Bret Betnar

BRET BETNAR | THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

WORK WITH NATURE.

Landscape architects play a vital role in translating ideas into spatial realities. While keeping the delicate balance of urbanizing places with the environmental impacts at the forefront, landscape architects help us to create functional ecosystems that address the needs of both people and the environments in which we live. It’s important for built environment professionals to understand the spatial thinking processes in order to develop unique solutions and strategies for residents while keeping the environment safe and intact.

LESSONS

• Cities manage where people can go and where they have access. In order to best inform these decisions, it’s important for professionals to listen and speak with the locals, experience the space through their lens, and explore these areas. Walking and taking pictures can be an effective way to explore. • Understand the context of nature and the environment; what will work, not work, and what can be realistically sustained. • Identify how technology can play a role for efficiency and be mendable for adaptability purposes • Minimize overhead and management so people can have unique, self-guided, flexible experiences in space. • Identify how your work can continue to foster community engagement to inform future plans and to keep the project relevant to its users.

EXAMPLE

Scotts Bluff National Monument: Physical trails are hard in this park due to significant erosion, but visitors were wanting new pathways to explore the area. In collaboration with the NPA, residents, and students, the team used GIS to develop e-Trails; an app system where people could follow trails with the app as their guide. This allowed visitors to walk through the park at any time and for the trails to be adapted as needed.

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