials, resulting in widespread critical anthropic features. Dealing with flood phenomena adds artificiality, as several works for hydraulic protection are necessary. This was the case of Pistoia, a small city in the north of Tuscany, where the Ombrone stream, held in a straight-channeled course since the 18th century, sometimes breaks its embankments and floods the low plain from the southeast of Pistoia to downstream. Complying with the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), the regional authority for flood risks planned some basins in the high plain upstream of Pistoia. A study we developed before this research assumed to shift the design approach from functional separation to full integration of hydraulic works in an area planned as an urban park for several years, but still in waiting. We now carried out a second study that adopts the concept of deep structure as the main design reference to “see” the park in the landscape features. This article concerns the research by the design process just developed to investigate a sustainable layout of the place new hydraulic asset as a basic landscape identity of the future park. Not to split spaces up with regard to their main functions was the general aim the process was focused on to combine an effective hydraulic protection with a full environmental and social enhancement of the urban park. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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22 pages, 13306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustained Change: Design Speculations on the Performance of Fallow-Scapes in Time along the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor, (ECNHC), New York

by Maria Goula and Jamie Vanucchi

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1675; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031675 - 31 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3428

Abstract

The paper explores the potential for adaptive mitigation at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, Seneca Falls, NY, USA, and surrounds, focusing on landscapes along the historic Erie Canal that inadvertently lowered the water table and shrunk adjacent wetlands. Now the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor (ECNHC), Montezuma, NY, USA, the canal, and surrounds lack a clear identity but have the potential to be repurposed as green infrastructure to support climate mitigation through the application of natural climate solutions, namely reforestation. Reforestation has been shown to produce the highest potential performance for carbon sequestration, along with a multitude of co-benefits. However, most studies assessing capacity for climate mitigation using nature-based approaches operate at a high level via remote data and do not test hypotheses at smaller scales that require groundtruthing data, parcel-by parcel approaches, and an understanding of landowner values. The initial research question is: can landscape architecture design research contribute to a higher performance of secondary forests and non-productive farmland (fallow lands) for carbon sequestration, while at the same time activating economic territories and improving their landscape qualities? Comparative cartographies are developed to assess secondary forests, including past and future projections. Fallow lands are examined through mapping at various scales, fieldwork, and informal interviews. We find that farmland along the canal has been abandoned over time due to conditions that make farming difficult, such as periodic flooding, ponding of water due to poorly drained soils, and steep drumlin slopes. These same conditions have contributed to a landscape armature—an assemblage of landscapes including the old canal, barge canal and associated heritage landscapes, abandoned farmlands, and existing forests and wetlands. Secondary forests already existing in the area are high performing in relation to carbon sequestration but may lack climate resilience due to threats such as the emerald ash borer (EAB). Design intervention can help support enhanced sequestration, resilience, and adaptation by introducing unique tree plantings in the form of groves and hedgerows. Sustainability is approached by integrating quantifiable performances of secondary forests with projections of spatial, ecological, and cultural values and the continuing monitoring and management of forests over time. The aim is to build a method to test these lands with designs for tree plantings that reveal their potential for increased carbon sequestration, habitat connectivity, and enriched landscape identity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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21 pages, 5680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rome’s GRAB—Great Bicycle Ring Route—As Complex Landscape Infrastructure

by Lucina Caravaggi, Cristina Imbroglini and Anna Lei

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 1023; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14021023 - 17 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3250

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the design strategy adopted in Rome to support and enhance sustainable mobility. It is a strategy aimed at promoting new green infrastructures for urban accessibility, daily sports practice and social inclusion in a historic city, stratified and not very inclined to change. Therefore, the dissemination of this experience is useful for planning a sustainable future for heritage cities that ensures an appropriate and equitable balance between conservation and development. Sustainable mobility is now considered one of the most important challenges for metropolitan areas and large conurbations. In these terms, Rome is a weak city. The city’s great bicycle ring route (GRAB), an integral part of the Extraordinary Tourism Mobility Plan 2017-22, is a key infrastructure for increasing more sustainable and healthier modes of travel, even on a local scale. The GRAB project, whose complex infrastructure provides multiple services, differs from a simple cycle path network. Its complexity refers to an ability to attract different types of users in different types of urban contexts—historical settings, monuments, newer neighborhoods and areas of contemporary urbanization. The project results can be measured first in relation to its progress (already funded, in the executive planning phase, with the approval of the first construction sites expected by 2022). A second important result is the participation of institutional bodies and citizens’ associations, which will oversee the construction and maintenance work as well as infuse into the project a constant vitality, in a true civic ecology perspective. Third, the results are important for enhancing metropolitan area accessibility and the environmental and social re-activation of the areas crossed, achieved directly and through the project’s realization. The GRAB strategy belongs to the new generation of landscape projects that have radically changed the priorities and hierarchies of intervention in the contexts of contemporary urbanization. These projects are based on the ecological analysis of the context but are located close to the fluctuating dynamics of contemporary metropolises and the problems of exclusion and marginality—both spatial and social—linked to the very rapid ecological, economic and demographic transformations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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23 pages, 16710 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nature of the Wind, the Culture of the Landscape: Toward an Energy Sustainability Project in Catalonia

by Daniela Colafranceschi, Pere Sala and Fabio Manfredi

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7110; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137110 - 24 Jun 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2869

Abstract

Landscape and energy are an inseparable and innovative binomial because of the challenges they imply and being the factors we use to measure the quality of our habitat. Presenting the report “Wind Energy and Landscape. Guidelines for a suitable installation in Catalonia”, which involved research into the methodology for installing wind farms, this article presents a critical reflection on the possible spatial, ethical, and aesthetic effects of energy transition. Landscape design interprets the convergence of territorial values with the innovation of an energy system: it is not measured on a geographical scale, but draws from geography the sense of the overwriting of everyday places, giving them sense, orientation, meaning, and narrative. The research involves ecology, society, nature, and culture. Methodologically, the approach is reversed: rather than designing a project for the correct installation of wind power plants, the project for the wind landscape is understood as new contemporary nature. Wind energy and the culture of the landscape legitimize an advance in thought on design tools, espousing the dictates of the European Landscape Convention and more recent ambitious goals set by the UN with the 2030 Agenda. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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13 pages, 5283 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Challenges for Landscape Architecture: Designed Urban Ecosystems and Social Acceptance

by Emma Salizzoni

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3914; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073914 - 1 Apr 2021

Viewed by 4255

Abstract

The creation of new ecosystems within urban contexts has undeniable benefits for city dwellers in terms of increased urban biodiversity and related provisioning of ecosystem services. However, designing new ecosystems in areas with a high population density or which are subject to intensive use may also generate negative impacts on the anthropic dimension and cause social conflicts that, in turn, can undermine the project’s effectiveness. This article focuses on the quite unexplored issue of anthropic “costs” that new urban ecosystems can generate, and on design and management challenges that they open up in terms of social acceptance. Landscape architecture, as a synthesis of ecological, aesthetic, and ethical aspects, seems to be the most appropriate framework for adopting a holistic approach to the design of new urban ecosystems. The article analyzes three Italian landscape architecture projects. All projects adopted spatial measures oriented at fostering perception, understanding, and acceptance of the recreated ecosystems, while preserving them from anthropic impacts. However, these efforts are sometimes jeopardized by a lack of concomitant operational measures, such as stakeholder involvement and site maintenance. Co-existence of delicate habitats and urban functions is thus not utopic but asks that projects effectively integrate ecological sciences, landscape design and management, as well as social-oriented practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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12 pages, 2596 KiB

Open AccessConcept Paper

Paradigm Shift of Scale in Landscape Architecture—Towards a Planetary Observation

by Samaneh Sadat Nickayin

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2949; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052949 - 3 Mar 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3388

Abstract

In the era of globalisation, when the whole planet is urbanised and planners debate “planetary urbanization”, economists discuss “global cities”, ecologists describe the planet’s biodiversity hotspot connections, and climate change warns of a “global” crisis, it might be necessary to shift the paradigm of the landscape planning scale from local and regional scale to an adequate scale of challenges—planetary scale. The era of holistic approaches necessitates a review in local landscape planning in line with global drivers, and that is why most schools of thought have moved towards “planetary visions” to resolve the global challenges. In prospect for the planet’s future, with the bourgeoning of the next billion people, under the pressure of climate change and implosion/explosion of planetary urbanisation, shortage of land is one of the hot topics, as well as humanity’s attempt to manage the planet as a “whole” system to guarantee the economic resources and protect the biodiversity. Concerning some global landscape connectivity projects, the paper focuses on the importance of “planetary scale” to guarantee the proper understanding of relationships between landscape design, urbanization and ecological advocacy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Constructed Natures: Shaping Ecology through Landscape Design)

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