BBC News: Urban planning needs a green rethink

While a lot of attention has been paid to greening our buildings, not so much has been paid to the wider landscape.

In Science/Nature section of BBC News, writer and landscape architect Martha Schwartz says that people in her profession are often behind the sustainability curve in relation to architects, relegated to presiding over green roof technology or building pocket parks.

She says that the main reason why that is the case is that, when addressing the uses of resources and energy, the technical framework provided by the building process provides a degree of simplicity and directness.

This is problematic for landscape architects, because the nature of their profession is to develop sustainably - creating a sense of place, identity and belonging - on the canvas on which our cities are built.

Schwartz recommends three ways to better incorporate landscape architects into the advancement of urban sustainability:

* Include their expertise in the planning processes for city sustainability agendas
* Increase sustainability education for landscape architects, architects, and urban planners
* Extend the minds of builders to incorporate landscape thinking

Photo credit: "lines" by user orphanjones, Flickr.