Processes

Making climate change visible: A critical role for landscape professionals

Modern agriculture faces challenges such as climate change and resource depletion, emphasizing the need for Smart Farms. This study explores the integration of Smart Farms with Landscape Design in Jangsu County, Jeollabuk-do, aiming to enhance ecological and aesthetic values and develop sustainable design strategies. Utilizing a Mixed Methods approach, data were collected through surveys (200 respondents), in-depth interviews (30 participants), and field observations (3 sites). The results reveal a strong positive correlation (r = 0.65, p < 0.01) between Smart Farm satisfaction and Landscape Design satisfaction. Landscape Design significantly enhances overall satisfaction by promoting biodiversity and aesthetic appeal, thereby maintaining ecological balance and improving user experience. This study demonstrates that integrating Smart Farms with Landscape Design can simultaneously advance agricultural sustainability and user satisfaction, offering valuable insights for developing sustainable agricultural models.

Simulation of medium-term soil redistributions for different land use and landscape design scenarios within a vineyard landscape in Mediterranean France

In this study, the usability of some herbaceous halophytes grown naturally in salt marshes that dry most of the year in Central Anatolia Region were investigated in landscape design. Within the scope of the research, in the years of 2016 and 2017, seasonal field studies were carried out in saline habitats in the vicinity of Konya, Ankara, Aksaray and Nevşehir, and taken photographs and herbarium samples of halophytic plant species. The general botanical and ecological characteristics of the selected species are given and the values used in landscape design have been determined considering the aesthetic and functional properties. As a result of the field studies carried out during the vegetation periods, 59 halophytic plant species, belonging to 38 genera and 19 families that could be used in landscape design were identified. The most representative family was the Asteraceae with 11 species, followed by Plumbaginaceae (9 species) and Chenopodiaceae (8 species). The genus Limonium from Plumbaginaceae family is well represented with 8 species for landscape use. The endemism rate of halophytes used in landscape design is 42% (25 species) in the research area. The most common uses in landscape design are determined in roof gardens by 49 species, followed in ground conservation and erosion prevention by 31 species. Since these halophytic species, which are mostly succulent and endemic, are well adapted into both wet and dry areas. Their use in landscape design is of great importance for restoration of arid and barren land, which may increase as a result of global climate change, conservation of biodiversity as well as sustainable agricultural practices.

Nature-based Solutions is an umbrella concept, gaining traction in recent years. It implies working with nature in order to simultaneously address multiple challenges humanity faces today, including biodiversity loss, climate change, food and energy insecurity. Nature-based Solutions are being applied across landscape types, including urban, rural, forest and protected areas. Combining nature-based solutions with landscape design, however, has predominantly been considered in cities. However, there is a great potential of combining implementation of Nature-based Solutions with landscape design in other landscapes, too. The experience from the urban Nature-based Solutions creates a great opportunity for analyzing potential of application of landscape design in other settings. The approach is likely to provide a range of benefits and increase support for the Nature-based Solution projects from the general society. It is also likely to increase attractiveness of the projects for investors, which in turn may contribute to wider application of nature-based solutions. Here we review this experience and propose potential solutions that might be implemented in landscapes other than urban ones.

Modern computer software enhances the productivity of design, simplifies the of precise drawings creation with accurate element placement, and facilitates quick editing and files sharing. Manual drawing is nearly absent in architectural design, and in landscape design it remains only in projects for private clients. Addressing new challenges in landscape planning it is necessary to create landscape-informational model to compensate for theoretical shortcomings and expand the scope of design and construction of local landscapes. Therefore, to solve the main tasks of a landscape designer, one must select those software tools capable of executing design processes more qualitatively and comprehensively, according to users’ requirements and conditions. The purpose of the research is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of computer tools available on the market for landscape design work. An analysis was conducted of the main functionalities, system requirements, interfaces, and plant objects for the following software solutions, popular among landscape architects in Ukraine The tools for plant creation, both in 2D and 3D graphics, the number of basic objects, and their quality in presentation materials are particularly critical for dendroplans creation. For designers exclusively involved in landscape design, «Realtime Landscape Architect 23» or «VectorWorks Landmark» may be optimal choices due to their specialization and user-friendly interfaces. For integrating landscape solutions with general architectural projects «Archicad 26» might be more suitable due to its BIM capabilities and collaborative features. «AutoCAD 24» remains an essential tool in the construction industry, although specific landscape design tasks may require additional plugins and settings. Key words: landscape design, dendroplanning, computer programs, CAD (Computer-aided design and calculation system).

Material characterization is essential to the provenance of graphic arts. Non-destructive analytical techniques are increasingly required in the authentication process of cultural heritage. This work presents a suite of portable, non-destructive, and complementary analytical techniques, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies, and brightfield microscopy, applied to the analysis of historical photographs depicting São Paulo city architecture, whose registration date and process of fabrication are unknown. The EDXRF analysis emphasizes the use of typical POP (printing-out paper) photograph with baryta (BaSO4 ) coated paper substrate while the FTIR and microscopy analyses confirm the presence of collodion and a gelatin-based baryta layer. This photographic process was widely employed by professional photographers from 1889 to 1930, when it was gradually abandoned in commercial use. This time interval (1889-1930) is consistent with the information surveyed on the photographic collection. In conclusion, employing complementary techniques (elemental and molecular spectroscopies and image magnification) is essential in identifying the manufacturing materials of cultural heritage material, which is the basis of contemporary authentication procedures. These data provide to curators and historians fundamental information for cataloging, adding subsidies for the correct storage and preservation ("heritage appreciation"). Still, for professional photographers, they present information on the manufacturing processes of historical photographs. The data from the present study also emphasize its perspective of use in graphic arts to aid connoisseurship in identifying forgeries during provenance and authentication studies.

Determining What's Important about Landscapes

The substantial emission of carbon exacerbates climate change, posing a threat to human survival and sustainable development. The primary inducement for the carbon emission issue is the excessive dependence of human activities on fossil energy. The construction industry is among the major sectors contributing to carbon emissions, and the low-carbon development within this industry serves as the cyclical engine for the path towards carbon reduction. Currently, there is limited research that integrates low-carbon development with the landscape design of renewable energy projects. Most studies emphasize the application of relevant low-carbon measures, overlooking the landmark effects of building decarbonization. Addressing how to truly achieve landscape design for renewable energy projects from a sustainable perspective based on relevant carbon emission quantification indicators during the architectural design phase is an urgent problem to be solved. This paper takes a sustainable perspective as the starting point and systematically summarizes landscape design concepts from this perspective. It proposes three major design approaches: ecological sustainability, cultural integration, and the application of advanced technology. Using these approaches, the paper tackles the balance between economics, energy, and the environment in landscape design, recognizing it as essentially a high-dimensional multi-objective optimization problem from a methodological perspective. The paper introduces an energy-economy-environment coupling model and utilizes big data. After low-carbon planning and design, both the net carbon footprint and total carbon footprint of the landscape significantly decrease. The Greenfield carbon sequestration per kilogram increases from 301,023.21 to the current 347,856.02, with an increase of 46,832.81.

The speech about Smart Cities includes a discourse where the sustainability of cities is unavoidable. Blue and green infrastructures (BGI) have a great role in cities sustainability because they offer feasible and valuable economic, social and environmental solutions for urban areas facing the challenges of climate change such as cloudbursts and droughts. BGI connects urban hydrological functions with urban nature, landscape design and planning. Thereby using the landscape systems namely blue (water) and green (vegetation) to protect against flooding and assure soil permeability among others. Within the BGI framework we propose a landscape design to Praça de Espanha in Lisbon. This landscape design is based on landscape systems (water, topography, vegetation, circulation (mobility)) and it is part of a continuous and productive landscape structure promoting the occurrence of ecologic, economic and social processes. The proposed landscape design is in line with the policies and strategies for the ecological and sustainable development strategies that Lisbon has promoted and that it is included in the smart cities principles and orientations. This landscape design promotes social inclusion where human and ecological, physical and functional connectivity are articulated promoting different types of leisure and activities, through urban space polyvalence, multifunctionality and permeability (in all senses). This design proposal combines and includes natural, ecological and heritage values as well as the cultural heritage of the place itself. Always with an ecological purpose we designed with a systemic and interconnected approach: water, topography, circulation (mobility), vegetation (creating spatiality: full/empty, light/shadow, close/open), cultural, aesthetic and poetic values, and community (as a participatory element and fundamental on the design process) promoting various functions (leisure, sports, protection and production) and creating a multifunctional landscape space, that reinforces and becomes part of the city BGI. This multifunctional landscape structure is fundamental for the sustainable development of cities, enabling a real-time response to environmental changes but also to the preservation and valuation of cultural values, heritage and identity, aesthetic concerns and leisure. It also enables partnerships among local government, civil society, communities and private sector.KeywordsSmart citiesBlue and green infrastructuresLandscape structureMultifunctionalityPraça de EspanhaLandscape design

The pivotal role of urban greening in landscape design for mitigating climate change and enhancing the thermal environment is widely known. However, numerous evaluations of outdoor thermal comfort are seldom applied within the realm of landscape design scenarios. This study explores the relationship between street design and urban microclimate, aiming to propose a range of design strategies that can significantly improve thermal comfort within the street environment in Shenzhen, China. These design strategies hold immense potential for urban greening implementation and provide valuable insights to enhance the overall thermal quality of streetscapes in subtropical cities. The study employs landscape design and environmental simulation methods to evaluate the different design scenarios for the streetscape. The landscape design encompasses three scenarios with revised interventions: 1. the incorporation of building greening and enhanced pavement material albedo; 2. the introduction of trees and grass at the ground level; and 3. a combination of scenarios 1 and 2. Environmental simulations are utilized to assess the effectiveness of each design scenario. The findings reveal that increasing urban vegetation leads to a reduction in urban heat and significantly improves outdoor thermal comfort. Moreover, the incorporation of shade-providing trees proves to be more efficacious than employing vertical greening in alleviating outdoor thermal discomfort.

The built environment and various ongoing crises, e.g. climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and declining well-being due to the pandemic, are interconnected. Resilience of the built environment has become increasingly important and construction professionals have a focal role in promoting it. This paper investigates the opportunities that professionals possess to introduce key aspects of resilience in building projects in their everyday practice in Finland. Six targeted focus group interviews for Finnish city planners, housing specialists, housing developers, housing architects, public building and landscape architects, and sustainability specialists were organized, encompassing 32 different professionals. A crisis preparedness checklist was developed and used as a concretization of resilience. Findings show that (1) currently all Finnish built environment professionals, except housing architects, are able to integrate some aspects of resilience in their current work; (2) aspects of resilience should be introduced to building projects and processes in their early stages; (3) all key aspects of resilience cannot be introduced by one profession; (4) interdisciplinary committee work and resulting information products by the Finnish Building Information Foundation provide a feasible opportunity for collaboration and integration of resilience to Finnish building projects and processes. This study highlights the need for dynamic built environment professionals’ engagement.

More than 680 million people live in low-lying coastal areas susceptible to climate change and flooding (IPCC 2019). The Jean and Zohmah Charlot House is a historic residence in Honolulu, located in a flood-prone neighborhood, that provides a powerful case study on preservation, planning, hazard mitigation, retrofitting and adaptive design of historic structures. The research, learning and engagement among diverse stakeholders supports resilient placemaking and preservation of treasured community assets. The home is listed on National and State registries of historic properties. The Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation partnered with the University of Hawai‘i (UH) to identify research methods for addressing climate resilience and develop and test engagement strategies, which included virtual workshops to develop a hazard mitigation plan for the property. An interdisciplinary team of faculty members, professionals, and students: i) identified hazards; ii) documented site vulnerabilities; iii) mapped and analyzed hazards and mitigation strategies; iv) reviewed literature and evaluated mitigations; v) engaged subject matter experts to support assessment of strategies; vi) developed and shared alternatives that were compiled and disseminated among stakeholders. The research team forged new relationships by including subject matter experts from landscape architecture, planning, emergency management, engineering, insurance, law and environmental sciences.Participants joined in three 1.5 hour virtual workshops to identify hazards, mitigation strategies, and review plans. Technologies including 360 degree imagery and ArcGIS StoryMap enhanced the virtual workshop. Based on feedback from the workshops, the Disaster Mitigation Plan illustrates, annotates, and ranks strategies for risk reduction and future policy and research needs. This university-led collaboration is a model for engaging planners, architects, landscape architects, preservationists, engineers, lawyers, and insurance agents on the challenges of preservation and hazard risk reduction. The rapid, three-part planning process using all-virtual, all-volunteer participants provides a low cost approach for subject matter expert engagement and focused knowledge-sharing on resilience strategies that can be applied and implemented for other endangered properties and scaled up to address broader neighborhood, watershed, and regional impacts from climate change and extreme events.

Low-carbon city provide both opportunity and challenge for landscape architecture. Urban green space planning and design are the most important way to achieve the landscape adaptive to globe climate change. In this paper, we introduced importance and significance of urban green space in low-carbon landscape, and reviewed many new design solutions, such as construction of green infrastructure, protection of natural vegetation and ecosystems, use of phytoremediation and application of urban productive landscape. Via innovative design solution and ecological principle, landscape architects would create a substantially new aesthetics to ensure the survivance of humanity.

Under rapid urbanisation and climate change, cities urgently need strategies to enhance resilience and sustainability. Transforming brownfields into green spaces has been widely recognised as a nature-based solution (NbS), yet how to integrate this transformation into urban planning to maximise benefits remains unclear. To address the gap, our study proposes a cross-scale approach for brownfield greening (BG) that links urban-scale prioritisation with site-specific greening interventions. By integrating spatially explicit assessments of ecosystem service (ES) supply, demand and supply-demand balance, the approach identifies not only where BG should occur (where to green), but also how tailored interventions can be implemented within sites (how to green). The proposed approach was tested in Tangshan, a typical resource-exhausted city in China, demonstrating how ES assessments can guide both strategic planning and detailed planning of BG. The findings advance the integration of NbS into spatial planning at multiple levels, offering actionable guidance for policy-makers, urban planners and landscape architects. Beyond the case study, the approach also provides insights into managing land abandonment in shrinking cities worldwide, contributing to more effective and transferable urban greening strategies.