Ifla50 proceedings part b

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE 46. SENSE OF PLACE & COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT IN BIOREGIONAL PLANNING-A PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Azizul M 1, Knight-Lenihan S 2, van Roon M 3 1 PhD Candidate, School Of Architecture & Planning, University Of Auckland, 2 Senior Lecturer, School Of Architecture & Planning, University Of Auckland, 3 Senior Lecturer, School Of Architecture & Planning, University Of Auckland ABSTRACT Dynamic landscape change affects and is affected by human attitudes.The effect of pattern and process has been investigated mainly in landscape ecological sciences, focusing on whether and how spatial organization of landscape creates stable, functioning ecosystems. Humans have been treated as an independent, separate entity despite the fact that within space they connect and embed their values, perception and attitudes when delineating a place. Equally, the ecological imperative expressed through operational models of conservation planning changes the physical organization of landscape in such a way that it affects public connection to landscape and influences views and attitudes towards ecosystem governance.

It will be argued in this paper, that a more comprehensive understanding is needed of these two phenomena, addressing the linkages between ecosystem conservation and how people respond to dynamic change. This will include an assessment of how people shape their responsiveness to place through a collaborative bioregional planning approach. A conceptual framework is proposed, with the intention of exploring the linkages of social and ecological systems through a ‘sense of place’ concept in order to understand the community effect on, and response to, conservation planning initiatives. It is viewed that this research will provide a new insight for a collaborative bioregional planning process by revealing whether and how sense of place empowers communities by mobilizing stewardship that directs actions towards environmental policies, and how this in turn shapes ecosystem functioning that enhances the experience of land.

INTRODUCTION The fundamental rethinking of natural resource management, conservation and reconciling human needs in land use planning has led to a paradigm shift from a rational planning approach towards alternative integrated planning approaches. In this age of complexity where the patterns of nature and society are interwoven into an interconnected web of domains and processes, many planning approaches struggle to frame the uncertainties of the future as a result of our actions today. Current advances in ecosystem sciences, sustainability sciences and other related disciplines acknowledge that socio-ecological systems are interlinked, creating an intertwined linkage of systems that are influenced by each other. Different approaches have been debated on how best to protect public interests. The failure of a traditional top-down planning approach has increasingly been noted by advocates in planning and environmental management fields [Blair, 1996; Scott, 1998]. In particular, it has been critiqued for over reliance in regards to the aspect of growth projection [Loveridge, 1972], the inability of local government to solve trans-boundary environmental problems associated with urban sprawl [Godschalk et al., 1977] and disempowerment of local communities in decisionmaking [Harris, 1994].

More importantly, Diffendefer & Birch [1997] claimed that these responses are rather symptomatic of the core issue of a centralized command and control approach, highlighting an inability to counteract against a utilitarian view of specific actors in satisfying their needs. Furthermore, public dissatisfaction with government, has led to mistrust in science as a base for political decision-making [Reynolds, 1969] which often does not reflect the concerns, values and needs of the communities [Moote & McClaran, 1996]. Consequently this has necessitated a social restructuring of planning in order to manage effectively competing land use interests between various social actors [Frame et al., 2004]. In the context of regional planning and conservation, bioregionalism offers an alternative approach about governance that involves both social and political restructuring. Birkeland [2008] and Diffendefer & Birch [1997] assert that the subsequent transformation of governance implies a multi-faceted platform designed to achieve ecological conservation, which in turn facilitates social, ecological and economic sustainability.

Bioregional planning, to include sense of place, is proposed as a means to address these concerns. Ecologically, bioregions are defined in ecological process and biophysical features patterning which are understood to be a sustainable factor of conservation in contrast to political-defined or man-made boundaries [Brunckhorst, 2002]. Bioregions territory is defined as the unique interaction of both social and biophysical features, resulting in the social affection to place.

Notwithstanding this, while bioregions refer to biophysical delimitation, it also emphasizes the “terrain of consciousness” – a place where the inhabitants are aware and have their own ideas regarding their existence or thoughts concerning how to live in that place [Relph, 1976; Tuan, 1977]. This in turn distinguishes itself from the ecoregional approach that is to a greater extent directed towards biodiversity conservation.

Relevantly, while earlier fragmented research and planning field’s isolated society from resource use, bioregionalism under these conditions expresses the self-reliant characteristics of several multi-faceted components in the planning system. Sale [1993] noted that the core foundation of bioregionalism is the in-depth understanding of a regions resources and geography, in which a dynamic social and economic development operates within the ecological carrying

400

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE capacity. This philosophy underlines the importance of an ecological-planning approach so as to be responsive to people who inhabit the place [Thayer, 2003] and to enable community-empowerment in decision making [Harris, 1994] in order to facilitate and achieve long-term ecosystem conservation.

The bioregional planning approach that is conveyed in this article aims to provide an integrated framework that will relate the ecological imperatives alongside the social systems. Bioregional planning strives for an integrated environmental management structure in meeting the convergence of diverse aspects of conservation in land use planning. Brunckhorst [2002] refers to bioregional planning as a “planning framework which allows for variously defined and tenured areas of land or sea within a bioregion to be managed in a complementary way in order to achieve long-term conservation, resource use and human lifestyle objectives in concert with local communities” [p.37]. Alternatively, Miller [1996] sees bioregional planning as a social organizational process that provides a platform for people to work collaboratively in achieving various social objectives through mutual decision-making. These definitions share a common ground that is; bioregional planning recognizes both the natural environment and human societies as dynamic components of the landscape. Subsequently, the implication for bioregional planning is as an integrated ecosystem management system, where plans for conservation and maintenance of ecological integrity depend on sustaining human processes and viceversa through co-operative decision-making.

The theoretical foundation of bioregional theory amalgamates human and ecological needs as applied in the ecological land use planning paradigm [McHarg, 1969]. However, bioregions are also perceived as a place, acknowledging the influence of collective public vision in the development of place and accordingly affection of the ecosystem [Brunckhorst, 2001]. This paper proposes to elaborate further on the association between a sense of place as a social process and how this process influences social actions of conservation and development policies. The two main thematic notions of bioregions as a transformation of place, and environmental stewardship which empowers communities, will be deconstructed and a conceptual model will be proposed that illustrates the role of people-place collaboration in achieving social and ecological sustainability with the context of bioregionalism.

GROUNDING A SENSE OF PLACE IN BIOREGIONAL PLANNING A bioregional planning approach explicitly addresses the need for conservation planning in maintaining ecological processes and functions. Scientific knowledge of landscape ecology underlines the set of principles used in modifying the spatial organization of the landscape whence achieving balanced performance-based ecosystem outcomes. This may differ from the socio-cultural context, within which opinions, perceptions and values that are attached to particular landscapes are contingent on changes of the biophysical components. This dual perspective of conceptualizing the environment is crucial, as the scientific view of organizing the landscape is coupled with real community involvement in the planning process. In reality social opinion is not always aligned with the intended outcomes of conservation planning.Therefore, this poses a challenge for planners when considering the dualistic realm of an environmental model such as that described by Rappaport [1968]: “Two models of the environment are significant in ecological studies; the operational and cognitive. The operational model is that which the anthropologist [scientist, planner, designer] constructs through observation and measurement of ecological entities, events and material relationship. He takes this model to present analytical purposes, the physical world of the group he is studying….The cognized model is the model of environment conceived by people who act in it…The important question concerning the cognized model, since it serves as guide to action, is not the extent to which it conforms to reality [is identical to operational model] but the extent to which it elicits behaviour that is appropriate to the material situation of the actors, and it is against this function and adaptive criterion that we may assess it” [cited in Ndubisi, 2003, pp.111-112].

Humans enter into the ecological system by being incorporated as another set of values or determinants.The cognitive model reflects on how people conceptualize and participate in the landscape by creating a specific meaning or value associated with the idea of ‘ecosystem’. Within the context of this study, this phenomenon is underpinned by the “transactional concept” and the “interactionism perspective”. Zube [1987] coined the idea “transactional concept” in order to explain human-landscape relationships by suggesting the notion that “both the human and the landscape change as a function of the transactions” [p.38]. He suggested that active social participation and exploration in nature, creates an experience that contributes to the attribution of value towards nature. From the discipline of sociology, Greider & Garkovich [1991] argue that landscape is the process of social construction in nature and: “Are the symbolic environments created by human acts of conferring meaning to nature and the environment, of giving the environment definition and form from a particular angle of vision and through a special filter of values and beliefs” [p.1].

These theories conceptualize human-nature interaction where the human is an active participant in seeking, processing and making judgments about the landscape that generates to affinity or attachment to a particular place manifested by

401

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE a unique set of cultural, belief or norms.

Translating this interaction of human and nature within bioregionalism, these theories imply that societal outcomes whence managing ecosystems are not dictated by the biophysical process, but rather are guided by the spatial organization of the landscape built upon ecosystem sciences in such a way that it fulfills both social and biophysical objectives. As a result of this developmental process, “sense of place” emerges as an overarching concept that encapsulates values and meanings that explain the intricate relationship between land and people. Planning considered as a process “founded on the need to deliver human experience” underlines the complexity of negotiating public values and meanings [Knopf, 1983, p. 229]. The implications of ignoring this experience may include influencing the way people react or behave, either positively or negatively in that place setting. As bioregionalism stresses the notion of people knowing the “place” in which they live, it is crucial to understand the process of how a place is developed from the human interaction with biophysical components.

Sense of Place The subject of place as an experiential place or ‘sense of place’ has been explored from various disciplinary perspectives bounded by their own epistemological foundation in conceptual understanding. Early development in geography indicated place as a locale of physical properties in a geographical context. Since then, humanistic geography studies have enriched the concept by suggesting that place is not merely a physical entity but it is composed of complex experiential and psychological dimensions attached to a particular physical continuum. This particular discourse is endowed by humanistic geographers such as Relph [1996] asserting that place is not just a mere connection to physical properties of the natural environment but rather “tightly interconnected assemblages of buildings, landscapes, communities, activities, and meanings which are constituted in diverse experiences of their inhabitants and visitors” [p.

907-8]. Drawing upon this phenomenological experience, he further suggests that development of place not only evolves from individual-meaning, but is presented as a collective form of intersubjective, shared values communicated between inhabitants [Relph, 1996]. Such complexity in conceiving and establishing clear development of place has been highlighted by Butz & Eyles [1997] as “rooted in theories of social organization and society, and as being variably and contingently ecologically emplaced” [p.1].

Considering these circumstances, ‘a sense of place’ is therefore associated with the idea of experience that turns the ecosystem space into a place. Tuan [1977] in his seminal work pointed that space turns into place “as we get to know it better and endow it with value” [p.6]. In a similar manner, Relph [1996] suggests ‘a sense of place’ is an awareness of the “inherent and unique qualities of somewhere”[p. 909]. Implicitly, this understanding imposes a dimension of awareness or sense that qualities [environment or social] can be achieved and maintained [Tuan, 1980]. In other words, ‘sense of place’ is composed of “personal memory, community history, physical landscape appearance, and emotional attachment” [Galliano & Loeffler, 1999 p. 2]. Places therefore, in addition to a physical setting, are an amalgamation of meanings and values, [Sampson & Goodrich, 2009] and socio-psychological processes [Gieryn, 2000; Stedman, 2002]. Consequently, clarifying the qualities that can be classified as subjective to the meaning of anything – culture, own identity, imagination or memory and so physical or social properties whence describing one’s ‘sense of place’ and therefore presents certain challenges.

Despite the complexity of theory and practice in place-related research, the theoretical construct of ‘sense of place’ has been divided into two main lines of inquiry.The first approach conceptualizes three components of ‘sense of place’, constructed as place dependence, place identity and place attachment that overlap each other in one instance and subsequently override each other in another [Proshansky et al., 1983; Vaske &Kobrin, 2001; Williams & Roggenbuck, 1989]. Alternatively, others have viewed ‘sense of place’ as a tripartite of three multidimensional constructs, with each construct representing the component of cognitive, emotive and conative of human consciousness [Steadman, 2002; Jorgensen & Stedman, 2006]. Organizing these constructs in alignment with human consciousness, place identity can be conceptualized as the cognitive component while place dependence is associated with the conative component and place attachment as the emotive component of sense of place. Place identity according to Proshanky [1978] refers to an intersection of personal values, beliefs and goals within the physical setting, and hence an idea of how a physical setting becomes purposeful and meaningful to life. While place dependence is a functional relationship illustrated whence a place is instrumental in fulfilling certain needs of the individual [Stedman, 2002], place attachment on the other hand reflects the emotive part of awareness, thus positive bonding develops between the individual and their natural world [Altman & Low, 1992].

Environmental psychologists have used place attachment as the denominator for a sense of place in their theory development and practice although their approach presents a stark contrast to epistemological and research approaches [Graham et al., 2009, p.15]. Their primary focus has been on investigating the psychological process of mental cognition/development of an individuals’ connection within the physical context. This range of researchers has emerged concurrently with the objective to inform the behavioural process in planning. Altman & Low [1992] define place attachment as ‘’the symbolic relationship formed by people giving culturally shared emotional/affective meanings to

402

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE a particular space or piece of land that provides the basis for the individual’s and group’s understanding of and relation to the environment” [p. 165]. A symbolic relationship is experienced at the scale of individual, group or culture inculcation, through “interplay of affect and emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and behaviours and actions in reference to a place” [Altman & Low, 1992, p.4].

However, the study of place attachment in environmental psychology has been criticized for its sole emphasis on the psychological process of development of place [Brookfield, Sime, 1995]. Contrastingly humanistic geography emphasizes the phenomenological experiences of how people understand places and shape the role places play in their life, while research into environmental psychology has tended to separate the composite experiential of place into discrete elements that are measured in a positivist approach.

Nonetheless, the contribution of place attachment and identity in environmental psychology has been widely accepted in planning practice due to its ability to conceptualize the emotive bonds between people and place- a subject that many planning realms strive hard to manage. Regardless of various disciplinary orientations in understanding place, they are underpinned by the core principle of human beings embedded in a particular environmental context that involves interaction of experience and physical components. Therefore it is intended that this article will employ ‘sense of place’ as a broad concept that is assumed to capture the tripartite construct of place attachment, place identity and place dependence rather than articulating the constructs into distinct individual elements [e.g., Rollero & De Piccoli, 2010].

Sense of place therefore refers to the people-place connection manifested via collective memories, values and history of culture as reflected by, and influencing the physical context.

SENSE OF PLACE & ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES Environmental stewardship is a one of the core principles of community planning articulated in bioregionalism as people who live in a specific place, consciously developing their own idea and way of living in relation to that particular place.

As outlined earlier, disintegration of people and place in the rational planning approaches disempowers community members from their civic role and responsibility towards the protection of their living environment. In contrast it is selfevident that developing the competency of community-based-decision-making is founded on residential understanding of local resources availability. Bioregionalism under these circumstances becomes a decentralized planning exercise, underscoring the importance of economic and politic decision-making to be delegated at a local level, which inherently gives rise to personal and community empowerment [Harris, 1994]. Moreover, community empowerment is translated into active participation in decision-making that fosters a shared learning process – a quality legitimated by the interaction between experiential and technical knowledge [Aberley, 1993; Diffendefer & Birch, 1997].

Such mobilization of empowerment is shared partly but more importantly by understanding the connection of humans with their natural world and stewardship of the land. This is advocated by Plant & Plant [1990 cited in DePrez, 1997] where “constructive, re-envisioning our relations with nature, repairing…the damage done to natural systems, and recreating human cultures capable of flourishing in an ecologically sustainable manner through time” [p. 43]. Human culture in this sense is parallel to the land ethics that Aldo Leopold espouses, which works toward intensifying the sense of care, commitment and concern of how the place should be. He eloquently suggests that in developing a land ethic, the role of humanity is transformed from conqueror of ecological system to an egalitarian view that a human is “just plain member and citizen of it” [Leopold, 1949, p.240]. He further asserts that culture which then drives societal action can be assessed in relation to one’s connection or association to the natural world: “A thing is right when it tends to maintain the integrity, stability, and beauty of biotic community, it is wrong when it tends otherwise” [Leopold, 1949, p. 266].

His supporters, Worrell & Appleby [2000] suggest that environmental stewardship is a form of land ethic, defining it as a deeply held moral obligation interpreted into actions of “responsible use [including conservation] of natural resources in a way that takes full and balanced account of the interests of society [and] future generations … as well as private needs, and accepts significant answerability to society” [p.269]. Considering that society must confront multifaceted issues related to land management, a compelling question arises: in what way are social actions directed towards achieving social, economic and ecological sustainability. It has been suggested that the land ethic should provide a conceptual foundation for environmental stewardship that can guide the action and response of society towards the threat of ecosystem degradation and resources depletion [Knight, 1996]. This segment will articulate and characterize certain qualities promoted by ethical social action that would qualify as environmental stewardship, which is initiated from planning and conservation decisions.

The majority of research into planning, resource management, environment and behaviour have made connections between place-based values and stewardship, although in each case it has been explored within its own paradigm.

Studies in landscape and urban planning for example, have explored the role of local resident attachment to rural and urban landscapes in determining their motivation for stewardship and land protection [Lokocz et al., 2011; Walker &

403

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Ryan, 2008]. These studies have found strong connections between place attachment and stewardship engagement.

This quality is manifested through several forms of supportive attitude towards conservation strategies that promote ecological stability. Inasmuch, this present evidence that residents are more particular about their connection to place in sustaining the local economic and landscape character. Studies have shown that social actions through several mechanisms in development planning directly contribute to social embeddedness in a physical context. Cantrill [1998] indicates that ‘sense of place’ constitutes a major role in influencing individual capacity and involvement in environmental advocacy for sustainable resource policies.Their ability to practice attitudes which heighten the protection of ecosystems is underlined by awareness of place-based knowledge. Kruger & Shannon [2000] assert that citizens who developed awareness of their local context seem to “grasp the opportunity to create knowledge, benefits, and new opportunities for social action” [p. 475].

Drawing on literature in environmental psychology and behaviour, volunteer motivation for engaging in stewardship programs have been demonstrated to depend on whether they can view it as a process of social learning, care-taking of the environment, as well as developing sense of belonging to that place, or not [Bramston et al., 2010].

Over and above people-place relationship theory, other studies have explored this concept through the lens of community attachment – how socially based attachment determines attitudes about local environmental issues [Brehm, 2006; Steward et al., 2004]. This line of research distinguishes between socially based bonding relating to physical attachment, and the emphasis placed on community-level attachment on environmental concerns.

As people-place connection is inextricably embedded in the ecosystem context, previous studies suggest emotional bonding with the place can mediate the way people respond and react to ecosystem change through several mechanisms. For example, people who exhibit a strong sense of place demonstrate more commitment to problem solving and are more likely to react to environmental issues. This is a predictor of a resilient characteristic of dynamic landscape change [Burley et al., 2007; Kaltenborn & Bjerke, 2002; Lai & Kreuter, 2012]. These studies have suggested that the role of communities within themselves can participate and make clear how the policy should be oriented towards their needs. Pertinent to that, resident acceptance of proposed landscape changes are inclined to legitimize and enhance their meaning of place in the planning process [Steward et al., 2004]. This finding for example, was underlined by Steadman [2002] where place-based values are incorporated into the decision-making process, where it creates a protective behaviour that seeks to maintain and enhance values attributed to place – actions that reveal the importance of the place. Similarly, Vaske & Kobkrin [2001] found that local attachment to natural resources could be a valuable mechanism to predict whether an individual acts in an environmentally responsible manner [or not].

These studies, whence applied within various fields related to environmental policy-making, have demonstrated that the people-place connection and community attachment have played a significant role in guiding specific social actor behavioural responses, either positively or negatively, to environmental decision-making.

SUMMARY & OPERATIONALIZATION Figure 1 proposes a conceptual model of the linkages between the role of sense of place in social and ecological sustainability. This model illustrates sense of place as a concept of a social process that helps make conservation and development policies viable by acknowledging the values and meanings of humans. It captures the idea that ecosystem functioning evolves as a result of human understanding of the place across social structure and institutions; specifically, it is manifested in an amalgamation of social attitudes and behaviour in influencing land use outcomes. This article argues that individual and community empowerment is developed from connection to the place within which they are embedded – which serves as basis for developing an ethical and moral responsibility for actions mobilized by stewardship to the land.

404

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 1: Conceptual model linking the core premise that the people-place relationship fulfils an important role in achieving social and ecological sustainability.

Drawing upon this conceptual model, several compelling questions arise for further study; [1] How do individuals and communities develop a sense of place? [2] Is there any variance in the strength of sense of place among social actors, e.g., individuals, professionals and other stakeholders in land management? [3] How do variations in the sense of place influence the effect of environmental stewardship? [4] How does environmental stewardship empower communities in their actions and attitudes towards environmental protection policies, and [5] How do these responses feed back into the ecological system, through their behavioural actions in determining the land use outcomes thus shaping the ecosystem functioning? As stressed in this article, bioregional planning envisions the place of people-place relationship in its core foundation to characterize specific emergence of social behavior in planning decisions. This re-positions the human dimension in integrated ecosystem management, suggesting an alternative path to the sustainability of socioecological systems especially in dealing with the uncertain future of our plans today. The evolution of an ecosystem is partly but crucially determined by what we identify as important for the next generation to enjoy including the ecosystem services that we are experiencing now. In conclusion, a sense of place is a concept that people use to conceptualize themselves into the ecological system and plays a powerful role in influencing and distinguishing actions across social actors in land management.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to acknowledge the funding support of the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, University Technology Malaysia and The University of Auckland. This article forms part of the first author’s doctoral thesis at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.

REFERENCES Aberley, D. [1993]. Boundaries of home: mapping for local empowerment / edited by Doug Aberley: Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, c1993.

Altman, I., & Low, S. [1992]. Place Attachment. New York: Plenum Press.

Birkeland, J. [2008]. Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles through Built Environment Design. London: Taylor & Francis.

Blair, H. W. [1996]. Democracy, equity and common property resource management in the Indian subcontinent.

Development and Change, 27, 475–499.

Bramston, P., Pretty, G., & Zammit, C. [2010]. Assessing Environmental Stewardship Motivation. Environment And Behaviour, 43[6], 776–788. doi:10.1177/0013916510382875 Brehm, J. M., Eisenhauer, B. W., & Krannich, R. S. [2006]. Community Attachments as Predictors of Local Environmental Concern: The Case for Multiple Dimensions of Attachment. American Behavioural Scientist, 50[2], 142–165. doi:10.1177/0002764206290630

405

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Brunckhorst, D. J. [2002]. Bioregional Planning: Resource Management Beyond the New Millennium. London; New York: Routledge.

Brunckhorst, D. J. [2001]. Building capital through bioregional planning and biosphere reserves. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 2001, 19–32.

Burgess, J., & Gold, J. [1982]. On the Significance of Valued Environments. In J. A. Gold, J. R., Burgess [Ed.], Valued Environments [pp. 1–9]. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Burley, D., Jenkins, P., Laska, S., & Davis, T. [2007]. Place Attachment and Environmental Change in Coastal Louisiana.

Organization Environment, 20[3], 347–366. doi:10.1177/1086026607305739 Butz, D., & Eyles, J. [1997]. Reconceptualizing Senses of Place: Social Relations, Ideology and Ecology. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 79[1], 1-25. doi: 10.1111/j.0435-3684.1997.00002.x Cantrill, J. G. [1998]. The environmental self and a sense of place: Communication foundations for regional ecosystem management. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 26[3], 301-318. doi: 10.1080/00909889809365509 DePrez, V. [1997]. Bioregionalism : a state of mind, place, and heart. In C. Warwick [Ed.], Proceedings Fifteenth North American Prairie Conference [pp. 42–43]. Natural Areas Association. Retrieved from http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/ EcoNatRes.NAPC15. [Accessed: 2 February 2013] Diffenderfer, M., & Birch, D. [1997]. Bioregionalism: A comparative study of the Adirondacks and the Sierra Nevada. Society Natural Resources, 10[1], 3–16. doi:10.1080/08941929709381006 Frame, T. M., Gunton, T., & Day, J. C. [2004]. The role of collaboration in environmental management: an evaluation of land and resource planning in British Columbia. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 47[1], 59-82. doi: 10.1080/0964056042000189808 Galliano, S. J., & Loeffler, G. M. [1999]. Place assessment: how people define ecosystems. Portland, Or.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Gieryn, T. F. [2000]. A Space for Place in Sociology. [Anonymous, Ed.]Annual Review of Sociology, 26[1], 463–496. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.463 Godschalk, D. R., Brower, D. J., McBennett, L. D., & Vestal, B. [1977]. Constitutional issues of growth management. Chicago, NC: ASPO Press.

Graham, H., Mason, R. & Newman, A. [2009]. Literature Review: Historic Environment, Sense of Place, and Social Capital.

Newcastle Upon Tyne: Newcastle University Commissioned for English Heritage. Available at: http://www.englishheritage.org. uk/hc/upload/pdf/sense_of_place_lit_review_web.pdf?1257932683 [Accessed: 20 February 2013] Greider, T., & Garkovich, L. [1994]. Landscapes: The Social Construction of Nature and the Environment. Rural Sociology, 59[1], 1–24. doi:10.1177/S0038038599000280 Harris, G. [1994]. The Adirondack Mountains: Wilderness preservation or bioregional vision? Trumpeter, 11[3], 117–120.

Jorgensen, B. S., & Stedman, R. C. [2006]. A comparative analysis of predictors of sense of place dimensions: attachment to, dependence on, and identification with lakeshore properties. Journal of Environmental Management, 79[3], 316–327.

Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16288828 Kaltenborn, B. P., & Bjerke, T. [2002]. Associations between environmental value orientations and landscape preferences.

Landscape and Urban Planning, 59[1], 1-11. doi: 10.1016/s0169-2046[01]00243-2 Knight, R. L. [1996]. Aldo Leopold, the land ethic, and ecosystem management. Journal of Wildlife Management, 60[3], 471–474. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3802064 [Accessed: 15 February 2013] Knopf, R. C. [1983]. Recreational needs and behavior in natural settings. In I. Altman & J. F. Wohlwill [Eds.], Behavior and the Natural Environment [pp. 205–240]. New York: Plenum Press.

Kruger, L. E. & Shannon, M. A. [2000]. Getting to know ourselves and our places through participation in civic social assessment. Society & Natural Resources, 13, 461–478.

Lai, P.-H., & Kreuter, U. P. [2012]. Examining the direct and indirect effects of environmental change and place attachment on land management decisions in the Hill Country of Texas, USA. Landscape and Urban Planning, 104[3–4], 320-328. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.11.007 Leopold, A. [1949]. A Sand County Almanac. London; New York: Oxford Press.

Lokocz, E., Ryan, R. L., & Sadler, A. J. [2011]. Motivations for land protection and stewardship: Exploring place attachment and rural landscape character in Massachusetts. Landscape and Urban Planning, 99[2], 65-76. doi: 10.1016/j.

406

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE landurbplan.2010.08.015 Loveridge, R. O. [1972]. The environment: New priorities and old politics. In H. Hahn [Ed.], People and politics in urban society [pp. 499–529]. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

McHarg, I. [1969]. Design With Nature. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Miller, K. [1996]. Balancing the scales: guidelines for increasing biodiversity’s chances through bioregional management.

Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

Moote, M. A., & McClaran, M. P. [1997]. Viewpoint: Implications of participatory democracy for public land planning.

Journal Of Range Management, 50[5], 473–481. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.00030854294&partnerID=40&md5=a02a0f2e088fc434c93443ee923d33b6 [Accessed: 15 February 2013] Ndubisi, F. [2002]. Ecological planning: a historical and comparative synthesis. Center books on contemporary landscape design [p. 287]. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=VzzSulgl4qQC&pgis=1.

[Accessed:12 January 2013] Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A. K., & Kaminoff, R. [1983]. Place-identity: physical world socialization of the self. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3[1], 57–83. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1983-30076-001 [Accessed: 20 February 2013] Proshansky, H. M. [1978]. The City and Self-Identity. Environment And Behavior, 10[2], 147–169. doi:10.1177/0013916578102002 Relph, E. C. [1996]. Place. In I. Douglass, R. Huggett, & M. Robinson [Eds.], Companion Encyclopedia of Geography: the environment and humankind [pp. 906–922]. London: Routledge.

Relph, E. C. [1976]. Place and placelessness. London: Pion Press.

Reynolds, J. P. [1969]. Public participation in planning. Town Plan. Rev, 40, 131–148.

Rollero, C., & De Piccoli, N. [2010]. Place attachment, identification and environment perception: An empirical study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30[2], 198–205. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.12.003 Sale, K. [1993]. The Green Revolution. The Environmental Movement 1962-1992. New York: Hill & Wang.

Sampson, K., & Goodrich, C. [2009]. Making Place: Identity Construction and Community Formation through “Sense of Place” in Westland, New Zealand. Society Natural Resources, 22[10], 901–915. doi:10.1080/08941920802178172 Scott, J. C. [1998]. Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. [J. C. Scott, Ed.] Yale agrarian studies [Vol. 1, p. xiv, 445 p.]. Yale University Press. doi:10.1177/146499340100100213 Sime, J. D. [1995]. Creating places or designing spaces? In L. Groat [Ed.], Giving Places Meaning. Readings in Environmental Psychology [pp. 27–41]. London: Academic Press.

Stedman, R. C. [2002]. Toward a Social Psychology of Place. Environment and Behavior, 34[5], 561-581. doi: 10.1177/0013916502034005001 Stewart, W. P., Liebert, D., & Larkin, K. W. [2004]. Community identities as visions for landscape change. Landscape and Urban Planning, 69[2-3], 315–334. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2003.07.005 Thayer, R. L. [2003]. LifePlace: Bioregional Thought and Practice. Ewing, NJ: University of California Press.

Tuan, Y.-f. [1980]. Rootedness versus Sense of Place. Landscape: A Magazine of Human Geography, 24[1].

Tuan, Y.-F. [1977]. Space and place: The perspective of experience. London: Arnold.

Vaske, J. J., & Kobrin, K. C. [2001]. Place Attachment and Environmentally Responsible Behavior. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32[4], 16-21. doi: 10.1080/00958960109598658 Walker, A. J., & Ryan, R. L. [2008]. Place attachment and landscape preservation in rural New England: A Maine case study.

Landscape and Urban Planning, 86[2], 141-152. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.02.001 Williams, D. R., & Roggenbuck, J. W. [1989]. Measuring Place Attachment: Some Preliminary Results. Session on Outdoor Planning and Management [p. 7]. Retrieved from http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/value/docs/nrpa89.pdf.[ Accessed: 3 March 2013] Worrell, R., & Appleby, M. C. [2000]. Stewardship of natural resources: Definition, ethical and practical aspects. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 12[3], 263–277. doi:10.1023/a:1009534214698 Zube, E. H. [1987]. Perceived land use patterns and landscape values. Landscape Ecology, 1[1], 37–45. doi:10.1007/ BF02275264

407

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE 47. ISLAND CORRIDOR FOUNDATION - OUR CORRIDOR, OUR ISLAND Backhouse D Golder Associates ABSTRACT This paper will focus on the re-imagination of an industrial transportation legacy for Vancouver Island, and specifically on the collaborative role of local governments and First Nations leadership in crafting a resilient future for island residents. It will highlight the creativity and determination of local communities in response to the certain prospect of a permanent loss of fundamental transportation infrastructure.

Recognizing a radically changing economic context, communities have worked to secure the long term future of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo rail corridor and have developed a unique and collaborative governance model to support the changing context.

The authors have supported the imagination of the unique governance structure and have worked with community leaders in developing a commonly understood concept for a productive and resilient future.

In 1998 the incumbent rail operator registered its intention to cease its transportation business on Vancouver Island, and to disassemble and sell a 140 kilometre privately owned corridor. Recognizing that the corridor had a very significant cultural and economic role to play community leaders struggled to identify a durable business and governance model that would ensure that the corridor could continue to contribute to the evolving vitality of island communities.

This paper will explore the development of the foundation, the asset donation process, and the development of an integrated business plan designed to respond to the changing physical and economic landscapes of Vancouver Island.The Island Corridor Foundation is a uniquely formative element of the cultural landscape of Vancouver Island and the lessons provided through this project are applicable wherever communities are struggling to identify indigenous tools for resilient and prosperous communities.

INTRODUCTION This paper focuses on the re-imagination of an industrial transportation legacy for Vancouver Island, and specifically on the collaborative role of local governments and First Nations leadership in crafting a resilient future for island residents. It highlights the creativity and determination of local communities in response to the certain prospect of a permanent loss of fundamental transportation infrastructure. And finally, it assesses the unique contribution of landscape architecture to an organizational development project with profound implications for the physical form of communities on Vancouver Island.

Faced with a radically changing economic context, Vancouver Island communities have worked together over the past decade to secure the long term future of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo rail corridor and have developed a unique and collaborative governance model to support the changing context. The authors have supported the implementation of the unique governance structure and have worked with community leaders in developing a commonly understood concept for a productive and resilient future.

This paper explores the development of the charitable foundation, the asset donation process, and the development of an integrated business plan designed to respond to the changing physical and economic landscapes of Vancouver Island.

The Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) is a uniquely formative element of the cultural landscape of Vancouver Island and the lessons provided through this project are applicable wherever communities are struggling to identify indigenous tools for resilient and prosperous communities.

THE ROLE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT This paper suggests a transformational approach to the management of rail infrastructure on Vancouver Island. Spread over 225 kms, five regional districts, and 14 First Nations the management of the E&N railway has fundamentally changed over the past 15 years. Today the corridor is managed by community leaders for the broad benefit of island residents. The following paper explores what these changes have occurred and the role of the landscape architect in formulating these changes.

Aware of the latent potential that the corridor may provide to positively influence land use the authors were engaged by community leaders to assist in the formulation of governance structure and founding bylaws. Early consulting assignments were undertaken to support the emerging dialogue and facilitate the complex inter-organizational discussions leading up to the establishment of the foundation.

The author’s participation in this project has been guided by the awareness that the island corridor represented one of the most significant form giving opportunities for Vancouver Island communities in the modern era. Through an ongoing dialogue community leaders began to more fully understand and appreciate the opportunities provided through community control of this transportation resource. The landscape architect’s ability to articulate this potential was a

408

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE strong organizing force during the early development of the idea. In this context landscape architecture provides a unique platform for dialogue bridging worlds of physical form and policy to illustrate future potential During its subsequent development the authors were directly involved in detailed negotiations with the landowner and with the sustaining dialogue with business and governmental stakeholders. Particularly during the campaign for funding support the landscape architects oversaw an extensive community engagement campaign that spanned several years and touched every community and each level of government. Engagement activities included: workshops, service club presentations, web presentations, media relations, and direct mail contact. This significant effort taken to communicate complex ideas with island residents resulted in broad community support spanning a wide political spectrum. Without this awareness of the importance of community engagement it is unlikely that the ICF could have achieved the significant momentum that has characterized its success.

Finally, the ICF has developed a range of policy direction and advocacy for sustainable development initiatives ranging from chemical free vegetation control measures to fully integrated rail-trails that would not otherwise have been incorporated into the management framework for this infrastructure. The adoption of these initiatives has become a key component of the Island Corridor Foundation’s brand as a responsible leader and advocate for sustainable and resilient communities.

THE BUSINESS CONTEXT FOR RAIL ON VANCOUVER ISLAND The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (E&N railway) was incorporated on September 27, 1883 as part of a transCanadian initiative to develop rail infrastructure linking Canadian provinces from Atlantic to Pacific. At the time, the Premier of the newly formed Province of British Columbia, Sir Robert Dunsmuir, developed a rail corridor between Esquimalt and Nanaimo in exchange for a substantial grant of land covering much of the southern part of Vancouver Island. The initial rail operation ran for 115 kilometers between Esquimalt and Nanaimo but was later extended into Victoria. In 1905, the E&N railway and its extensive land assets were transferred to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Over time, the railway was developed to become an important north-south transportation link stretching from Victoria to Courtenay and with an east-west connection between Nanaimo and Port Alberni.

The E&N Corridor extending 140 km. From Victoria to Courtenay is a key component of Vancouver Island’s post-contact economic and cultural history

The recent history of the North American rail business includes a continued evolution with profound consequences for Vancouver Island. Through consolidation and the advancement of intermodal logistics four mainline carriers have now emerged with strong networks focused on large scale long haul commodity movements. At the same time, peripheral assets have languished with a small number of short haul opportunities picked up by specialist operators.

For Vancouver Island this meant an extended period of dis-investment in infrastructure and business development.

In the mid 1990’s the east-west portion of the corridor was sold to Rail America who managed the movements of wood fibre and chemicals to the Port Alberni wood and paper operations for a number of years. Shortly after their purchase business operations in the wood and paper industry changed and these rail operations were no longer viable.

409

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE In 1998 the operator indicated its intention to cease rail operations. The operators exit strategy included the sale of remaining land assets to offset operating losses.

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP – THE ISLAND CORRIDOR FOUNDATION Faced with the imminent closure of the railway, and recognizing its formative potential for the future of Vancouver Island, local political and business leaders began a conversation about how this asset might be re-imagined in the context of the island’s future. Initially these conversations were undertaken in an ad hoc way with a wide divergence of opinion on a preferred approach. It is worth noting that the dialogue was sustained through this period by a number of economic imperatives that included: the prospect of direct and indirect job losses; the loss of substantial property tax revenue to local government; and the awareness that if the corridor were not retained the loss of economic opportunity would be permanent.

Over a period of two or three years this interest has coalesced in the form of a federally registered not for profit charity created to oversee the on-going management of the corridor. In 2003 the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) was established to pursue a collective community vision for the corridor. The creation of the foundation was in itself a noteworthy aspect of this process in that its creation signified a new attitude among community leaders toward economic development and collaboration. To understand the scope of this collaboration it is helpful to recognize that the corridor runs through 14 municipalities, 5 regional districts, and 12 First Nation territories. The creation of the foundation is significant for a least three reasons.

First among these is the fundamental concept of collaboration between First Nations and local government. Embedded within the founding documents for the ICF is the concept that First Nations and local government would be represented equally in the structure of the board of directors. With each constituency having six of the total 12 board representatives there is the assurance that the interests of all Vancouver Island residents are represented fairly in board decisions. In practice, the interests of these constituencies have been substantially aligned, but the awareness of need for collaborative solutions has been an important background characteristic.

A second noteworthy aspect of this governance structure comes with its status as a federally registered charity. This designation provided the ICF with an opportunity to offer tax forgiveness in exchange for the donation of assets from CPR. This ‘currency’ provided the necessary leverage with the landowners as it provided a viable exit strategy. An extensive third party valuation established a value for the land, buildings, and related rail assets which in turn formed the basis for negotiations with CPR. Without the ability to provide a tax receipt the alternative exit strategy involving sale of land assets and disaggregation of the corridor would have been the most likely outcome.

And finally, the creation of a board structure with representation from a broad cross section of community stakeholders, but focused on the business of sustaining corridor operations, allowed for an efficient and business-like management of this complex community owned asset.

On the basis of these structural benefits, a $366 million asset donation agreement was confirmed in 2005 that transferred ownership of the corridor and rail operations to the residents of Vancouver Island for the purposes described in the Foundation’s founding bylaws: • Acquire, preserve and develop for purposes of the Corporation and its objects, but for no other purposes, the Island Corridor • Maintain the continuity of the Island Corridor as a contiguous special use connection for all communities, while respecting and supporting First Nations interests and traditional lands and uses • Contribute to safe and environmentally sound passenger and freight rail services • Encourage a flexible infrastructure along the Island Corridor which will encourage a wide range of economic and trade activity for the benefit of all communities lying adjacent to the corridor • Preserve archaeological resources, historic landmarks, structures, artefacts and historic routes along the Corridor for historical purposes and for on-going and future use by the community • Create trails, parks, gardens, greenways and other public areas along the length of the Corridor • Conserve the environmental and spiritual features and functions of the Corridor in respect of the land, water and natural resources for the general benefit of the public • Do all such charitable activities which are incidental to and beneficial to the attainment of the purposes stated above.

THE RAIL BUSINESS After assuming control of the corridor the ICF set out to identify a competent rail operator and was able to implement

410

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE operational agreements with Southern Rail to take over the ongoing rail businesses in July 2006. These operations include four separate rail businesses: freight, intercity passenger services, commuter rail, and excursion. Recognizing the need for all four of these business operations to be successful ICF implemented a strategy to work with its operator to support and grow each business line.

Historically, freight has been the strongest of the four rail businesses. From a historic average of 7,800 rail cars prior to the decline in 1998, freight business fell to fewer than 900 in 2005.i Using its existing network of industry contacts the rail operator was able to grow freight business by 30% but this is still well below a sustainable level of operation.

An impediment to further growth was the need to redevelop the island infrastructure to support the heavier load weights which have become the North American standard. Direct access to the North American network is seen as a pre-condition to re-establishing sustainable levels of freight rail business.

A second mainstay of rail operations was the daily passenger operation run by VIA rail. Although a modest level of service, the passenger service provided an important sustaining revenue stream. Current difficulties have arisen where the absence of track maintenance investments have meant a deteriorating passenger experience. It is worth noting that the awareness raised by the public initiative to sustain rail service had the effect of reversing declines in passenger use confirming that a properly run and well marketed rail service may still attract a high level of use. ii A third rail business would focus on the development of a newly constituted commuter rail service along the southern portions of the corridor within the capital region. Separate business analysis has indicated a viable business model linking the western communities with downtown Victoria. Such a service is consistent with the region’s growth management strategies supporting the development of compact and liveable communities. Similarly the mode shift toward rail reduces the regions carbon footprint and defers the development of expensive and extensive road infrastructure. iii And finally, the tag-along business opportunities provided through the development of excursion activities support the growth of a tourism industry. The continuing operation of the Alberni Pacific Railway, supported by the extensive contributions of volunteer efforts, is a wonderful illustration of the business potential of these excursion services.

Excursion rail is unlikely to support the burden of track infrastructure on its own, but as a foundation block for a welldeveloped rail business it provides significant community benefit.

Sustainable rail operations on Vancouver Island require successful initiatives in each of these four business areas. As the cost of maintaining infrastructure is more or less fixed, the revenue from all available sources is needed to offset track maintenance expenses.

STATIONS The asset donation agreements undertaken by the ICF included the donation of 6 station buildings each of which is located within the community’s downtown, and each with significant heritage value. All of these buildings have been deployed for community use with the largest station in the City of Nanaimo providing the best example of the restorative opportunities.

In 2007 the Nanaimo Station was the victim of an arson attack that significantly damaged the building and rendered it unusable. Over the next 3 years $2.5 million was raised through a variety of sources to fully restore the station and provide a well used and thoroughly restored station. Funds for the station re-build were raised through a combination of fire insurance and a commercial mortgage, but even after these standard commercial tools were used a $400,000 shortfall had to be addressed to support the heritage restoration efforts. Community leaders worked through a variety of fund raising events to provide this additional financing so that the current station is now fully occupied and able to provide a continuing revenue stream for the Foundation. At the same time this redevelopment as seeded an urban renewal supporting reinvestment in adjacent downtown buildings.

INTER-REGIONAL TRAIL NETWORK Community ownership of the E&N rail corridor by the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) has generated an opportunity to create an inter-regional system of rails-with-trails, linking communities and rural areas along the entire length of the corridor. Extending through such a large number of government jurisdictions the ICF provided a unique venue to support collaborative efforts in trail-building.

Local and regional governments have each independently supported the development of rail-with-trails, particularly as they provide the opportunity to meet greenhouse gas reduction mandates through increased use of active, nonmotorized transportation within and between Vancouver Island communities. While providing a unique outdoor recreational potential, the inter-regional trail is expected to connect with transit, and park and ride systems to enhance commuter use and help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Rails-trails can take advantage of under-utilized community assets transforming often derelict spaces into active, nonmotorized, multi-use transportation corridors. Benefits of rails-trails include:

411

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE • Reduced pedestrian trespass coupled with reduced injury and fatalities: Rail rights-of-way have long been used as informal, illegal pathways for pedestrians as they typically offer the most direct route through communities.

Well-designed trails with adequate separation can help to keep trespassers off the operating portions of the rail corridor thus ensuring safety for both pedestrians and railway operations. The number of illegal track crossings can also be reduced through the design of channelized at-grade or grade separated crossings.

• Beautification and maintenance including reduced petty crime (vandalism, dumping, etc): Having municipal partners in the care of rail rights-of-way can mean cost-sharing for maintenance (i.e. mowing; weed removal and control) under railway protection. Trails within the right-of-way can also provide improved access for specialized maintenance and law-enforcement vehicles.

• Increased public awareness of rail service and the benefits of environmentally friendly transportation: Railswith-trails can help the public become more informed about the rail industry as well as the economic and environmental benefits of rail service. Along with this opportunity comes the task of ensuring consistent and clear design guidelines, covering all aspects of trail development with the additional challenge of ensuring safety for both rail and trail users.

The rail-trail project provided a set of physical design guidelines to be used for rails-with-trails within the E&N right of way as a component of trail implementation plans. The guidelines have been applied within active portions of lands owned by the Island Corridor Foundation including the Victoria and Alberni Subdivisions. To date over $20 million dollars have been invested in the development of rail-trails along the ICF corridor.

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR RAIL Building on the efforts described above the Island Corridor Foundation was now able to take a leading role as a driver of sustainable economic development on Vancouver Island. To make this step, a significant infrastructure re-investment would be required. This renewal project would have several key objectives: • To support for the Island’s remaining resource-based industries to compete and survive; • To stimulate economic development including tourism/business opportunities for First Nations and other communities, and; • To build a green transportation system to serve the Island’s growing population.

To achieve these outcomes the ICF would need to reverse decades of under-investment and insufficient maintenance which had diminished the corridor’s ability to carry freight and passengers.

The implementation of this reinvestment plan has been a significant focus of the Foundation’s ongoing work and continues at the time of writing. The business assumptions underlying the proposal described above have been tested through independent multi-account assessments undertaken by the provincial Ministry of Transportation and while the long term benefits of a sustainable rail business have been confirmed, the day to day business operations of the current operator have been adversely affected by global financial crisis.

It has been noted previously that rail has an inherently formative characteristic supporting development adjacent to the track that derives value from the permanence of this transportation investment.iv The impact of this is to support the development of stable and compact community forms that are consistent with regional growth management objectives and provincial greenhouse gas reduction mandates. At the same time, transportation alternatives such as truck (for freight) and bus (for passenger) are favoured by transportation planners because of the flexibility and incremental growth potential.

This intrinsic characteristic has continued to undermine the business case for rail investment in spite of the broad awareness among land use planners that rail transportation can be a leading indicator of urban form. Where transportation investments are measured on the merits of transportation efficiency alone it is unlikely that significant reinvestments can be achieved except in areas with a very high population density, or with a single dominant commodity shipper.

To overcome these disadvantages rail investments must incorporate a broader assessment of public benefit which is likely to include at least some of the following public investment objectives: • Green House Gas Reduction – Rail is recognized as a green alternative to ‘rubber tire’ transportation as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions while efficiently moving people and goods. The Island Corridor renewal project offers an opportunity for the province to meet its goals of reducing harmful emissions and greening the economy.

• Energy Efficiency – Modern railways use only ¼ of the energy per tonne-kilometre than trucks, representing an important cost saving and a critical environmental benefit.

412

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACTS OF RAIL Vancouver Island is well recognized for its natural beauty. In Victoria, the Capital Regional District predicts that urban growth will lead to an increase of 400,000 person-trips per day in the area over the next ten years.v Sprawl and congestion are already major public issues, and many Islanders instinctively recognize that sprawl and traffic affect our quality of life.

The Island Corridor Foundation’s long-term plan envisions an integrated transportation system that uses trains, buses, park-and-ride facilities, and bicycle and walking paths along the Island Corridor. These will contribute to a The Island Corridor renewal project will also help reduce pressure to develop expensive highways and promote more compact, liveable cities - essential goals if we are to achieve a carbon-neutral lifestyle greater quality of life for Island residents and protect natural areas threatened by increasing development.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR FIRST NATIONS According to Aboriginal Tourism BC’s (ATBC) BluePrint Strategy, Aboriginal tourism is the fastest growing sector of the British Columbia tourism industry.

ICF anticipates that there will be a number of First Nations-owned tourism businesses with growth potential that could benefit from additional rail traffic including: campsites, motel/hotel, boating charters and adventure tourism. As equity partners, there are many opportunities for First Nations to use the rail to improve business or to invest or partner in other rail infrastructure and/or maintenance such as rail line construction, maintenance and vegetation management.

CONCLUSION Landscape architecture has much to contribute to the evolving form of resilient communities. Whether developing responses to changing climactic conditions or evolving economic conditions rural communities are often both separate from and affected by global economic trends. In this case the changing business of rail transportation has resulted in a substantial local collaboration which has provided the infrastructure to support local economic development. To achieve this opportunity local business and political leaders have been bold risk takers and thoughtful innovators, and through this process have been supported by the vision and insight unique to the study of landscape architecture.

These contributions have been provided in two important ways.

Landscape architects, through training and practice, are keen observers of the way that communities evolve and respond to local circumstance. On Vancouver Island the failure of a rail business has provided an opportunity to adapt existing infrastructure to support the development of communities that are compact, resilient and prosperous.Whether through the development of commuter rail, inter-regional trails, or redeveloped heritage rail stations, or a viable freight rail business, community control has provided a renewed opportunity to integrate business and community life. The early articulation of these opportunities provided by the landscape architect has been a key ingredient to encouraging community action.

In addition to the support provided in articulating a community vision, the basic tools and skills of landscape architecture have been an important ingredient to the success of this project. First among these is the ability to engage and coalese public support for a broad community objective.The role of the landscape architect in coordinating public engagement aspects of this project has been a key component of its ongoing success.

Awareness of the land management requirements for this large land holding has been an essential skill in supporting the Foundation. From vegetation management to the land agreements to the awareness of the need for integrated spatial and cultural planning, the unique perspective of landscape architecture is a unique prerequisite to success for this project.

Ensuring sustained economic growth and a diversified economy with competitive primary industries that support highpaying jobs, will require sustainable transportation that is efficient, affordable and accessible; that ensures environmental integrity; and, that preserves the safety and quality of life for all Island residents. This vision for resilient communities can only be achieved where there is a vision that unites all Islanders. i

Personal correspondence, Southern Rail of Vancouver Island, Senior Management, circa 2007.

ii

Personal correspondence, Southern Rail of Vancouver Island Senior Management, circa 2007.

iii

Railway Association of Canada, Rail’s Track Record in Sustainable Transportation

(http://www.Railcan.ca/documents/publications/2006_10_24_DOH_Sustainable_en.pdf).

Jeff Kenworthy, Felix Laube, Peter Newman and Paul Barter, “Indicators of Transport Efficiency in 37 Global Cities”, (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1997). iv

Capital Regional District, Regional Growth Strategy Five-year Review, Population, Employment & Dwelling projections to 2038, Future Population, Labour Force, Employment and Housing in the Capital Regional District, Final Report August 2009. http://www.crd.bc.ca/regionalplanning/growth/ v

413

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE index.htm. v

Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia (http://www.aboriginalbc.com/trellis/vancouverIsland).

REFERENCES BC Ministry of Environment, State of Environment Reporting: Greenhouse Gas Emissions in British Columbia, (http://www. env.gov.bc.ca/soerpt/996greenhouse/emissionsglance.html).

BC Ministry of Transportation, Trans-Canada Highway 1 -- Malahat Corridor Study Final Report, July 2007. http://www.th.gov. bc.ca/malahat/index.htm Cruise BC, Developing the Economic Opportunity of the Cruise Industry in British Columbia, September 2007, (http://www. cruisebc.ca/pdfs/CruisebcEconomicStats2006.pdf).

Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) and Southern Rail of Vancouver Island (SVI), Our Corridor: Rail Redefined: Casebook for Infrastructure Funding, 2008.

Jeff Kenworthy, Felix Laube, Peter Newman and Paul Barter, “Indicators of Transport Efficiency in 37 Global Cities”, (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1997).

Railway Association of Canada, “Rail’s Track Record in Sustainable Transportation,” (http://www.Railcan.ca/documents/ publications/2006_10_24_DOH_Sustainable_en.pdf)

48. THE EMERGENT NORTHWEST PASSAGE Cho L, Jull M University of Virginia ABSTRACT With global warming reducing sea ice to unprecedented levels in the arctic, the Northwest Passage has the potential to become an international shipping autobahn between Europe and Asia through northern Canada. What was once an inhospitable domain that claimed European explorers in the 18th century, now sits amidst geopolitical conflicts in a region caught in a complex web of international security crises, national sovereignty claims, and economic disputes. The impact on landscape, ecologies, and communities in the face of these changes is inevitable. In this paper, zones and regions under greatest stress from natural resource extraction environmental degradation, and loss of habitats and permafrost are mapped with the goal of creating a framework for exploring future development of the arctic and the Northwest Passage.

ARCTIC OVERVIEW The arctic is changing because of increased global temperatures, with the arctic warming twice as fast as the global average [Astill, 2012]. Over the past 50 years, the annual average temperature in Alaska, for example, has increased approximately 2 degree Celsius, while winters have warmed even more, by 3.6 degree Celsius [Karl, et al.,2009]. The arctic is experiencing, for example, a dramatic reduction in sea ice, rising sea levels due to melting ice caps, glaciers and thermal expansion of the oceans [Cazenave and Llovel, 2010]; re-orientation of weather patterns [Li, et al., 2012]; release of methane gas due to thawing permafrost [Schaefer, 2012]; and extraordinary changes in animal habitats and migration of species [Chen, et al., 2009].

With the reduction of sea ice, previously ice-locked waterways are now open for shipping traffic, untapped natural resources are becoming available for exploration and extraction, and arctic tourism is starting to accelerate [Astill, 2012]. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds 13% of the remaining undiscovered petroleum, 30% of undiscovered gas, and includes large swathes of rocks rich in minerals [Gautier, et al., 2009]; Diamonds and nickel are plentiful, the waters are rich with fish, and the region is bordered by the vast boreal forest belt, which holds onethird of global forests and perhaps 40% of economic forest resources [Kullerud, 2011]. Such vast untapped resources have the potential for major global economic impact and are the root of territorial disputes. The five Arctic countries Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, and the U.S., as well as non-arctic nations such as China are jockeying for position to lay claim to - and control - as much land and marine territory as possible.

414

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 1: Overview of economic, political, environmental, and settlement factors that are shaping the arctic. Like a giant game of risk, the arctic nations are jockeying for territory and development of the arctic with these boundaries and zones marking an ever-shifting landscape strategies.

[Data sources: 10, 11, 12, 13 & 26].

Unlike the long-held myth of the arctic as an isolated and untouched region on earth, the present-day arctic is made up of a complex web of economic infrastructure, (mainly prompted by natural resource extraction), developed coastal and riverine cities and towns, (though mainly concentrated in Russia and U.S), maritime territorial disputes among Arctic Rim nations, remnants of Cold War history across North America to Iceland, and permanent and seasonal eco-habitats as illustrated in Figure 1a. Major oil, gas and mineral extraction and smelter sites are evident in Prudhoe Bay (U.S.), Mackenzie delta (Canada), Grundartangi (Iceland), North Sea oil fields (Norway), and Ob River and Yamal (Russia). These have served as major drivers for urban and economic development in the past several decades [Young, 1992].

Large portions of the Arctic region - especially in northern Greenland, central Canadian Archipelago, eastern Siberia and western Alaska - consists of small villages with seasonal populations and a minimum infrastructural foundation, often resulting in a friction between current economic activities and environment-sensitive cultural heritage [Olsen and Yardley, 2011]. The current condition of the arctic region is therefore highly polarized contrast between urban hubs of economic maturity and small villages and unpopulated areas disconnected from regional and global commerce.

Figure 1a: Convergence of economic, political and ecological activities in the Northwest Passage. Current oil and gas extraction sites are concentrated in the western section of the Northwest Passage between Mackenzie bay (CA), Prudhoe Bay and Barrow (US). Prospective oil and gas reserves are largely located in the eastern entrance of the NWP between Davis Strait and Labrador Sea as well as in the central upper part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in Queen Elizabeth and Ellesmere Islands. [Data sources: 10, 11, 12, 13 & 26].

415

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE NORTHWEST PASSAGE One of the key elements in the development of the arctic is the Northwest Passage which is a complex, coastal waterway threading for several thousand kilometers through the Canadian arctic. Historically the Northwest Passage has earned a reputation as a magnet for adventurous Europeans spurred by a desire to discover unknown lands and seas and commercial interests hoping to open lucrative East-West trade routes [Ellis and Brigham, 2009]. Since Amundsen’s first successful transit in the early 20th century, only 100 registered vessels have made complete transit via one of 7 different routes [Macneill, 2007; Figure 2]. The region has virtually no roads, no rail lines and air services are both infrequent and very costly [Ellis and Brigham, 2009]. There are also unique geographic and climatic conditions that make the region challenging for maritime navigation, including the presence of ice for most of the year, as well as the many narrow and shallow, often uncharted, areas [Ellis and Brigham, 2009].

Figure 2: Seven routes of the Northwest Passage [Data source: Macneill, 2007].

With reduced sea ice coverage that is currently being observed, and projected to increase in the future, the Northwest Passage will become a viable shipping route. The following outcomes are expected: 1. Global Shipping: Ships will be able to skip the longer Panama or Suez Canals detours and travel through the Northwest Passage, drastically reducing the time, cost, and distance of moving goods between global markets [Somanathan, et al., 2009].

2. Natural Resource Exploration: The development of mineral resources, tourism and commercial fishing will also be advanced by the advent of more favorable conditions. The lessening of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean will reduce the costs of oil and gas extraction and therefore promote increased activity.

3. Arctic Development: Improved access via the Northwest Passage will reduce the cost of transporting goods, which in turn will likely facilitate the development of coastal towns and infrastructure and increase employment opportunities. However for this development to occur, there are many factors which need to be addressed, such as placement of navigation aids, traffic management, inspections and security.

Despite the fact that the NWP passes through Canada, its importance for global commerce and military strategy is highlighted by the fact that the U.S. and European Union have claimed it is an international waterway [Carnaghan and Goody, 2006]. The economic implications of this dispute are clear: if Canada can uphold the Northwest Passage as an internal waterway, all ships travelling this route would be required to pay transit fees similar to those paid for passage through Panama and Suez Canals. Canada has announced the planning and development of two new military bases in the Canadian Arctic situated at strategic positions along the Northwest Passage [Prime Minister‌, 2007].

POPULATION AND LABOR IN FLUX Associated with a warming climate, there is a clear increase in the population of arctic cities, towns and villages. Figures 3 and 3a show the population change over the past ten to eleven years. The diameter of the circles represents relative, with magenta being most recent (2010-2011) and green from 2000-2001.

416

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 3: Major settlements along the Northwest Passage.Two largest cities, Iqaluit and Barrow, are at the two ends of the shipping corridor. [Data sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 13].

Figure 3a: Most cities and towns along the Northwest Passage experienced population growth in the past five to ten years (indicated in green).

The population in Prudhoe Bay grew exponentially since 2000. [Data sources: 1, 2, 3 & 4].

There are several key results of this data: 1. The most populated city along the Northwest Passage is Iqaluit, NU in Canada (6,699 in 2011), followed by Barrow, AK in the U.S. (4,212 in 2010) – the two cities on either end of the Northwest Passage. In the scale of the entire Arctic region however, this is a small number. For instance, the population of Murmansk, Russia (307,257 in 2010) – the largest city north of the Arctic Circle – is approximately 50 times bigger than that of Iqaluit.

2. Out of 18 Canadian cities and towns surveyed, the population of 13 of them grew in 2006-2011. Gjoa Haven in Nunavut shows the highest percentage of population increase.

3. In the U.S., Prudhoe Bay shows an exponential growth in population in 2000-2010 by 43,480%. The remaining three major cities and towns in northern Alaska indicate a significant decrease or minimum increase in population.

4. Settlements located in Baffin Island facing David Strait and south of Victoria Island towards the mainland Canada show general increase in population in the past years. Northern and western portions of the archipelago facing the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean, however, indicate a decrease in population as well as in Alaska and Mackenzie delta with an exception of Prudhoe Bay.

417

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 4: Several settlement clusters (Barrow, Prudhoe Bay, Resolute and Iqaluit) are located not only at the mouths of the Northwest Passage but also within and near the future oil and gas reserves. [Data sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 13 & 26].

Comparing the population change [Figure 3] with current resource extraction and prospective oil and gas reserves sites. Figure 4 shows the cause of demographic changes in the arctic. . Prospective extraction sites can be summarized into three zones: Chukchi/Beaufort coasts, Queen Elizabeth Islands/Ellesmere Island, and south of Davis Strait. Currently, Barrow/Prudhoe Bay and Iqaluit are strategically located not only at the entrance and exit of the Northwest Passage, but also as potential host sites for resource extraction and economic development. Based on future work potentials related to oil and gas economy – which would attract permanent and seasonal workers into this region – the following cities and towns can be identified as potential stress zones that could experience population fluctuation and new pressures for urbanization: 1. Zone P1: Barrow/Prudhoe Bay 2. Zone P2: Resolute 3. Zone P3: Iqaluit DYNAMIC BIO-HABITATS The map of key bio-habitat zones in Figure 5 identifies areas where Arctic terrestrial, marine and avian species are commonly found both in summer and winter seasons between Chukchi Sea (west) and Labrador Sea (east) of the Northwest Passage. This region, which includes the Canadian Archipelago of approximately 36,000 islands, provides important habitat for a range of permanent and migratory species, and there are many ecologically sensitive areas where animals gather in large numbers at certain times and may be vulnerable to impacts of shipping [Ellis and Brigham, 2009].Terrestrial and marine mammals such as polar bears, walrus, beluga, bowhead whales, narwhals and harp seals are indicated in pink-fills and blue-hatches; Fish and invertebrate species such as Arctic Char, Greenland Halibut, Greenland Shark, and coral and sponges are indicated in pink-dots; and key migratory bird marine and terrestrial habitat sites are shown in blue rectangles. Between 1991 and 2010, the extent of the Arctic that has some form of protected status doubled from 5.6% to 11% [Protected Areas…, 2012]. According to the latest Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) assessment in 2010, there are now 1,127 protected areas covering 3.5 million km2 of the Arctic; however, the status does not yet include biologically important marine areas [Protected Areas…, 2012]. The study led by Iceland is currently pending for approval.

418

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 5: The Canadian Archipelago as well as the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are the permanent or migratory sites for key marine, terrestrial and avian species. [Data sources: 6, 10, 14, 15, 25 & 26].

The following observations can be made from the map Figure 6: 1. Marine mammals such as whales, beluga and narwhals migrate and are commonly found in the two end sections of the Northwest Passage. The central part of the NWP surrounding Queen Elizabeth Islands and Victoria Island is less populated with marine mammal species.

2. Terrestrial mammals such as polar bears are evenly spread throughout the Chukchi and Beaufort coasts as well as in the Canadian Archipelago; however the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, south of Victoria Island in the Coronation Gulf, and northern Foxe Basin are less populated with terrestrial mammal species.

3. Migratory bird sites overlapping with the Northwest Passage are generally clustered in five zones – Alaskan coast east of Point Barrow; western coast of Banks Island and Queen Elizabeth Islands; northern Baffin Bay; Cumberland Sound near Pangnirtung; Queen Maud Gulf near Cambridge Bay. 4. Habitats with great mix of all terrestrial, marine and avian species are located in five zones along the Alaskan coastline between Point Hope and Point Barrow, Mackenzie delta, Canadian coastline of Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, Foxe Basin near Hall Beach and Cape Dorset, and Queen Maud Gulf near Cambridge Bay. Lancaster Sound between Resolute and Pond Inlet surrounding the Sirmilik National Park is currently proposed as National Marine Conservation Area by Parks Canada and has large concentration of polar bears [Beckett, et al., 2012].

419

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 6:Valuable ecological clusters intersect with the Northwest Passage corridors. [Data sources: 6, 10, 11, 13 & 27].

Based on the current locations of critical habitat sites along the Northwest Passage, we can identify the following five stress zones where future introduction and amplification of commercial activities along the Northwest Passage could have major impacts on the habitats and migratory ranges in the area [Figure 6]: • Zone E1: Chukchi/Beaufort Coasts • Zone E2: Coronation/Queen Maud Gulfs • Zone E3: Viscount Melville/Lancaster Sounds • Zone E4: Hudson Strait/Foxe Basin • Zone D5: Davis Strait Coast All zones except E2 lie at the mouths of the Northwest Passage. Zone E2 is located in the central section.

FUTURE WORK

Figure 7: As the arctic thaws, it has become a dreamland rich in resources. The scientific data of decreasing sea ice extent (left) now has a conceptual flip: increasing economic and cultural opportunities (right).

The mapping presented in this paper aims to develop a primary framework for understanding the factors that are both influencing the changes occurring in the arctic, and the potential impacts. As the tundra retreats northwards, large areas of the arctic will become suitable for agriculture; plant growth will increase, significantly prompted by early arctic spring; precious minerals such as gold, zinc and iron will be mined; exploration licenses for oil and gas are already being issued across the region; global shipping routes are gravitating towards the melting, navigable Arctic Ocean; and this consequence of climate change will even allow more hydrocarbons to be extracted and burned [Moon, 2013; Astill, 2012; Figure 7]. To this end, the “cold rush” of the twenty-first century is well on its way, creating an unprecedented new spectrum of opportunities, wealth and human experience as well as a set of new planet-scale challenges of climate change we have not dealt with before. For many, the Arctic is a new frontier – a realm of eternal sunsets, magical aurora and untouched landscapes, now finally becoming unlocked from the grip of deep freeze. The key stress zones identified in the Northwest Passage indicate areas that are in great flux at the intersection of economy, ecology and

420

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE settlement and deserve a closer look prior to any development and/or expansion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2000 Census Gateway. (2000). Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html 2. 2006 Census. (2006). Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/ prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E 3. 2010 Census Data. (2010). Retrieved from U.S. Census 2010: http://www.census.gov/2010census/data/ 4. 2011 Census. (2011). Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/ prof/index.cfm?Lang=E 5. Astill, J. (2012, June 16). The Arctic: Cold Comfort. The Economist, pp. 1-16.

6. Beckett, J., Marcotte, M., Chiperzak, D., Wheeler, B., Jefferies, R., Ebner, D., & Setterington, M. (2012, February). Nunavut Wildlife Resource and Habitat Values. Retrieved February 15, 2013, from Nunavut Planning Commission: http://www. nunavut.ca/files/wildlife_report/Nunavut_Wildlife_Resource_and_Habitat_Values_2012.pdf 7. Carnaghan, M., & Goody, A. (2006). Canadian Arctic Sovereignty. Parliament of Canada PIRS, Political and Social Affairs Division. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0561-e.pdf 8. Cazenave, A., & Llovel, W. (2010). Contemporary Sea Level Rise. Annual Review of Marine Science, 2, 145-173.

9. Chen, I., Hill, J. K., Ohlemuller, R., Roy, D. B., & Thomas, C. D. (2011, August 19). Rapid Range Shifts of Species Associated with High Levels of Climate Warming. Science, 333(6045), 1024-1026.

10. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). (2010). Arctic Protected Areas 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from ArcticData: http://arcticdata.is/?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=22:2010&Itemid=169 11. Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). (2010). Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010: Selected indicators of change.

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna. CAFF International Secretariat.

12. Ellis, B., & Brigham, L. (2009). Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 2009 Report. second printing, Arctic Council. Retrieved February 25, 2013, from http://www.pame.is/images/stories/PDF_Files/AMSA_2009_Report_2nd_print.pdf 13. Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector, & The Atlas of Canada. (2012, July 18).

Circumpolar International Polar Year (2008). Retrieved January 30, 2013, from Government of Canada GeoGratis (API): http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/841557d4-09ce-55b9-87f7-63046006e10c.html 14. Huntington, H. P., & Quakenbush, L. T. (2009). Traditional Knowledge of Bowhead Whale Migratory Patterns near Kaktovik and Barrow, Alaska. The Barrow and Kaktovik Whaling Captains Association and The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/about/management/ wildlifemanagement/marinemammals/pdfs/tk_barrow_kaktovik.pdf 15. Important Bird Areas. (2012, December). Retrieved February 14, 2013, from Audubon Alaska: http://ak.audubon.org/ important-bird-areas-4 16. Karl, T. R., Melillo, J. M., & Peterson, T. C. (2009). Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved February 23, 2013, from http://downloads.globalchange.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/ climate-impacts-report.pdf 17. Klinkenborg, V. (2008, June 5). The Next Frontier: Polar Tourism. The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/the-next-frontier-polar-tourism/ 18. Kullerud, Lars. (2011, October 13). Sustainability: A green Arctic. Nature, 478, 179-180.

19. Lamson, C., & VanderZwaag, D. L. (1990). Challenge of Arctic Shipping : Science, Environmental, Assessment, and Human Values. Montreal; Buffalo: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

20. Li, W., Li, L., Ting, M., & Liu, Y. (2012). Intensification of Northern Hemisphere subtropical highs in a warming climate.

Nature Geoscience, 5, 830-834.

21. Macneill, C. M. (January 01, 2007). Gaining Command & Control of the Northwest Passage: Strait Talk on Sovereignty.

The Transportation Law Journal, 34, 4, 355-390.

22. Mulherin, N., Sodhi, D., & Smallidge, E. (1994). Northern Sea Route and Icebreaking Technology: An Overview of Current Conditions. Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory. Hanover: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/library/crrelreports/NSR.pdf 23. Moon, S. (2013, Winter). A New Wild West. Harvard International Review, 34(3), pp. 8-9.

421

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE 24. Olsen, E., & Yardley, W. (2011, October 26). Arctic Village Is Torn by Plan For Oil Drilling. New York Times, p. A15(L).

25. Prime Minister announces expansion of Canadian Forces facilities and operations in the Arctic. (2007, August 10). Retrieved from Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper News Releases: http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media. asp?category=1&id=1784 26. Protected Areas Assessments. (2012). Retrieved February 20, 2013, from Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna: Arctic Biodiversity Portal Assessments: http://caff.is/protected-areas-assessments2 27. Rekacewicz, P. (2007, October 19). Géopolitique de l’Arctique : la course pour les ressources. Retrieved February 2, 2013, from Cartographier le present: http://www.cartografareilpresente.org/article149.html 28. Schaefer, K. (2012). Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved January 19, 2013, from http://www.unep.org/pdf/permafrost.pdf 29. Somanathan, S., Flynn, P., & Szymanski, J. (2009). The Northwest Passage: A simulation. Transportation Research, 43, 127135.

30. Young, O. R. (1992). Arctic Politics: Conflict and Cooperation in the Circumppolar North. Hanover and London: University Press of New England.

49. GIVE AND TAKE: LANDSCAPE FLUX IN QUEENSLAND FROM PIT TO PORT Davies W, Renata A AECOM ABSTRACT Landscapes evolve simultaneously with human perception of what is ‘natural’. Queensland is renowned for its scenic natural landscapes; however, these have been in a constant state of flux, which has rapidly accelerated post European settlement.

The speed at which these landscapes are now changing is matched only by the scale and magnitude of the transformation occurring.

A key force for change is the resources industry. As demand for finite resources increases in response to growing global demand, the Queensland extractive industry continues to boom. This is resulting in incremental changes to whole landscape systems through the process of resource extraction, transport, processing and export. At the same time, our perception of what defines the character of the Queensland landscape becomes tainted with an acceptance that such vast, sparsely settled, landscapes should easily be able to accommodate the intrusion of the resources industry.

This paper considers the broad role of the Landscape Architect in building the resilience of landscapes and communities to the potential impacts of the resources industry, drawing upon examples from Queensland but with potential application in developing nations with growing resource sectors. It explores how the profession can use established techniques to assist in re-directing change to those landscapes that are most inherently resilient, for example through Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) and allied processes. Beyond this, it considers the wider role of the profession to plan beyond the life of the project, to bring about positive, long term, self-sustaining community and landscape outcomes.

INTRODUCTION There can be few interventions in the landscape considered more ‘radical’ than the mining and extraction of natural resources. These changes extend considerably beyond the immediate mine with its associated voids and stockpiles or well site to the wider landscape due to the need to develop infrastructure to transport, process, and export the resource. Beyond this, indirect landscape impacts arise, ranging from the construction of mine workers’ accommodation through to the development of towns and cities whose growth is dependent on the economic stimulus and raw materials that the resources sector provides. In the face of these changes, it is pertinent to ask just how resilient are the landscapes and communities affected to this change? Moreover, how can the knowledge of the Landscape Architecture profession be applied to assist in building the long-term resilience of landscapes to change through involvement at the planning, construction, operation and rehabilitation phases of resources projects?

These questions are of particular relevance to the State of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is currently enjoying a “once-in-a-generation resources boom” [Queensland Government, Skills Queensland, 2012] that despite some recent downturn is forecast by many to continue.The boom centres on coal, natural gas (notably Coal Seam Gas) and various metal ores and its landscape effects are far-reaching. As a recent KPMG report states “It can be difficult to get our minds around the sheer scale of the current energy and mineral resources boom. Its physical manifestations are largely remote from our major centres of population but the economic consequences are touching the lives of all Australians.” [KPMG, 2011]. But

422

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Queensland is renowned worldwide as much for the beauty and diversity of its landscapes as for the importance of its natural resources. So if resource extraction and landscape integrity can be reconciled here, there may be important lessons for emerging resource areas, particularly in developing nations. Landscape Architects across Queensland have become involved in a range of projects that seek to take advantage of the benefits of the mining boom in creating a positive built legacy whilst undertaking sensitive planning and design of resourcing projects to enhance the capacity of the landscape to recover in the long term. Some of these projects, undertaken by the authors while working as Landscape Planners with AECOM, are referred to here.

THE LANDSCAPES OF QUEENSLAND Queensland is the second largest Australian state at 1.73 million square kilometres [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011] – seven times larger than the British Isles [Queensland Government, Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2012].The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA7) defines thirteen bioregions within Queensland as shown on Figure 1 that indicate distinct zones based on climate, lithology/geology, landform, vegetation, flora and fauna, and land use which broadly delineate the variation in landscape character across the State [Australian Government, [Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, 2013]. These encapsulate a wide variety of experiences ranging from largely natural wildernesses, for example within Cape York Peninsula; arid inlands such as the Desert Uplands; lush rainforests including the Wet Tropics around Cairns; the productive rural landscapes of the Brigalow Belt; to the more intensely inhabited landscapes of Southeast Queensland that are centred on the State’s capital Brisbane. Five World Heritage Areas (WHA) are located in Queensland, three of which meet the WHA criterion of containing “superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance” [Queensland Government, Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, 2012].

These internationally-valued landscapes include the rainforests of the Wet Tropics around Cairns, the world’s largest sand island at Fraser Island and the iconic coastal landscapes of the Great Barrier Reef.

THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF QUEENSLAND The richness of the natural landscape is rivalled only by the bounty of its energy and mineral resources. Lying beneath the diverse Queensland landscape are billions of tonnes of fossil fuels and minerals including world class coal, gas and metal ores that fetch premium prices when exported to the global market [Queensland Resources Council, 2013 and Australian Coal Association 2013]. Resources are not located evenly throughout the State and there are particular concentrations of activity around Mount Isa, Weipa and within the Bowen, Galilee and Surat Basins (See Figure 1).There are also extensive transportation networks between these areas and the key export ports.

Drilling operations have identified that an estimated 30 billion tonnes of raw coal occurs beneath Queensland soil. A further eight billion tonnes of coking coal - high quality coal used in iron and steel making - has also been identified; approximately four billion tonnes of this being likely to prove suitable for extraction by open-cut mining. The Bowen and Surat Basins are the primary sources of export coal, with additional sources also being located in the Galilee Basin in western central Queensland. In 2012, approximately 60 coal mines were operational and more than 40 had leases granted or applications under consideration [Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, 2012].These mines are serviced by both electrified and non-electrified freight rail lines that transport coal to the six coal export terminals for distribution to the global market by 200,000 tonne ships [ibid].

Defying recent global economic downturn, Queensland’s Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry also continues to grow, with the annual number of wells drilled per annum increasing from ten in the early 1990s to nearly 600 in 2010– 2011 [Queensland Government, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2012]. CSG resources are commonly used to produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet the increasing global demand for gas. Approximately 4000 kilometres of gas pipelines currently exist. CSG resources are widely distributed throughout Queensland; however the Bowen and Surat Basins offer the greatest prospects for future growth in this sector with pipelines being developed to the emerging major LNG export hub at Gladstone.

Queensland is a globally significant mineral exporter, being one of the world’s largest producers of lead, zinc and copper.

The State boasts Australia’s largest copper production, second largest bauxite (aluminum) export and third largest gold production. A wide range of other key materials are also found in Queensland and further consideration is being given to the opportunities and economics of extraction. [Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, 2012]. Such resources also include uranium, which will become mined for the first time in 30 years after an extraction ban was recently lifted by State Government [Barrett, 2012]. Hence, the resource sector continues to grow the Queensland economy; providing jobs and supporting ongoing technological development around the globe. The importance of this is recognised by the inclusion of resources (with agriculture, tourism and construction) as one of the “four pillars” of the Queensland economy by the State Government [Queensland Government, Campbell Newman Premier of Queensland, 2013].

THE INFLUENCE OF MINING ON LANDSCAPE FROM PIT TO PORT

423

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE The sensitivity of Queensland’s landscapes to extractive industry varies according to the inherent qualities of the landscape and its capacity to accept change. Capacity can be considered as “the degree to which a particular landscape character type or area is able to accommodate change without significant effects on its character; or overall change of landscape character type. Capacity is likely to vary according to the type and nature of change being proposed” [Swanwick and Land Use Consultants, 2002]. When one considers the impact of the resources industry on landscape, the image that typically comes to mind is of a denuded landscape with an open pit surrounded by large, frequently unsightly, waste dumps and material stockpiles (refer to Plate 1). However, this is only part of the story and each stage of resource delivery – frequently known as the ‘pit to port’ lifecycle – needs consideration. Increasingly in Queensland, key to the feasibility of mine planning is the ancillary infrastructure needed to deliver the resource to market. This includes transportation routes – conveyor, road, freight rail (refer to Plate 2) or pipeline – which become ever longer as the economic viability of the resource increases and production moves further from the coast [Duffy, Andrew, 2012]. Ports also expand, affecting the coastal landscape (refer to Plate 3) with the majority of Queensland’s significant export ports lying on the east coast close to the Great Barrier Reef (See Figure 1). Thus, landscape changes extend considerably beyond the immediate mine or well site to the wider landscape due to the development of infrastructure required to transport, process, and export the resource. Beyond this, indirect landscape impacts also arise ranging from the development of temporary and permanent workers’ accommodation through to the economic stimulus and provision of raw materials and energy that are required to develop towns and cities [McCarthy, 2011].

Landscape is also influenced by the economic cycles of the industry which is subject to peaks and troughs as determined by global demand, exchange rates and factors that lie largely out of the control of the State or the operators. During ‘booms’ the State often experiences an increase in employment, as well as increased migration (both national and internationally) by those looking to further their careers in the resources sectors. This can result in higher numbers of business visitors but may lead to a drop off in other forms of tourism as international visitors grapple with the expense associated with the high exchange rate of the Australian dollar [The Hon Martin Furguson AM MP, 2012]. With this growth, a desire may arise at State government level to simplify approval processes to ensure the resource industry can maximise returns and meet demand. This can include arguments to streamline aspects of policy that protect landscape values. In contrast, a slow-down in the export of natural resources may also correspond with a drop in the Australian dollar, increases in unemployment as projects come to a halt or go on hold, and can cause general instability in the economy. Abrupt stoppages can also have detrimental impacts on the landscapes which are being mined, where unexpected financial constraints can put pressure on finances for the appropriate level of closure, decommissioning or rehabilitation. Methods of adaptation to such variances in growth are often difficult to manage from an economic and environmental perspective. Nonetheless, opportunities exist to safeguard Queensland’s landscapes and visual effects to minimise the short term impacts and promote the positive outcomes of the mining boom, as is evidenced by examples in both Australia and around the globe.

PERCEPTION OF THE LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACTS OF MINING Queensland is globally recognised for its outstanding and “unforgettable” natural landscapes made up of rugged coastlines, dense rainforests and the red soils of the Australian Outback [Destination Queensland, 2013]. Destination Queensland, the official tourism site for Queensland in the Americas, further describes it as “a landscape which seems endless - this is Queensland’s Outback. An amazing country of red hills, plains that stretch to eternity” [ibid]. Key experiences marketed by tourism promoters include exploring nature and world heritage sites, visiting the Outback and spending time at coastal beaches and reefs. Minimal reference is made to the resources industry in the marketing of rural Queensland. Tourist-oriented Outback experiences state they involve activities such as discovering unique flora and fauna, shearing, mustering and fencing. While these experiences are likely to be exactly as described, in travelling through these landscapes a visitor may notice aspects of fragmentation to the natural patterns and processes surrounding them arising as a result of pit to port activities.

Perceptions towards changes that are occurring as a result of the resource sector vary widely amongst the audiences that experience them as well as to the different types of resource extraction methods and their associated infrastructure.

Tourists, local communities and workers have different expectations of their landscape and it seems logical that these perceptions are of the highest importance when considering impacts.

424

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 1: Mining in relation to Queensland’s Natural Landscapes

Plate 1: Indicative aerial view of mining landscape

425

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Plate 2: Indicative view of freight rail

Plate 3: Indicative aerial view of export port

The experience of the Queensland resources sector, from a tourist’s perspective, may be as minor as seeing glimpsed views of a gas well in a paddock, or observing vegetation clearance from the road on which they travel. They may also observe more noticeable changes, such as a view of distant landmark mountain as it becomes obscured by large overburden stockpiles and industrial buildings or a view to an export facility stumbled across by a tourist hiking an offshore island. It is how these views are perceived in the context of visitor expectations that is crucial to understanding the most appropriate response moving forward, as not all visual changes are perceived as negative. For example, The Mackay Region offers guided tours of open cut mines and coal ports as well as producing mining trail driving brochures that can be obtained from visitor information centres in the region [Mackay Tourism, 2013].

Local communities are faced with somewhat different experiences associated with changes to landscape character and the visual implications of living in an area that is affected by the resources sector. Whilst there is no extensive data on the subject across the whole of Queensland, a 2004 study was made of resident viewing preferences as part of the process for the preparation of the South East Queensland Regional Plan [Queensland Government, Department of Infrastructure and Planning, 2009]. Based on this, Scenic Preference Ratings (SPR) were determined for a range of different viewing experiences. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the views of mined landscapes, quarries etc. were generally perceived unfavourably with SPR ratings generally being recorded as between 1 and 2 out of a total score of 10 (See images B001 and B006 of SEQ 2004 Image Library Tool 1) [Queensland Government Office of Urban Management and Department of Infrastructure, 2007]. It is possible that in communities that rely on mining landscapes, higher values may be recorded as familiarity can sometimes tend to increase the connection of communities to landscape, decreasing negative perceptions at least of certain types of infrastructure [Hall, Ashworth, & Shaw, 2012]. Incidentally, this connection between people and place can also be drawn from descriptions of resources landscapes in literature.

For example; the oil landscapes of the Texas Panhandle in E Annie Proulx’s That Old Ace in the Hole [Proulx, 2002] and the description of the Nottingham coalfields by DH Lawrence (himself a miner’s son) in Sons and Lovers [Lawrence, 1913].

Nevertheless, affected landholders, particularly where located close to operating facilities, may be subjected and concerned by ever changing views of their local landscapes.What were vast open agricultural plains may be transformed into mounded piles of overburden of up to 90 metres in height with carefully calculated geometric batters that stand out from the natural undulating patterns of the surrounding landform. As the industry moves through its lifecycle,

426

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE these views are likely to be in a constant state of flux, with mounds of earth moving, relocating, growing, shrinking and equipment operating around the clock for up to 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year. Night time impacts are also evident through the use of lit plant such as drag line excavators, conveyors and preparation plants. Again views diverge with one resident on a recent project on which the authors worked stating enjoyment of views of the lit drag line excavator at night, although this was not the common view expressed [Authors, personal communication].

However, the most noticeable changes to the landscape are likely to be seen by the staff and workers who are physically present at the project sites on a long term basis. It is from these locations that the greatest extent of the change is visible, although an assumption could be made that this receptor group should not be considered as part of the audience of concern regarding any potential effects since the staff member consciously chooses to work in the industry at a particular site. That said, appreciation for natural landscapes could be seen as intrinsic to human values, in which case an argument can be made for consideration of the value of visual mitigation for views obtained from accommodation and office areas on operational sites.

Taking a longer-term view, it is evident that the perception of the impact of mining can change considerably over time as the value of the historic record of progress retained in the resulting landscapes is recognised. One has only to peruse the World Heritage List [UNESCO, 2013] to realise the extent of World Heritage Sites with positive links to the resources industry, in particular in relation to criteria ii: “to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design” and iv: “to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history”. At least 27 World Heritage Areas demonstrate such links ranging over time and place from the Neolithic flint mines at Spiennes in Belgium, the Roman gold-mining landscape of Las Medulas in Spain, through to Ironbridge Gorge in the UK, known throughout the world as the “symbol of the industrial revolution” [ibid.] Less obvious links include places such as Petra in Jordan, which includes extensive archaeological copper mines, and the baroque splendor of the cathedral town of Zactecas in Mexico, founded on the prosperity of its silver mines [ibid.]

Mined landscapes may also become a source of inspiration and landscape evolution. Consider, for example, the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, which with considerable involvement of Landscape Architects “was built in a former china clay quarry and now stands as a world class example of land reclamation and socio-economic regeneration in a region that has seen a massive decline in its mining industry” [Eden Project, 2013]. Other wider-scale examples include the revitalisation of the Ruhr Valley in Germany through the development of the International Building Exhibition (IBE) Emsher Park; a landscape-led project that has led to wide scale restoration of the Emscher Valley with associated tourism benefits [Wright, 2011].

EVALUATION OF THE LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACTS OF MINING As Queensland’s strong global brands for both tourism and natural resources continue to build on their successes, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process attempts to find the balance between the protection of natural heritage and community values alongside the advancement of the economy. In Australia, this process is triggered at the Federal level by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act [Australian Government, 1999] but the process in Queensland (at a State level) is largely governed by Terms of Reference as prepared by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and issued by the Coordinator General [Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, 2013]. The EIA process in Queensland commonly requires a description of the proposed activities, a thorough overview of possible impacts and preparation of recommendations for mitigation measures (which form the basis of an environmental management plan) and a residual impact assessment. An assessment of the impacts on ‘scenic amenity and lighting’ is normally included in the Terms of Reference. All disciplines undertaking technical assessments must currently comply with project-specific terms, although generic draft terms of reference have recently been prepared [ibid].

Sources of impact, which vary for each specific resource sector, are considered against the existing conditions of the project site and surrounding environment. Consideration of ‘scenic amenity’ impacts normally entails separate consideration of landscape and visual impacts, although some practitioners in Australia combine these.

Landscape character and visual amenity impacts often have strong linkages but differ in their receptors. For example, the disturbance of a large portion of land is likely to result in changes to landform as well as the quality of the viewing experience. The landscape changes relate to the degree of impact on patterns, processes and general cohesion of a landscape, whereas visual impacts are measured by the changes to views as seen by a potential receptor audience.

Key sources of impact on landscape character commonly include, but are not limited to, vegetation clearance, landform alteration or topographic changes, disruption to patterns and processes, and changes to natural or historic character.

Some of the most intrusive impacts of the resources industry will often come as a result of changes to sensitive landscapes, where the landscape has minimal ability to absorb or adapt to the changes. Impacts on landscape character

427

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE are not necessarily restricted to the development site itself, as all landscapes are part of a bigger picture where continuity and cohesion play a strong role in determining the character of whole districts or regions. Some of the most direct forms of impact on a landscape are associated with the open cut mining of natural resources such as coal, although linear transects of development, such as freight rail, pose wider spread impacts across many different landscape character types. CSG poses a different problem for the assessor in that wells often have limited and unknown lifespans so the landscape is in a constant state of flux as wells are commissioned, decommissioned and new wells created. In spite of this, possibly the most difficult impacts for the landscape assessor relate to the cumulative effect of all resource sectors in Queensland as their associated rail lines, gas piplelines, roads and ports combine to create the modern landscape.

Potential effects on visual amenity commonly have varying degrees of impact caused by a range of sources. Key sources of impacts often relate to the specific activities of the resource sector in question which may include buildings and associated lighting, infrastructure, machinery, the alteration of landform and topography, scale and colour. Fixed permanent changes, such as the alteration of landform or the introduction of buildings, have the highest levels of impacts, notwithstanding those more transient impacts such as increased presence of vehicles and people. Visual impacts can affect the views of singular or multiple receptor groups at any given time of day or night and these receptors may be located nearby or at more distant viewing locations from the potential source of impact. It is however, those views that are obtained from close proximity to project sites that are often considered the most sensitive to a project and also privy to the highest level of impacts.

While the effects of the resources sector on landscape character and visual amenity are often seen to be restricted to negative outcomes, this is not always the case. Careful planning in the early stages of the project lifecycle can considerably minimise long-term impacts to character and amenity in some cases, such as site rehabilitation schemes, offering opportunities for biodiversity, recreation, tourism or even carbon sequestration. Central to achieving these objectives is the incorporation of a range of commitments by mining companies to implement productive postdevelopment land use plans that ensure compatibility with surrounding landscape and land use requirements [Murdoch, 2012]. This could include, for example, the reinstatement of productive pastures, the creation of habitats supporting specific conservation objectives and the development of spaces that support formal or informal recreational activities.

In addition, open dialogue with communities can facilitate tailored mitigation to directly reduce the impact on those viewers expected to be most affected; such as provision of screening vegetation sited to protect views of most concern to residents.

THE ROLE OF THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IN FACILITATING CHANGE So what does this mean for Landscape Architects working in areas undergoing radical transformation as a result of pit to port activities? Firstly, it is clear that the profession needs to be part of the dialogue. The foundation of our work is in reconciling development needs with those of the environment and communities in which we work. So long as society demands the products of the resources industry, Landscape Architects should be active in ensuring that these are planned with a view to the long-term sustainability and resilience of the landscape in terms of landform, landcover and landuse. This means working at a number of levels.

The professional bodies, including IFLA (internationally) and national institutes such as the AILA (in Australia) need to become and remain influential in guiding important legislation and policy. For example, by ensuring appropriate provisions are made requiring landscape and visual impact assessment during the EIA phase of projects and provision of appropriate landscape rehabilitation controls. This includes ensuring that the guidelines of bodies such as the World Bank are sufficiently robust in relation to the landscape and visual impact of projects occurring in developing nations where national legislation may not yet apply. This could prevent unacceptable landscape impacts on developing nations but also would level the economic playing field for responsible miners already operating in developed countries such as Australia with more rigorous environmental standards. Indeed many mining companies already have, or are developing, high standards for assessment based on Corporate Social Responsibility tenets in response to the demands of shareholders and other stakeholders [Bereton, 2002].The professional bodies could also encourage governments to play a more active role in facilitating collaborative planning for resource infrastructure, for example requiring Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) to locate common freight haul routes or electricity transmission lines that serve the projects of a number of different companies.

The professional landscape institutes also need to ensure that they have in place appropriate standards and guidelines for landscape and visual impact assessment. This would ensure that assessments are undertaken consistently and transparently and would include requirements for cumulative assessments to consider the collective impact of successive projects on a landscape. Such professionally-endorsed standards may also counter the threat of uncertainty and variability created by changing political regimes in areas, states or countries. For example, there are currently no national Australian or Queensland guidelines for landscape and visual impact assessment such as those found in other countries - such as the UK’s Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment [The Landscape Institute with the

428

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment, 2002]. If the professional institutes do not tackle this, it is fair to say that no one else is likely to.

Landscape Architects should continue to play an important role in assisting communities to understand the impacts associated with mining projects and the related infrastructure. Through the production of clear graphics including visualisation techniques, we can assist stakeholders to understand how their landscape will change over time from initial construction through to rehabilitation and the eventual relinquishment of the mining lease. This can also assist in the determination of appropriate mitigation measures, for example in developing appropriate colour palettes and planting recommendations for gas infrastructure in response to particular landscape types, as AECOM’s landscape planners recently did through our work on the Surat Gas Project LVIA for Arrow Energy [Arrow Energy, 2012].

Landscape Architects also have a pivotal role to play in the planning and design of mining related infrastructure. Working collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams with project engineers and alongside other environmental professionals such as ecologists, it is possible to design out many impacts of the scheme on the community or environment. For example, through the sensitive route selection of gas pipelines or freight rail routes or the location of overburden dumps with reference to affected viewers. Again, there are many examples of this, but our recent work on route options selection for the preliminary stages of the 180 km long Central Queensland Integrated Rail Project (CQIRP) EIS [not yet published] has meant that a range of potential landscape impacts have been ‘designed-out’. Involvement in long-term planning may also mitigate the need for expensive reworking of mined landscapes, such as was eventually required in the Emscher Valley discussed earlier.

Involvement of design professionals in the design of workers’ accommodation villages can improve the living conditions for mine related employees and contractors who frequently work on a fly-in fly-out basis (FIFO) in remote environments. Importantly, this can also improve the attraction of working at particular mine sites, which can be especially important to mine operators in times of skilled labour shortages and wage inflation. This formed the basis for AECOM’s involvement in the design and masterplanning of INPEX’s workers accommodation village for the Icthys LNG Project [Mining Chronicle, 2012]. Beyond this, where rural communities are growing due to an influx of workers, involvement of Landscape Architects in the masterplanning stages can be beneficial.

Finally, but by no means least, landscape architecture can contribute to the delivery of legacy projects large and small.

From the creation of a new civic plaza to the enhancement of a small local park, social and environmental enhancement projects can ensure that the resources industry contributes to the landscape long after rehabilitation of the final cut.

This not only leaves a positive legacy for generations to come but may also enhance the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating of the company that can smooth future approvals processes.

CONCLUSIONS Queensland has diverse well-known landscapes that are important international tourist destinations. At the same time, the economy of Queensland is reliant upon the export of natural resources, particularly coal, lead, zinc, copper, aluminum and, increasingly, LNG. Whilst the areas of Queensland most directly affected by resource extraction are largely located remote from the major centres of habitation where visual impacts may affect fewer people, important landscapes, such as the Great Barrier Reef, may be indirectly affected by the pit-to-port cycle, such as the construction of LNG export plants and expansion of coal terminals at ports.

Whilst mines and ancillary infrastructure can rarely be considered as attractive incursions into the natural landscape, the wider benefits to the built environment can be positive and there are many examples from around the world where important landscape and cultural heritage has been reliant upon mining.

As the resources industry continues in Queensland and evolves in developing nations, Landscape Architects have an important role to play in ensuring the resilience of landscapes to long term changes whilst securing the positive contributions to built heritage that may flow from the economic returns. In conclusion, Landscape Architects must not shun the resources industry, upon which society depends, but need to engage with operators and other professionals at all levels from policy development through to mine planning and rehabilitation. In this way we can assist the industry to deliver the greatest benefits to society with the fewest adverse long-term consequences to landscapes and the communities that rely upon them.

REFERENCES Arrow Energy. (2012). Surat Gas Project EIS. Retrieved from Arrow Energy: http://www.arrowenergy.com.au/community/ project-assessment-eis/surat-gas-project-eis Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011, 10 31). National Regional Profile 2006-2010: Queensland. Retrieved from Australian Bureau of Statistics: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@nrp.nsf/Previousproducts/3Environment/Energy12005-2009 Australian Coal Association. (2013). Exports . Retrieved from Australian Coal Association: http://www.australiancoal.com.au

429

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Australian Government. (1999, 07 16). Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Australian Government, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. (2013, 02 19).

Australia’s bioregions (IBRA). Retrieved from Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities: http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion-framework/ibra/index.html Barrett, R. (2012, 10 23). Campbell Newman lifts uranium ban in bid to tap $18bn deposits. Retrieved from The Australian : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/campbell-newman-lifts-uranium-ban-in-bid-to-tap-18bndeposits/story-e6frgczx-1226501044881 Bereton, D. (2002). The role of self regulation in improving corporate social performance: the case of the mining industry .

Current Issues In Regulation: Enforcement and Compliance Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology.

Melbourne: AIC. Destination Queensland. (2013). Outback Queensland. Retrieved from Official tourism site for Queensland in the Americas: http://www.destinationqueensland.com/iss/america/regions/outback/outback_home.cfm Duffy, A. (2012, 06 25). Mining infrastructure: From pit to port. Retrieved from Australian Mining : http://www.miningaustralia. com.au/features/mining-infrastructure-from-pit-to-port Eden Project. (2013). Responsible mining programme. Retrieved from Responsible Mining: http://www.edenproject.com/ whats-it-all-about/climate-and-environment/responsible-mining Hall, N., Ashworth, P., & Shaw, H. (2012). Exploring community acceptance of rural wind farms in Australia: a snapshot.

CSIRO Science in Society Group.

KPMG. (2011). Australia’s resources boom: the infrastructure ripple effect. kpmg.com.au.

Lawrence, D. H. (1993). Sons and Lovers . Ware: Wordsworth Editions.

Mackay Tourism. (2013). Mackay Mining and Industry. Retrieved from Makay Tourism: http://www.mackayregion.com/ attractions/mining-and-industry McCarthy, J. (2011, 06 22). Risk of temporary dongas dominating Queensland mining landscape. Retrieved from News. com.au: http://www.news.com.au/money/property/as-mining-booms-in-central-queensland-studies-disclose-risk-of-temporarydongas-dominating-the-landscape/story-e6frfmd0-1226079666924 Mining Chronicle. (2012). Australian Prime Minister Launches Construction of the Ichthys Gas Project. Mining Chronicle.

Murdoch, D. (2012). Planning for the Future: Criteria, Measures and Indices, and Monitoring the Landscape. SPE/APPEA International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas Explration and Production. Perth: Autralian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Limited.

Proulx, E. A. (2002). That Old Ace in the Hole. New York: Scribner.

Queensland Goverment, Skills Queensland. (2012, 08 28). Resources sector skills. Retrieved 02 13, 2013, from Skills Queensland: http://www.skills.qld.gov.au/Initiatives/Resources-sector-skills.aspx Queensland Government Office of Urban Management and Department of Infrastructure. (2007). Implementation Guideline No. 8: Indentifying and Protecting Scenic Amenity Values. Brisbane: Queensland Government, Office of Urban Management and Department of Infrastructure.

Queensland Government Office of Urban Management and Department of Infrastructure. (2007). Implementation Guideline No. 8: Indentifying and Protecting Scenic Amenity Values. Brisbane: Queensland Government, Office of Urban Management and Department of Infrastructure.

Queensland Government, Campbell Newman Premier of Queensland. (2013, 01 02). We will grow a four pillar economy.

Retrieved from Campbell Newman Premier of Queensland: http://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/plans-and-progress/plans/6months-july-dec-12.aspx Queensland Government, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. (2012, 02). Queensland’s coal seam gas overview. Retrieved from Geological SUrvey of Queensland: http://mines.industry.qld.gov.au/assets/coal-pdf/ new_csg_cc.pdf Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. (2013, 02 04). Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines. Retrieved from Department of Environment and Heritage Protection: http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/ management/impact-assessment/environmental_impact_assessment_guidelines.html Queensland Government, Department of Infrastructure and Planning. (2009). South East Queensland Regional Plan 20092031. Brisbane: State of Queensland.

430

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Queensland Government, Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing. (2012, 05 14). World Heritage Areas. Retrieved from Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing: http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/worldheritage-areas/index.html Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Mines. (2012, 07). Queensland’s significant mineral mines, advanced mineral projects and new intersections. Retrieved from Geological Survey of Queensland: http://mines.industry.qld. gov.au/assets/coal-pdf/minerals_2012.pdf Queensland Government; Department of Education Training and Employment. (2012, 06 08). Queensland’s Regions.

Retrieved from Department of Education Training and Employment: http://www.workliveplay.qld.gov.au/dsdweb/v4/apps/ web/content.cfm?id=15055 Queensland Government; Department of Natural Resources and Mines. (2012, 07). Queensland’s coal - mines and advanced projects. Retrieved from Geological Survey of Queensland: http://mines.industry.qld.gov.au/assets/coal-pdf/new_ coal_min_adv_proj.pdf Queensland Resources Council. (2013). What We Produce. Retrieved from Queensland Resources Council: https://www.qrc. org.au Swanwick, C., & Land Use Consultants. (2002). Landscape Character Assessment Guidance for England and Scotland.

Wetherby: The Countryside Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage .

The Hon Martin Fuguson AM MP; Minister for Resources and Energy; Minister for Tourism. (2012). How do we balance being the premier mining state with being the premier tourism state? Queensland Tourism and Industry Council: Industry Forum.

The Landscape Institute with the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. (2002). Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, Second Edition. London: Spon Press.

UNESCO. (2013). World Heritage List . Retrieved from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ Wright, A. (2011). Green Park, Brown Park, Future Park – emerging themes in contemporary public park making. Procedings of the 2011 AILA National Conference . Canberra: AILA.

50. ADAPTIVE AND RESILIENT STRATEGIES FOR LOW LYING COASTLINES AT RISK FROM RISING SEA LEVELS Johnston K, Fisher I n/a ABSTRACT The Lancashire coast is one of many vulnerable areas of low-lying coastline in Western Europe that is at risk from the adverse impacts of climate change. Sea levels are predicted to rise by up to 1000mm by 2100, along with significant long-term fresh water flooding as a result of extreme weather events.

Physical changes resulting from flooding, erosion and salinization will have irreversible affects on existing ecological, social, economic and cultural infrastructures.

Landscape architecture has the potential to contribute to the reshaping of the land/water interface in a positive way. This will enable existing landscapes to develop the ability to absorb and respond to long-term change as well as configure new relationships between land and water, which are ecologically rich and sustainable for human activity.

This paper illustrates a series of case studies, developed by MA students, which envision future scenarios for the coastline through the employment of various adaptive and resilient strategies. At a time of change and uncertainty these approaches develop innovative ideas that not only build resilience, but also allow landscapes to respond to dynamic and volatile conditions, whilst maintaining functional integrity.

The proposals range from developing responsive flood defence systems in space and time, sediment accretion systems to support new ecological systems, floating temporal communities, local self-sufficiency built on the changing relationship of water and land and micro and meso renewable energy systems. The common agenda in all these proposals focus on reimagining a sustainable ecological relationship between water, land and people.

431

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 1,2,3,4,5: Images taken at various points along the Lancashire coastline [Source: Johnston, 2011] Figure 6 (Bottom left): Embrace Change visualisation [King, 2007]

CONTEXT Has 6000 years of relative sea level stability lured us into a false sense of security? Land once thought immune from flooding is now vulnerable to rising sea levels and river over capacity.

While many humanitarian and ecological crises result from rapid onset changes, conditions such as sea level rise have a less clear start and end point. Research by Kayden [2011] indicates that most urban-scale responses to sea level rise have involved “a lot of talk, a lot of thinking, a lot of postponing,” he believes that one problem is uncertainty about the impacts, and timescales. “It’s a very tricky thing. It’s not happening tomorrow, it’s not happening next year, and it’s not happening in two years.” However, while there is less clarity of these points in time it doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen and it isn’t a crisis [Glantz, 1994].

Research has shown that sea levels are rising 60% faster than the IPCC’s 2007 report had predicted, concluding that by 2100 the total rise could reach 2m. Stefan Rahmstorf [2012] of the Potsdam institute stated: “This study shows once again that the IPCC is far from alarmist, but in fact has underestimated the problem of climate change.That applies not just for sea-level rise but also to extreme events and the Arctic sea-ice loss.’

432

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 7: Mudflats at Sunderland Point [Source: Johnston 2012].“A systems vulnerability is dependent upon levels of resilience. Resilient landscapes are those that adapt to volatile conditions while maintaining functional integrity” [Holling, Gunderson, and Ludwig 2002].

There is considerable uncertainty of the cause, course and magnitude of the changes in sea level but compounded with storm surges and the increased frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events the lowest predicted rise would have many physical, biological and social consequences [Oliver-Smith, 2009].

Threats include coastal flooding, storm damage, eroding shorelines, loss of saltmarshes and mudflats, altered hydrology, habitat and species change, changes in water temperature and chemistry, impacts of human economy and health, infrastructure, land use and ultimately inundation of land and communities [Beever, 2009]. Miles of tidal stretches of rivers will become just as vulnerable as that on the direct coastline extending the risks further inland and beyond the flood plains. This will be further compounded by over capacity of riverine fresh water systems, draining to the sea.

Figure 8: Room for the River [Source: Municipality of Nijmegen, 2011]

THE ROLE OF THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Ahern [2009] believes that “Landscape architects have the potential to take leadership in the theory and practice of urban sustainability and resilience because of their knowledge of; ecological systems and ecosystem services, human/cultural needs, and the technical means and practices through which urban environments are (re)built and managed over time – in the face of continuous change and in a climate of uncertainty.”

433

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE PRECEDENT The “Room for the River” programme, in the Netherlands shows a shift in attitude from technocratic water engineering (anthropocentric determinism) to integral and participatory water management, which regards the water system as a whole, integrating social, ecological and physical components (performance and heterogeneity).

MANAGING CHANGE Political context The ability of public infrastructure to respond in a pragmatic and opportunistic way is severely limited. The current approach of managed retreat or strengthening and raising barriers is largely a reflection of existing financial and legislative structures. Decisions are framed through the lens of expediency and landscape as a staging for managing change is swapped for landscape as a disposable and redundant asset.

Theoretical Context A paradigm shift is required, which places the processes of landscape change as the catalyst to future opportunities rather than as a result of attempting to protect existing anthropocentric activities. In this future the relationship between anthropocentric and biocentric systems are dynamic, fluctuating and responsive, driven by the need for cooperation not conflict. The landscapes that arise from this relationship are adaptive and resilient in the functional integrity of the interweaving of anthropocentric/ biocentric systems. This provides the opportunity to engage with new ecological networks both individually and collectively in a consensual framework, which “privileges frameworks over forms, where frameworks register as strategic organisations, dynamic infrastructures, provisional programmes and participatory processes.”

[Czerniak, 2001].

Academic Context The Lancashire coastal strip from Liverpool in the South to Morecombe Bay in the North is the primary staging for MA students to explore tangible responses to rising sea levels and river over capacity. The resulting scenarios played out against scientific data predictions, existing flood management strategies and the socio-economic and cultural diaspora offer a range of potential operational renditions.

The following case studies explore the potential along the coastal strip, further information regarding these projects can be found at embrace-changes.tumblr.com.

Figure 9: Survey information for the coastal site [Johnston, 2012]

434

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 10: Concept strategy for the Crisis creates Opportunity project [Johnston, 2012]

Crisis creates opportunity “Perceptions and fear levels change as barriers are removed and reconnection with the water achieves the aims of transforming a dying edge supporting economic viability and reactivating spatial organisations as a reflection of landscape performance.� [Johnston, 2012].

Analysis The four case studies are representative of an alternative approach to an uncertain future, where the science of climate change and the effects of rising sea levels are predictive rather than determined. In each of the case studies the emphasis is on the ability of landscape to act as a staging in space and time, to support a composite of networks, which sustain anthropocentric activities and biocentric systems.

435

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 11: Site analysis,The profane landscape [King, 2007]

Figure 12:The intervention strategy for the profane landscape project [Source: King, 2007]

436

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE THE PROFANE LANDSCAPE “The new geography is dynamic; territories need not maintain a fixed spatial relationship but are adaptable and transferable.�

[King, 2007] The work of Sophy King explores the interface of salt and freshwater as a mobile landscape of sacrifice and renewal, capturing the contradiction at the interface as a productive source of blue energy. This energy forms a plug-in for anthropocentric activities, which are limited in scale by the prevailing biocentric system, but equally draw their functional integrity from an intimate relationship with the latter. Anthropocentrically this relationship evolves through the capacity and performance of the landscape to sustain habitation and employment, relying on the need for individuals to cooperate and adjust their relationship to their implied territory, rather than imposing an artificial function and form.

Figure 13, 14, 15, 16, 17:Visualisations of the seafront from the Fluvial Margins project. [Source:Ware, 2011]

437

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 18: Demonstrating the strategy at local level, as a series of terraces. [Source:Ware, 2011]

FLUVIAL MARGINS “A series of levees that aim to counteract and absorb potential sea level rise while maintaining a necessary synthesis of urban settlements, agricultural production and dynamic habitats.� [Ware, 2011] Rob Ware and Kate Johnston have created what appears to be a more formal architectonic system of territorialising the land. However, the foundations for their approach have a commonality with the other case studies in recognising the primary importance of landscape as a measure for anthropocentric activities. Although formal structuring of the land plays an essential part in their proposals; the structure is adaptive. The utilisation of cross disciplinary technologies (wave control, fresh water agriculture) creates opportunities for anthropocentric activities on the metaphorical and physical edge, which become the measure of landscape performance in time and space.

Figure 19: Diagrammatic strategies explaining the Mad Wharf project [Source: Smith, 2010]

438

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE MAD WHARF “The design is realised through a number of phases in response to changes in predicted ecological dynamics.” [Smith 2001] Hannah Smith constructs her response as a staging for future landscape performance, offering multiple outcomes, which can be temporally occupied as sites of production or act as an intensification of potential biocentric systems. An emphasis on the primacy of these systems and the transitory nature of their endurance reflects many of the unknowns of sea level rise, but equally in their fluidity, they form self organising systems, which can adopt functional integrity through the synthesis of anthropocentric and biocentric systems.

CONCLUSION The repositioning of the traditional values of “culture” and “nature” which are revealed through the case studies, indicate that it is possible to reimagine the future of the coast line, in which the relationship is reframed through the symbiosis of anthropocentric and biocentric systems and networks. The landscape becomes a measure of the performance of these networks and systems, which privilege adaptability over inflexibility and fluidity over fixedness. Through placing landscape at the core of this approach it removes the negative aspects of current thinking-“raising barriers”, “managed retreat”, “do nothing” and replaces them with proactive glocalised agendas, which can co-opt public utilities as a sort of enzyme facilitating different trajectories at multiple scales and time frames.

FIGURES Figure 1: Warning sign at Sunderland Point (Johnston, 2011) Figure 2: View along the Lune estuary from Sunderland Point (Johnston, 2011) Figure 3. Power station at Heysham (Johnston, 2011) Figure 4: Road through the mudflats towards Sunderland Point (Johnston, 2011) Figure 5: Cockerham shoreline (Johnston, 2011) Figure 6: Embrace change visualisation (King, 2007) Figure 7: Mudflats at Sunderland Point (Johnston, 2012) Figure 8: Room for the River visualisation (Municipality of Nijmegen, Netherlands,

Figure 9:

2001)

Retrieved from http://www.waterfrontcenter.org/Awards/Awards2011/2011Awards.html Survey information for the coastal site of Heysham and Cockerham Flats (Johnston, 2012)

Figure 10: Concept strategy for Crisis creates Opportunity project (Johnston, 2012) Figure 11: Site analysis from The Profane Landscape project (King, 2007) Figure 12: Intervention concept from the Profane Landscape (King, 2007) Figure 13: Visualisation to show the promenade over the sea defences from Fluvial Margins (Ware, 2011) Figure 14: Section and elevation visualisation to show the seafront from Fluvial Margins (Ware,

2011)

Figure 15: The sunken plaza at the sea front from Fluvial Margins (Ware, 2011) Figure 16: The promenade and mudflats from Fluvial Margins (Ware, 2011) Figure 17: Diagram to explain the 3 sea level rise scenarios (Ware, 2011) Figure 18: Visualisation to explain the function of the terraced levees (Ware, 2011) Figure 19: Diagrammatic strategies to demonstrate the Mad Wharf project (Smith, 2010) REFERENCES Ahern, J (2009) Resilience Theory for Urban Sustainability University of Massachusetts Amherst Retrieved from www.asla. com Beever, L.B. (2009): Climate Ready Estuaries: Vulnerabilities and Adaptations. 15th Annual Public Interest Environment Conference, Levin College of Law, University of Florida. Retrieved from http://www.swfrpc.org/content/Natural_Resources/ Ecosystem_Services/Lee_County_Climate_Change_Vulnerability_Assessment.pdf Czerniak, J. (2001) CASE: Downsview Park, Toronto (pp 12-23) Munich, Germany: Prestel Verlag DEFRA (2009) Land Use Policy Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, England: Angus, A., Burgess, P.J., Morris, J. and Lingard, J. Glantz, M (2004) Creeping Environmental Problems and Sustainable Development in the Aral Sea Cambridge: Cambridge

439

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE University Press.

Holling, C.S., Gunderson, L.H. and Ludwig, D [2002] In quest of a theory of adaptive change Washington D.C., USA: Island Press IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report Geneva, Switzerland: Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K and Reisinger, A. (eds.)

Kayden, J.S. [2011] Rising Seas, Imperilled Cities Environment @ Harvard Volume 3 Issue 2 p 4-5 Harvard University Centre for the Environment retrieved from www.environment.harvard.edu/node/3772 King, S. (2007) The Profane Landscape Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester, England.

Johnston, K. (2012) Crisis creates Opportunity Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester, England.

National Trust (2005) Shifting Shorelines: Living with a changing coastline London, England: Astron Oliver-Smith, A (2009) Responding to the local Challenges of Global Climate Change in the 21st Century Bonn, Germany: UNU institute for Environment and Human Security, Retrieved from http://www.ehs.unu.edu/file/get/4097 Smith, H. (2010) Mad Wharf Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester, England.

Waldheim, C. (2006) Landscape Urbanism Reader New York, USA: Princeton Architectural Press Ware, R. (2011) Fluvial Margins Manchester School of Architecture, Manchester, England

51. WATERTRAILS FOR DIFFICULT TERRITORY: STRATEGIES FOR DRY LANDSCAPES IN TIMES OF RADICAL SLOWNESS Lee G University of Melbourne ABSTRACT Travelling in and across arid landscapes over long distances brings equal parts admiration and incredulity to the visitor. It is hard to even begin to imagine the survival strategies needed to remain on these lands and how the people and other organisms must negotiate even everyday activities in order to come to terms with living in these difficult terrains. In reflecting upon boom and bust environments shaped by weather and water as much as by human occupation, concepts of landscape knowledge and wise practice are muted by the visible remains of ruined settlements and degraded landscapes. Explorer and settler narratives underpin the development of new world and colonial histories, yet their stories continue to resonate within endless and ongoing cycles of good times and bad times. Once unheard native and aboriginal knowledge now emerges alongside settler ingenuity as mutable perspectives on extraction, development and alternative futures. As age old water supplies fail or are exhausted, other local and networked strategies are necessary to support the cultures and economies of arid places.

Watertrails is an ongoing landscape project seeking to make visible arid water systems through temporal design strategies for people living and travelling in marginal lands. This multidimensional project explores ways of documenting the natural and cultural water systems of arid places in central Australia and south-western USA, with the intent to propose interpretation and landscape design projects to bring the presence of water to communities seemingly unaware of its ongoing marginality.

This account of expanded mapping projects originating in Australia and practiced in the American West recounts strategies for deepening scientific, cultural and artistic water knowledge towards a road map for small and slow interventions for tough country.

Travelling in and across arid landscapes over long distances brings equal parts admiration and incredulity to the visitor.

It is hard to even begin to imagine the survival strategies needed to remain on these lands and how the people and other organisms must negotiate even everyday activities in order to come to terms with living in these difficult terrains.

In reflecting upon boom and bust environments shaped by weather and water as much as by human occupation, concepts of landscape knowledge and wise practice are muted by the visible remains of ruined settlements and degraded landscapes. Water is undisputedly a magnet for life in arid lands. The visible and the invisible presence of water in its various forms, shapes the daily life of arid communities through innovative tactics for the infrastructures of extraction, delivery, storage and recycling. At least that is how water used to be managed in early times prior to the development of big agriculture, pastoralism and mining in the marginally habitable lands of central Australia but more particularly in the American West where large city development is linked to major infrastructure routes.

In more recent times the necessity of providing for enough water to support arid communities while increasingly of policy and management concern is generally assumed by the general population, even as the underground aquifers

440

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE become shallower and the recharge systems less plentiful due to altering climatic and land resources conditions. In arid lands, water is more often than not an invisible, enduring magnet, shifting its presence with the seasons and in times of drought or through upstream management regimes. Between the arid lands of central Australia and the American West the scale of operations across domains may vary but the fundamental issue remains that in these times we are taking too much out and putting too little back. Natural systems of snow melt and flood replenish the supply hidden from plain view deep underground - these age - old aquifers are the lifeblood of arid lands yet their future abundance is increasingly uncertain.

There’s plenty of water here, sometimes it’s in the rivers but we know it mostly comes from deep underground or from up in the hills.Where it comes isn’t often visible but we all rely upon it to be there and it hasn’t failed us -­so far. (Willcox, AZ resident, March 2012) The account below focuses on a journey to the American West in the late winter of 2012 made by two Australian academics steeped in the landscape scale travel lines, micro-communities and the mostly ephemeral water points of central South Australia. In the telling and sharing of the water stories we heard the statement above, or something like it, repeated many times as we traversed the arid lands west of America’s 100th meridian. While people in the dry places of the American West observe the changing of seasons and shifting economic and social priorities and adapt to living in unsettled times, the one thing that is necessary for a sustainable life for desert communities – water – is largely unseen and as a consequence is assumed as a given; even despite more than ten years of drought in some places.

The Watertrails project arose from research in the centre of Australia where we investigate and analyse critical refugia water systems from a landscape and cultural perspective that operates alongside scientific enquiry [Arid Lands Institute, 2012]. Fieldwork for the Lake Eyre Basin and the Oodnadatta Track which overlie Australia’s Great Artesian Basin, established an itinerary to explore indigenous, settler and scientific water knowledge according to scientific and cultural themes derived for the Australian arid lands. Our experience shows us that travelling the Track reveals both simple settler infrastructures for water strategies for drought and for inundation alongside the prior presence of Aboriginal structures and middens confirming co-occupation over time [Lee, 2011].

Figure 1: Settler infrastructures at water places along the Oodnadatta Track

We propose that there are potentially universal concepts that reveal the pragmatic and poetic aspects of ecological and cultural existence in dry places and seek to document the whereabouts of these practices through our own search for water places past and present.

DIVINING WATER TERRITORIES Gaining understanding of contemporary water practices balanced against those of earlier times is the task we set ourselves in our novice travels along the Interstate 10 (I-10) traversing Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. We came to the American West to look for water landscapes and their practices and to commence adopted a structuring line, the I-­10, to help guide us, and brought with us only the knowledge of how we follow the other line in Australia, the often rutted dirt Oodnadatta Track that snakes up through the dry and sparsely populated landscapes of central South Australia, as a way of reading indigenous and settler explorations and settlement patterns over time.

The American journey sought out test sites for these ideas, but equally provoked us to challenge our methodological assumptions through the fresh eyes of first time travellers and informed by the generosity of the locals. For eight days we wandered along, across, away from and back to the I-­10 in search of water stories and to make our own observations, recording what we uncovered, what surprised and intrigued us and required us to ask why is this so? In every way we saw that the line needed thickening and so we ranged broadly across the landscape from the Interstate to the Mexican border, across basins and ranges, salt lakes and farmland, following our noses and taking directions from others. What became clear is that the American West is crossed by multiple trails all with water availability as a guiding condition; for birding, Native American trading, histories of exploration, rail and salt movement and conflict, wilderness and landscape, art, spiritual awareness and scientific investigation. So we set out to document the basis for a Water Trail for the arid lands as historical homage and prompt for contemporary action.

441

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Just as in Australia, although more densely settled and developed, the American arid lands roads and trails follow ancient tracks as much as they intersect the big Interstates, supporting vibrant large and small communities of people willing to take time with inquisitive visitors to talk about water and their impressions on its use and the longevity of its systems. It is impossible to share all our collected multiple water stories from large and small places along the I-­10 journey, so described below are a few potent accounts offered up by the unique places and landscapes of the small towns and environs of Marfa TX and the jerk water towns, Steins NM the ghost town, Deming NM where art and landscape cohabit the plains, ending our account in Willcox AZ, where playa, mountains and fertile plains reveal water presence and absence and the consequences of use and reuse (Figure 2).

Figure 2:Watertrails: places of interest along the I-­10 and the thickened line. Drawn by Brooke Madill, 2010

Our methodological hunch is that through uncovering water sources and practices in micro-­communities along the line, the lens of life-­sustaining water systems are also revealed in the symbiotic relationships between human and ecological systems and water extraction and containment. These specialised and discrete practices draw upon local knowledge, indigenous practices and movements across territory, scientific ecological research and discovery. They equally encompass art practices, which focus on the peculiarities of site and transfer experimental knowledge and visitation to the broader community. We acknowledge that seeking information from points of intersection along the line takes a single dimensional view of water landscapes and suggest that the concept of lines of becoming enables examination of those fluid processes which lie beneath the surface [Ingold 2011]. Water flows in the aquifer formations that underlie the visible landscape in arid places are the basis of a supporting underground meshwork fundamental to surface conditions. Above ground the visible meshworks are composed of points or micro-­communities and the perceptible lines of infrastructure and communication that connect them. Lines of becoming, proposes an environmental model for a three-­dimensional matrix based upon both vertical and horizontal water systems.

WATER MYTHS AND INVISIBILITY UNDERGROUND In Marfa only five houses harvest rainwater from their roofs...and this was a special project... water is considered plentiful and the supply from the aquifer is endless…(Marfa resident, March 2012) Marfa,Valentine and Lobo in Texas are just some of the original jerk water towns servicing the Southern Pacific Railway situated in high country atop the Bolson Aquifer. Rail infrastructures are the first hint of the surface water volumes that must periodically flow across this land; culverts and long low bridges intersect rail cuttings facilitating water flow across the landscape from mountains to lake, stream and playa. Small settler infrastructures infer the other ground water system that supports agricultural livelihoods on the arid plains; well-­heads, town tanks, windmills and pumps connect irrigation ditches, and dams. Control points for water harvesting dissect the late winter landscape populated by endless rows of bare trunked pecan trees fed by open irrigation canals, currently dry for the season.

In town we ask where the water comes from and remark on the absence of house rainwater tanks; a common site in remote Australia where the groundwater is too saline to drink and the pure water comes from rainwater storage. It is commonplace throughout our journey to hear the many reasons for the lack of localised harvesting; varying from the pure quality of ground water drawn from the hills to political and economic imposts that commodify harvested urban water as a tradable regional resource. Marfa is a town for art and for tourism and it is also a town for immigrants from over the border – it is a dual community, two-­speed town, simultaneously international and local, where art brings the landscape alive through bold installations. Curiously in this learned place, the invisibility of life-­giving water tied to innovative water projects is telling and contributes to sustaining the status quo. Just down the road Valentine and Lobo are now towns of arid lands pecan farms supported only by the aquifer; vulnerable townships are now deserted and micro-­communities bypassed but the rusting and intangible presence of their mechanical water systems endure (Figure 3).

442

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figure 3:Wintering pecan farms in the desert watered from below

SALT COUNTRY The Interstate 54 moves us north towards the mountains of Guadalupe National Park where the water story is told through geomorphological process writ large on every surface; this is spring and stream country draining to the lowland salt lakes to the north and west. The micro-­infrastructures of Frijole Ranch draw upon the spring water seeping up from aquifers deep below – these cracks in the ground support all life up here from the high country ecosystems to ranching and the remnants of the Butterfield Express. It is a known place of sweet water that supported movement across country and the salt trade of generations of native arid dwellers long before colonial settlement. The road dips and moves across the alluvial basin floor with numerous flood warning signs but in the drought ravaged landscape we can only imagine the rare deluge, just as we do at home in Australia, experiencing vast and urgent outback floods under our conditions of El Niño. Salt lakes appear as we move closer to Guadalupe but it is the ancient reef of El Capitan that dominates the horizon (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Frijole springs in high country: salt pans and wells below

Dropping down from the mountains to the basin plains the salt flats emerge; white, windy and dotted with remnants of salt trade micro-­communities and their barely conceivable water supplies. Pivot and open irrigation agriculture now occupy the margins of the salt flats, lining the edge of the road in an effort to sustain the visions of 20th century speculators who laid out Dell City for intensive agriculture on the impoverished soils, based entirely on the perceived abundance of aquifer water in the system. On the day we were on the road, there was a fierce wind blowing the sandy topsoil across into the fields of alfalfa, the marginal winter cash crop of choice. Everywhere in this evocative dry salt landscape, the pivot agriculture systems so present in our Google investigations mark green geometries of an unnatural horizon as far as the eye can see. Water is being drawn up from underground and yet just out of the reach of the technology all is dry and windswept and the strangely beautiful arid lands are ever-­present (Figure 5).

Figure 5:The road to Dell City sand plains intersect with pivot enabled watering crops

443

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE ARID INVENTION BORN OF SPECULATION The Mimbres River rises in the mountains north of Deming, provides the city’s water supply, then disappearing under-­ ground as it flows southwards to the borderlands. It is said that it flows all the way to Columbus on the Mexican Border...we get our water from the Mimbres... but this is likely a local myth when checked against the geological record.

In recent years land speculation has opened up the possibility for outsiders to bid for Deming plains land via e-Bay and other Internet based providers. As a result, in landscapes bereft of a reasonable water supply except what can be drawn from the aquifer or the mythical Mimbres, art has flourished from afar. Our own internet searches led us to Cabinetlandia, a New York sponsored installation uncomfortably marooned between the I-­10 and the Southern Pacific Railway just to the south of Deming [Cabinetlandia, 2013]. We undertook a pilgrimage to the three drawer metal filing cabinet enshrouded in a constructed mud bank, just as many others have preceded us to undertake associated performances and campouts to contribute to an open ended landwork. Serendipitously, we also happened upon Eames Demetrios’ Kcymaerxthaere installation further west, inhabiting a comparably hostile e-­Bay subdivision dotted with small houses and signs of family occupation [Kcymaerxthaere, 2103]. While following precise instructions in imprecise dry plains landscapes dotted with newish transportable houses we looked for and found no obvious visible signs of water. We imagined that rainwater must have been harvested but could see no tanks until we spotted the pump houses, gradually coming to understand that water was being drawn up from underground and the land + water well deal was a point of negotiation for canny interstate buyers.(Figure 6)

Figure 6: Cabinetlandia meets Kcymaerxthaere on the Deming plains

At Steins the train delivered water to keep the settlement alive... there is no good ground water it is 60ft below and sulphurous… when the supply bypassed the town it faded away (Steins resident, March 2012) Further down the I-­10 at Steins, NM is a place that at first glance now appears as an historical art museum that is so strange as to seem a fictional construction. In reality it was once a stop on the Southern Pacific Railway – but is now a ghost town with a tragic past. One day in the past, the whole town just left, not taking any belongings and leaving in plain sight all the small methods by which they existed in a waterless landscape. By ingenuity and invention the original settlers created a system of harvesting and reusing the scarce water resource via rain and snow collection, and there is much to learn from this strangely Heath Robinson-­like place. The original water supply is gravity fed through a series of iron tanks marching down the hill to terminate atop one of the 19th century wooden houses. On one building a small length of guttering with an open down pipe collects, directs and empties water into a steel barrel for household use. Across the path a vessel is fitted with a funnel to collect water, at its base a hole-­punched metal pipe runs above what was once a vegetable plot.(Figure 7)

Figure 7: Steins water systems eking out every last drop before abandonment

SYMBIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS …don’t know why the birds have come here this year -­maybe it was the fires last year or maybe it’s because there are less predators, but they sure ain’t out on the Lake…we’ve had to put a sign up so as folks aren’t disappointed, it’s a long walk to see nothing.(Willcox resident, 2103)

444

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Willcox Arizona is one such water story place where a symbiotic system of water extraction and recirculation exists in coexistence with natural and social communities, intensive farming and power generation, and tourist and retiree lifestyles supported through generating just enough water for survival. Cochise Lake adjacent the Willcox Playa is a magnet for birds and peoples alike, yet its seemingly pristine appearance belies its reason for being as a component of the Willcox water treatment system. Getting to know Cochise Lake within its broader ecology helps us to learn to appreciate these working landscapes to understand the complex social and natural systems that support unnatural ecologies and their adaptive strategies.(Figure 8)

Figure 8: Cochise Lake warnings for the waterborne sublime

Willcox lies in a closed basin and range complex dominated by the saline Willcox Playa and the mountains of Cochise Stronghold drawing its water from a single source aquifer to the east recharged by snowmelt. The supply is said to be seven miles north of town although nobody would quite tell us where, but what Willcox people tell us is that their water is sweet water that requires little reprocessing, unlike neighbouring Bowie and Benson whose water is sour. And also there are several aquifers in the strata underneath the Willcox basin with the one directly under the town sitting at 15 feet. It is contaminated by 35 defunct gas stations and a layer of petroleum sits atop the water so as to make it unusable. And since 1956 farm wells in some parts have dropped by 40 feet and must be deepened and pumps lowered.

Current practice sees Willcox’s waste-­water fill Cochise Lake supporting rich migratory birdlife and aquatic populations, waters that are then returned to the golf course.This ready supply of mountain drawn waste-­water is critical to Cochise Lake’s ongoing tourist attraction as the premier Sandhill Crane migratory nesting site in the region, in association with the Willcox Playa and the nearby Apache power station cooling ponds, increasingly preferred by wandering flocks of these elegant grey birds.

What we weren’t told but learnt from external reporting is that the intersection of Cochise Stronghold Rd and Dragoon Rd to the south of town has signage festooned with orange flags that read: EARTH FISSURES POSSIBLE 25MPH. There is contention about whether the fissures are a result of too much water extraction or if they simply relate to soil structure.

I don’t know what people think of it (groundwater from the aquifer) but I know it is a finite resource.(Willcox resident, March 2012) Willcox people did guide us to a series of water initiatives. In association with the Master Garden Group from the University of Arizona a series of arid gardens are under development, using harvesting, holding and releasing infrastructures alongside arid lands plants to reduce water use and water wise gardening as an alternative. The latest initiative will use the town library solarium roof to harvest water and direct it onto new arid lands gardens to be planted at the entryway. As we toured what we saw as the beginning Water Trails of Willcox (to complement its existing trails for birds and wildlife to promote the role of water in arid landscapes) we came to realise that locals are increasingly acknowledging that the future needs to be planned for, both within the town and across their wider water shaped landscape beyond municipal boundaries.

LOCAL WATER KNOWLEDGE AND WATER TRAILS FOR THE ARID LANDS We visited the American arid lands to converse with water drawn systems, and in the practice of travelling came to know that the invisible presence of arid lands water far underground deserves greater visibility. It’s fragile presence in the dry times is key to the people who live, work and gain economic and cultural benefit from old waters and local

445

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE awareness of the distinct probability of diminishing future recharge is seemingly well overdue in both our lands. As involved outsiders we see opportunities for water projects to communicate at points of nature/culture coincidence across the arid lands of all continents. Through adopting ecological approaches to infrastructure, supported by active interpretation of the profound experiences gained by interacting closely, and with participatory intent, in the meshwork of arid waters such water projects signpost points of interest and active engagement along the re-­invested line of travel.

And as for the idea of radical slowness introduced in the title? Under the lens of landscape based research that looks beyond physical intervention towards recording and representing the visible and invisible landscape infrastructures our response to the designed landscape is one of curation of the present in order to effect future change. The Watertrails project seeks to uncover past and present itineraries for travel across arid places following the water routes first laid down through connection to naturally occurring water. Over time and with the introduction of new technologies for water extraction and delivery, people’s close association with water and its qualities have slowly become radicalised to the extent that their disconnection with source and consequences is extreme. In travelling across territories expecting to find differences in terrain and response to aridity, it is possible to be struck both by difference and coincidence in ecologies and cultures and the sense that both are determined to endure in the face of slow and relentless climatic changes paralleled by increasingly global responses to local economies on marginal lands.

Adopting slow technologies that demonstrate a once-learned approach to water is instructive yet these places are found along the route only if they are brought to the attention of travellers and new-comers alike. There are multiple practices that are daily played out around water and the practices associated with its management and appreciation.

The proposal for Watertrails itineraries that appropriate the motivation for learning while touring seeks to curate an ongoing collaboration between art, science and community to enable sites for interaction and intervention at places of critical water in order to devise a meshwork of associations. The idea is that making an agenda for collaborative water practices may result in water projects that acknowledge changing environments embarking on a more far-reaching curated landscape driven approach concerned with community sustenance in times of radical slowness.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Brooke Madill, PhD student and research assistant in landscape architecture is my fellow traveller on these journeys and without whose company in the Watertrails project, the research would not have the visual richness that it exhibits.

The research into the American West was enabled through the Drylands Design Competition research prize sponsored by the Arid Lands Institute, California Architectural Foundation, Los Angeles. South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board funding into the landscape assessment program for the Neales Catchment and Algebuckina Waterhole has supported the Australian arid lands research and methodology.

REFERENCES Arid Lands Institute & California Architectural Foundation, Drylands Design Competition; An Open Ideas Competition for Retrofitting the American West. 2011-2012, California Architectural Foundation William Turnbull Competition. http://drylandscompetition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/T0161.pdf (accessed February 2103) Ingold, T. (2011). Being Alive, Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description, Routledge, Oxon and New York, 2011, p83 Demetrios, E. Kcymaerxthaere http://www.kcymaerxthaere.com/ Jonas, P R. (2013) Cabinetlandia, Cabinet Magazine http://cabinetmagazine.org/information/cabinetlandia.php (accessed February 2103) Lee, G. (2011) Cultural Landscape assessment and analysis of the Neales Catchment and Algebuckina Waterhole. South Australian Natural Resources Management Board Report, Adelaide.

52. THE PIGGYBACK YARDS: A CATALYST FOR THE FUTURE OF THE LOS ANGELES RIVER Lehrer M, Feldmann B, Jacobs M Mia Lehrer + Associates ABSTRACT The Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan, a pro-bono conceptual study, proposes the reuse of an underutilized rail facility as a multi-benefit open space.The project explores the sites potential to dramatically alter the relationship of the Los Angeles River within the downtown context; serving the role for flood attenuation, habitat creation, passive and active recreation, as well as establishing a mix of development that directly relates to the sites unique surroundings. The 125-acre Piggyback Yard is the largest single-owner parcel that lies adjacent to the river, offering potential unique opportunity to act as a catalytic

446

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE project that furthers the interest to create livable districts that engage the river in a direct and meaningful way. Situated within a mile of Union Station, the project has the promise to rethink the way in which land is utilized, and in creating a powerful civic connection that honors the river.

A Feasibility Study is currently underway which will assess the hydrologic performance of the site and evaluate the development potential. This effort will be utilized to demonstrate the need for a project of its kind to make a radical intervention to the course of the LA River. As a regenerative solution, the realization of the project presents an opportunity to update and modernize city infrastructures to work with natural systems – not against them – while creating multivalent urban oases in the process.

OVERVIEW The purpose of the Piggyback Yard Feasibility Study is to further understand the project’s scope and extent based upon the extensive work developed from the pro-bono Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan. The study focuses on two topics critical to understanding the project’s aspirations: 1) the effects of hydrology on the site and river, and 2) understanding the site’s current market value and strategy for acquisition. The project area includes the 125acre rail yard known as the Piggyback Yard which is a Union Pacific owned site, technically referred to as the Los Angeles Transportation Center (LATC), with an assortment of adjoining smaller parcels of predominantly marginal light industrial uses along Mission Road, comprising a total of 177 acres.

Concluding the Feasibility Study, a Vision Plan provided a design solution derived from the Hydrological and Market analysis. The plan represents a design process that utilizes the frameworks established from an earlier 2010 Piggyback Yard Master Plan, continuing to heighten the performative value of the hydrology and match the development program to its local environment.

MIXED-USE LAND DEVELOPMENT The Piggyback Yard scheme proposes mixed-use development lining Mission Road and hosts a series of campus-like settings that further promotes adjoining institutions that include the USC Health Sciences Campus, the Brewery Arts District, as well as the entrepreneurial activity emanating from start-ups within the Cleantech Corridor. Located a mile from Union Station, the Piggyback Yard is positioned to foster a walkable, transit served community, inspiring a more active population on the river. With the potential for the California High Speed Rail Authority to locate the Los Angeles Terminal between the existing station and the river, the new transportation infrastructure and improvements could transform development supporting a constant stream of activity. As a river destination, the Piggyback Yard will be the cornerstone for Los Angeles’ new innovation economy, while simultaneously providing green and recreational space to support the River’s environmental revitalization efforts.

PLAN FRAMEWORK The size and location of the Piggyback Yard property represents a unique opportunity to allow the Los Angeles River to recalibrate its ecological function, serving as a multi-benefit open space that attenuates flooding, creates habitat, improves water quality, and fills a vital need for nature within the urban landscape. To this end, site design concepts were developed that would allow for river flows to access the Piggyback Yard and, in turn, create hydrologic, ecological, cultural, and economic benefits.

Two objectives framed of the hydrology, hydraulics, and water quality study: (1). To analyze the impacts of preliminary design concepts to develop a refined design concept of the Piggyback Yard Site that improves the hydrology, hydraulic function, and water quality of the Los Angeles River; (2).To evaluate the refined design concept for potential benefits to flood attenuation, water quality, and habitat.

An initial assessment of the two conceptual master plans from the 2010 Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan – River Strand and Broadened River (Fig. 1) – found that each employed a different approach to managing flood attenuation and creating areas for habitat. Combining beneficial aspects from each approach, the team developed a third strategy of Island Overflow that maximizes benefits from the two previous plans.

447

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig.1

RIVER STRAND The River Strand Alternative utilizes a strand type landform that splits the flow of the Los Angeles River into the Piggyback Yard site, creating a riparian strand accessible to the public. To provide habitat, the proposed side channel would widen into a constructed riparian wetland before rejoining the main channel. Because the wetland is isolated from the main channel of the Los Angeles River with a single inlet and outlet, it would be protected from flood flows, and the entire system would be highly controllable. Hydraulic analysis of this alternative revealed potential for stagnation in the side channel.

BROADENED RIVER The Broadened River Alternative widens the LA River to improve hydrological performance and maximize habitat area.

Rather than divert the river flow through a single landform, this design proposed to simply enlarge the river to enhance its ability to create habitat. During base flow conditions, islands would be visible above the water surface, but during flood conditions, when sheer forces and velocities can pose a risk to habitat and stability, the river would rise above these islands allowing it to dissipate its energy. In this design, potential for stagnation would be minimized.

Fig. 2

ISLAND OVERFLOW The Island Overflow Alternative (Fig 2) was developed to incorporate the habitat benefits of the Broadened River and the managed flows of the River Strand.This layout consists of three large islands of varying elevations that are designed to incorporate hydrologic management technologies such as armored terraces, inflatable dams and overflow culverts to provide the ability to detain and release water as appropriate. This design applies a managed approach to the river flows that also creates high value habitat area.

PREFERRED ALTERNATE The preliminary design concepts described above were produced using two sets of evaluation criteria, site evaluation and hydraulic evaluation, developed by the project team to assess the proposed alternatives.The site evaluation criteria

448

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE focused on the social, financial, and ecological impacts of each layout. The hydraulic evaluation criteria were used to gauge the performance of the layout based on the results of three dimensional (3-D) Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling of each alternative. Results of the hydraulic analysis shed additional light on the site evaluation criteria as well. For example, the velocity and sheer stresses in the restoration area determined whether the area would be suitable for aquatic habitat.

After each of these conceptual layouts was analyzed, a matrix was prepared to compare between the different concepts based on the two sets of criteria. Reviewing these matrices, the River Strand concept was eliminated because of the low velocities that could lead to water quality issues, high sheer stresses that would require significant channel reinforcement, and potential for deposition that would require additional maintenance.

While the Broadened River concept showed a clear advantage over the Island Overflow alternative in terms of the hydraulic criteria, the Island Overflow was assessed as more fully embodying the site selection criteria. (Piggyback Yard Conceptual Masterplan, 2010) Therefore the Project Team chose to further study the Island Overflow design by refining the shape, size, height and location of the islands to improve system hydraulics.This refinement process resulted in a single design alternative which balanced the site selection and hydraulic evaluation criteria.

Once the Island Overflow river layout was determined, a more comprehensive design for the site was developed, including treatment concepts for runoff generated both on-site and in the upper watershed. The design was then evaluated for flood attenuation, water quality, and habitat benefits. These benefits can be summarized as increasing the floodplain water storage, reducing the volume of water runoff by over 70%, enhancing the ecological health of the site, and increasing the amount of habitat through the introduction of wetlands, meadow and riparian regions.

OPEN SPACE/DEVELOPMENT BALANCE By adjusting the site terrain to improve the hydraulic functioning of the design and accommodate different development scenarios for the site, the team adopted the Island Overflow as the preferred alternative and developed two variations of this layout entitle Preferred Option A and Preferred Option B. Preferred Option A, allocates 40% of the site to be developed while the second scenario, Preferred Option B, allocates 25% of the site to be developed. Within both of these scenarios, the development mix and concept would be of a similar strategy, maximizing connections and adjacencies to existing streets and neighboring uses and follow a similar mixed use type of program established from the 2010 Piggyback Conceptual Master Plan (Piggyback Conceptual Master Plan, 2010).

Through team discussion and outreach to experts in the field, it was determined that the most appropriate use of the site, with respect for the constrained environment that the LA River traverses, would be the Option B scheme, enabling 25% of the site for development. The decision for this was based on the following reasons: (1). the availability of large sites adjacent to the river within the downtown reach are limited; (2). fulfills the great need for large scale open space that is equipped to provide for passive and active recreation opportunities as well as provide space for variety of riparian habitats; and (3). the difference in the amount of developable area may not make a significant contribution to realizing the project.

HYDROLOGICAL ANALYSIS The primary contributor of water during dry weather to the LA River is the Tillman Water Treatment Plant which discharges high quality treated effluent directly to the LA River. During wet weather, the primary contributor of water and source of pollutants to the River is from urban runoff from adjacent neighborhoods. This stormwater reaches the River either by overland flow, or through the stormdrain system.The design of the Piggyback Yard site will improve water quality through a number of mechanisms, including land use conversion of the site, improved ecological functioning of the LA River, and stormwater treatment technologies. The treatment technologies are proposed as a series of wetland treatment cells that will receive stormwater by day-lighting the drainage culvert that follows the Alhambra Road/Rail Easement. The land use conversion alone is anticipated to reduce the volume of runoff from the project site by over 70% and the pollutant loading (for the pollutants evaluated) by 70% to 90% (Piggyback Yard Feasibility Study, 2013).

Furthermore, the pollutant loading (for the pollutants evaluated) from the upper watershed is expected to be reduced by 50% to nearly 100% as a result of the treatment wetlands assuming 100% trash capture and 99.6% reduction in bacteria (ref Geosyntec piggyback feasibility study). In combination, the water quality benefits of the project as a whole can be assumed to be greater (more beneficial) than the water quality benefits of each individual component. This is due to the effect of “treatment trains”, or consecutive stages of pollutant removal, which build upon one another.These combined strategies will contribute to the enhanced ecological health within the site and provide improved water quality benefits to the Los Angeles River.

The Piggyback Yard project, while of a visionary nature, is incredibly timely, as many forces are currently at work; including planning initiatives to improve the region’s water quality and secure its supply. Perhaps of most significance

449

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE is the Army Corp. of Engineers Ecological Restoration Study which began in 2006 to assess opportunities to modify the channelized condition of the LA River to create space for improved flood attenuation and riparian habitat. While still in a draft phase, included within several proposed alternates is the indication of the LATC site as a vital location to improve the conditions of the river.

ACQUISITION STRATEGY To move forward with the Feasibility Analysis and Acquisition Strategy of Piggyback Yard, a strategy for relocating Union Pacific’s LATC must first be developed having dramatic effects on the rail network and goods movement activities of Union Pacific. In addition to the relocation strategy of the LATC, an environmental assessment of the Piggyback Yard site is recommended to ensure that proper site remediation occurs before it can be redeveloped and made ready for public use. As much of the site will need to be excavated to create the designed landform, the remediation strategy will include relocating existing soil to as well developing a process for improving the remaining site that is both environmentally sensitive to the Los Angeles river and surrounding community while financially respective to redevelopment.

Since establishing ownership role will illustrate to surrounding property owners that there is a sincere interest to develop this River Destination, it is important to phase the acquisition strategy and begin to control properties surrounding LATC during this advantageous real estate market period and while political environment is supportive of the river’s transformation.

RECOMMENDED LAND ACQUISITION APPROACH ELP Advisors conducted a market analysis and site evaluation to determine a feasible and strategic land acquisition approach that will allow the LARRC and FoLAR to begin assembling key parcels in the Piggyback Yard project area.

The project team recommends a phased strategy that begins by organizing parcels along the edges of the site that are either for sale or underutilized.

Phase I Phase 1 would include the acquisition of Parcels 4 and 8, two parcels that are contiguous and located at the south west corner of the project area. The opportunity to initialize site control increasing the likelihood of state or federal funding and securing a foothold in the project area will also prove useful in signaling to other property owners an interested buyer, which may motivate an offer, capitalizing on a favorable real estate market, and positively impacting the political environment around the revitalization efforts of the Los Angeles River.

Phase II The remaining parcels within the Piggyback Yard project area are less accessible, although as mentioned, if a movement is made to initiate discussions with other property owners, select parcels may become available. The next series of parcels are clustered and contiguous, have various property owners, and are in better condition than other parcels in the southwest section of the project area. Because some of these parcels have buildings on them with active tenants, the cost to acquire them may be prohibitive and without redevelopment or subsidy assistance from the City of Los Angeles, acquisition of the next phase of parcels may prove too difficult. However, understanding the ownership structure and monitoring each parcel in this next section of the project area is achievable. With the assistance of a broker who is familiar with the activity in the area, the owners of these five properties – Parcels 1, 3, 11, 12, and 19 – should be approached to determine their level of interest in selling their land (Piggyback Yard Feasibility Study, 2013).

Phase III The largest piece of land, Parcel 17, which is owned by the Union Pacific, is the cornerstone of the Piggyback Yard project. Union Pacific is currently not a willing seller. Understanding the role of the Piggyback Yard in the regional goods movement network and the ways in which those operations can be changed or moved to accommodate the Conceptual Master Plan without causing economic disruption and job loss is essential before making a credible move on this property.

450

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig. 3

VISION PLAN “The Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan has been conceived with the goal of helping to transform Los Angeles for the symbiotic betterment of its community and its ecology, creating a significant opportunity for meaningful interaction between people and nature. At its core is the specific goal of providing extensive public access to the Los Angeles River, populating, revitalizing its banks, and creating thriving possibilities surrounding its presence, the availability of land, connectivity to multiple transportation modes, and the strategic location of the Piggyback Yard at the heart of the city(Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan, 2013).”

The vision for the Feasibility Study follows the path laid out by the Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan – one that seeks to maximize investment for the revitalization of the LA River and creation of a new place within the landscape of Downtown Los Angeles (Fig. 3). The Piggyback Yard exemplifies the notion of urban regeneration, serving as a catalytic type of project that employs a systems-based form of green infrastructure that maximizes the benefits of ecology for people and place. Presenting a multi-benefit solution to resolve the compounding effects of urbanization on the environment, the following narrative provides a description of the layering of benefits as a river revitalization project and its relevance to the city’s future.

Fig. 4

451

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT Utilizing the full extent of the Mission Rail Yard property, the 125-acre parcel allows for the unique opportunity to significantly alter the river channel and create a new terrain that supports riparian habitat and provides public access while maintaining hydraulic performance during peak flows (Fig.4). This is achieved by removing the eastern portion of the trapezoidal channel and replacing the embankment with a series of islands, engineered to guide the primary flow of the river into the site.The heights and shape of the islands have been designed to attenuate the flows and create the opportunity to hold water through a system of inflatable dams located between the island forms.

Within the site itself, a series of plateaus or benches have been established at elevations that relate to varying flood events and provide space for water to be held as a resource for reuse, percolate back into the local aquifer, as well as slowly release the water and return to the river’s course.

WATER QUALITY The design of the Piggyback Yard site will improve water quality through a number of enhancements (Fig. 5), including land use conversion of the site, improved ecological functioning of the LA River, and stormwater treatment technologies.

The three primary treatment processes proposed include: 1) River Treatment - a combined strategy of infiltration, alluvial plains, constructed wetlands and a constructed riparian run to clean larger quantities of water during flood season, 2) Land Use Conversion - combining strategic grading generating a high percentage of land impervious of transportation with a low impact development area, and 3) Offline Culvert System - day-lighting an underground culvert through a lineal series of catchment filters, aeration pools and waterfalls, wetland treatment cells and aquaculture lagoons as a complete systematic treatment providing the ability to measure water quality processes.

Fig.5

CONNECTIVITY Connectivity is one of the greatest urban challenges facing Los Angeles. While it is described that the LA River has historically been the division between East LA’s neighborhoods and Downtown, the physical and psychological barriers created from the layering of rail and highway infrastructure between these places has posed far greater disparities.

Posing a significant gap in the fabric of downtown Los Angeles and rolling hills of East LA’s neighborhoods Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights, the Piggyback Yard site is an incredible opportunity to improve connectivity mending the neighborhoods of East LA together with downtown. With respect to the lack of connections across the river, the streets that surround the site including Mission Road, Main Street, and Cesar Chavez, will serve a more vital role to connect pedestrians and cyclists.

The site and river will afford new connections along and across the river’s banks. In addition to physical connectivity, the importance of visual connectivity has also been considered as a valuable piece to tell the story of the river and formation of the city. Throughout the Piggyback Yard, a series of site specific areas take advantage of views back to downtown and give a sense for the dynamic forces of the river system and raising the level of environmental education. Combined the vision plan plays a significant role in continued improvements for mobility and opportunity for community oriented development.

452

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE HABITAT ACTIVITY Site programming is organized by elevation and proximity to the river; passive uses are located in the lower plateaus nearest to the river and increase in intensity moving up in elevation and away from the river helping orientate people, ensure the sanctity of habitat areas, minimize maintenance, provide access, and heighten awareness of the sites relationship to the river. Each type of habitat represented is dependent on the diversion of the river flow and local runoff. Portions of the Upland area will be accessible to the public, while others will be dedicated wildlife areas. The Wetland area will receive the main flows from the river while the Dry Wash will remain predominantly dry throughout the year. The site anticipates water programming such as kayaking and canoeing during the wet seasons. Reflecting California’s natural open spaces, the Meadow serves as a transitional space, creating a large habitat area consisting of native plantings that also offers passive programming and events. Higher elevations are reserved for more active recreation, cultural and civic spaces offering a diverse range of park type environments.

URBAN VITALITY AND RESILIENCE The transformation of central city industrial lands to accommodate metropolitan growth is necessary to make our urban centers more vital.The significance of the nucleus of city’s central space and ability to host significant populations within our cities urban centers will outweigh the burden of remediation of land and processes for unlocking historically controlled industrial properties. Los Angeles is actively recognizing the importance of the ability to accommodate for higher and better uses of derelict lands while preserving the industrial zoning. Through efforts like the Cleantech corridor the city is in process of fostering a new industrial landscape that is compatible with urban residential growth and fosters an industrial sector that is cleaner, non-harmful, denser and more economically robust; sponsoring centers for technological advancement and sustainable/regenerative research.

Recognizing that the LA River navigates through many conditions of urban places, neighborhoods, and naturalized areas, it should be stressed that the industrial corridor of Los Angele is unique to itself. Through the process of the Feasibility Study, the Piggyback Yard employs these urbanistic tenants towards the revitalization of the river and alignment of future redevelopment of sites along the downtown stretch: (1). Increasing density within the central city, (2). Creating livable places along the river, (3.) Recalibrating infrastructure as “climate-ready” and (4). Reducing liability through environmental design.

Planning for the future, our cities must plan to recalibrate its infrastructural systems to handle the compounding effects of 20th Century urbanization combined with more frequent and severe storms as a result of climate change. Super Storm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina serve as incredible examples to the extent and severity of destruction that today’s 21st Century Climatic events can bring. The Piggyback Yard represents the paradigm shift, signaling a departure from the region’s 20th Century process of development (compromising land for the sake of ease of implementation and short-sighted planning) and signals the importance of large infrastructural change that provide long-lasting benefits for both the community and environment (Piggyback Yard Feasibility Study, 2013).

BIBLIOGRAPHY Piggyback Feasibility Study. (2013) Mia Lehrer + Associates, Friends of the Los Angeles River, Geosyntec and ELP Advisors.

Piggyback Yard Collaborative Design Group. (2010) Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan www.piggybackyard.org.

53. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN TRANSITION: CHANGING THE FLOW OF WATER Lehrer M, Jacobs M Mia Lehrer + Associates ABSTRACT With its desert climate and subsequent history of water shortage and conflicts, water supply, management and distribution are vital elements to the success of Los Angeles. From the devastating aridity of Owens Lake, to the enclosed drinking water reservoirs and fenced-off concrete river channel, Los Angeles is a prime example of problematic water management practices and their associated issues and outcomes.

This paper will examine strategies for sustainable water management practice highlighting different stages in the water cycle from source to storage to conveyance (to use) with projects in the combined area of Owens Lake, the Silverlake Reservoir, and the Los Angeles River creating the single largest networked water infrastructure and most important potential public space in Southern California. Originally constructed with little concern for environmental consequences, this system of infrastructure retrofit projects now aims to address climate change, population growth, sea level rise and land subsidence through increased flood storage, enhanced water quality, improved public access, and a restored riparian ecosystem, thereby increasing overall

453

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE awareness and visibility of this precious city resource.

Fig.1

California is one of the world’s largest managed water system utilizing an average of 200,000,000 acre feet of water per year.The political complexity and the diversity of California’s landscape intensify its water management challenges. Over 80% of the state’s water demands are due to large agricultural and urban sectors in the South that rely on state water sources, 70% of which exist in the Northern California (Fig.1).

As populations continue to grow in the semi-arid and arid regions of southern California, specifically in the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Area, the demand for water continues to increase tapping existing sources. As a result, there is mounting concern about our ability to meet future water demand amidst pressure on our complex water systems.

Available water that has been claimed and channelled for human use is becoming more limited, resulting in a heavier reliance on imported water from far-off sources and the tapping of additional rivers, streams, and groundwater aquifers. While this approach has been beneficial in the past, it also has come at an enormous environmental cost. Land formerly stabilized by water and vegetation is becoming increasingly arid as a high percentage of surface and groundwater is lost to 20th century infrastructure conveyance. This remaining dry land is more susceptible to wind, causing desertification, dust storms and destruction of native habitat.

Existing as a result of engineering endeavors and the water laws and policies created on its behalf, Los Angeles today is an immense water consumer and the second largest metropolis in the country. Reliant on three aqueducts transporting water from sources in the North or outside the state the City only draws an average of 15% of its water from local aquifers and surface runoff. In addition, Los Angeles is constantly challenged by the rapid growth and development of its more than 4,000 square miles and an ever-increasing population estimated to reach 24 million in 2030. Los Angeles must rethink its relationship with water.The city is reaching a critical point, whereby its strategy for importing water from distant water sources is failing as the infrastructure needed is financially infeasible and the sources are environmentally at risk. Moving into the future the City needs to institute a sustainable water strategy from source to end user; the components must consider protecting the existing primary water sources, recharging the local aquifers, minimizing stormwater runoff, establishing regulatory policy, guidelines for development, and foremost increasing awareness are essential elements to a more sound water management system.

454

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig.2

THE LOS ANGELES WATERSHED & JURISDICTIONAL COMPLEXITY On top of existing water shortages, The Los Angeles Watershed straddles several municipalities further complicating the relationship Los Angeles has with water (Fig.2). The Los Angeles River Watershed that encompasses 871 square miles, an area roughly twice the size of the state of Delaware, contains a population approaching 12 million people.

In the lower Los Angeles watershed, only 13 percent of the land area remains as open space. Surrounded by other municipalities, over the past two decades, Los Angeles communities have worked with many local, state, and federal government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, in efforts to revitalize the Los Angeles River and Los Angeles water sources. While these organizational efforts have proved challenging, due to the complexity of the jurisdictions and the difficulty in attaining majority rule, they have also yielded successful plans and projects towards improving the Los Angeles Watershed and water supply in the future.

RETHINKING THE SOURCE In the early 1900’s, Owens River water was captured by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and redirected to Los Angeles via the California Aqueduct as one of the greatest engineering feats of its time in order to supply the needs of a growing population. As Owens Lake’s main source of water was diverted, the lake rapidly shrunk to a small brine pool less than one third its original size.The exposed lakebed became more susceptible to wind, resulting in desertification, dust storms, destruction of native habitat, and largest single source of particulate matter air pollution problem in the United States. This great water management accomplishment unintentionally became an environmental and public health disaster (Kohen).

Fig.3

455

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig.4

The water levels of Owens Lake were dramatically reduced due to demand for exported water to serve the growing Los Angeles metropolitan area and to irrigate agriculture in the Owens Valley. By 1930, the lake was virtually dry. The exposed lakebed began to emit large amounts of dust (Fig. 3 and 4), becoming the largest single source of particulate matter air pollution in the United States (Gill 1991).

In conjunction with the efforts of the LADWP, the Owens Dry Lake Phase 7A and Transition Dust Control Measures is underway to explore a design-oriented approach as a prototype for a more aesthetic and cost effective solution to the dust problem. The goal of the project is to encourage visitors to the site, while enhancing habitat, preserving water, and saving money (Lehrer 2012).

While the main directive was to mitigate dust it was fundamentally important to maintain ecological stability that allows for a more sustainable use of the water supply at Owens Lake in the future. In addition to dust control, water and financial savings solutions, the project provides accessible trails for pedestrians to walk onto the lakebed, enhances the habitat with plantings, and provides overlooks for bird watching, and creates view platforms oriented to the lake and to the mountains beyond.

Fig.5

Currently, several integrated solutions are being explored implementing a design-oriented approach including three approved dust mitigation measures: 1. native planting, 2. integration of gravel, and 3. shallow flooding as a prototype for a more aesthetic and cost-effective solution to the dust problem (Olekszulin 2008). Different combinations of

456

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE landform features utilizing these strategies are being analyzed and calibrated based on reducing sand motion by acting as a natural wind break, promoting vegetative growth, and reducing erosion problems through root systems all of which are bringing a new and relevant source of inspiration to the design (Fig.5).

Ultimately the goal is to find a sustainable and effective resolution to the ecological issues facing Owens Lake, helping to promote awareness and stewardship over resources and decreasing Los Angeles’ dependence on this fragile desert water supply.This will prove invaluable to other water management related projects in the region and encourage design teams striving for sustainable solutions in larger planning efforts.

As more regions of the world are facing desertification and the demand on water supply continually increases, it is envisioned that the restoration of Owens Lake can act as a “laboratory of the future” exemplifying the environmental dynamics of desertification and strategies for rehabilitating habitats and water supplies (Lehrer 2012).

RECALIBRATING THE INFRASTRUCTURE After water is transported from distant sources that include Owens Lake and the Colorado River to Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River serves as the backbone of its extensive watershed network (Fig.6). Through an extensive network of canals, tunnels, buried conduits, pumping stations and reservoirs, the land around the river has been marginalized historically by the growth of industrial lands and encased by the rail corridor.

Fig.6

As the original source of life for the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River was historically a rich riparian corridor with diverse plant and animal species hosting the indigenous Tongva and Chumash people and later the Spanish along it river’s banks. The Los Angeles River is fundamentally a dry river with seasonal changes that becomes inundated during winter months – an image that is both formidable and destructive.Through the growth of the City, development continued to encroach on the River’s floodplain during the first half of the 20th century, resulting in inevitable damage from devastating floods most notably in years 1914, 1934 and 1938. In response to this need for flood control, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District began the 30 year construction of the concrete-lined channel that now conveys the river for most of its 51-mile length as a safety measure.

In addition to the increasing industrial development and channelization by the Army Corps in the early 1940s, compounding the situation infrastructural systems including the railway, power and water networks encased the River’s edge creating an inhospitable environment for wildlife and the public. As a result, the River becomes an invisible barrier isolating communities and unidentifiable to most as a natural system. Today, with every portion of the original River altered and engineered to secure the safety of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles River is unrecognizable from its native state. No longer a ‘river’ but a flood control channel, the Los Angeles River is unable to recharge the aquifers underlying its path, discharging its water unobstructed and unused into the Pacific Ocean resulting in a huge and costly impediment to the Los Angeles water supply.( http://www.thelariver.com/about/history-of-the-river/) Unable to change the history of Los Angles water management practices since the river was first channelized, the City of Los Angeles has the ability to reverse the past and re-envision the river. In an effort to outline a hopeful future for perhaps the single largest water infrastructure network and the most important potential public space in Southern

457

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE California, The Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP) combined efforts of public agencies and community stakeholders to re-envision channelized flood control conveyance into a significant regional recreational and ecological resource.

Fig.7

Culminating more than 10 years of river activism, The LARRMP aims to transform 32 miles of concrete-lined river— from Canoga Park through downtown Los Angeles—into public green space in the heart of one of America’s most populated cities (Fig.7). Committed to natural system restoration, treatment of stormwater runoff, the reconnection of park-poor neighborhoods to river green space, and creating value by redefining the river as a green and accessible open space, this vision transforms the river over several generations creating a significant public legacy for the children and grandchildren of those who will witness its implementation.

The master plan is intended to be a 25 to 50 year blueprint for employing comprehensive improvements to make the Los Angeles River one of the city’s most treasured landmarks and a catalyst for a sustainable environment. As a part of its organizational strategy, the LARRMP involved community stakeholders in identifying opportunities and formulating goals to transform a channelized flood-control conveyance into a significant regional recreational and ecological resource.

Fig.8

WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS In addition to setting up a framework for action, it is imperative to involve community input and public support throughout the planning process contributing to the success of the Los Angeles River revitalization effort. In 2005, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa formally endorsed the City Council’s motion to develop this LARRMP representing a milestone achievement for the City in its massive scope—coalescing diverse stakeholders around a revitalization agenda for the still often-overlooked Los Angeles River.

A City department task force, an advisory committee representing neighborhood and homeowner associations, business groups and other community leaders, a stakeholder committee representing advocacy organizations, and a peer review committee comprised of experts in urban river revitalization and restoration met during an 18 month planning period. A total of 20 community meetings/public workshops were held in various neighborhoods along the

458

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE river (Fig.8). It is through these efforts and the process of collecting comments and involving stakeholders that the set of goals for the LARRMP were further developed setting the stage for Los Angeles River Revitalization projects in the future (Fig.9). The goals of the LARRMP are as follows: 1. Revitalize the River Restoring a continuous, functioning riparian ecosystem along the River Corridor that enhances flood storage and water quality and increases safe public access through a system of pathways and overlooks. This would involve restoring riparian vegetation to support wildlife habitat, improve water quality treatment, and increase public enjoyment.

2. Green the Neighborhoods To enhance river identity A major element of reconnecting and greening neighborhoods to the Los Angeles River is the transformation of the River Corridor into a continuous River Greenway that is both bicycle and pedestrian friendly incorporating public art and extending open space, recreational and water quality features.

3. Capture Community Opportunities In order to make the River the focus of activity and foster civic pride, residents will be engaged in the process, providing new educational and public facilities and celebrating the cultural heritage of the River.

4. Create Value Making the River green and accessible is expected to transform an undervalued asset into a valued amenity improving the quality of life. Revitalization offers the opportunity for communities to engage in development that leads to an improved natural environment, while also attracting investment that leads to new jobs, increased property values, more livable streets, and sustainable growth (LARRMP 2007).

Fig.9

In addition to the goals, the plan recommends more than 240 projects and outlines the strategy for obtaining effective financing for these river improvement projects. The essential steps for moving into the future are straightforward: The River needs a governance structure that would remain energized and focused on finance and implementation; and it needs ongoing community involvement and support. (As a result of the Master Plan, the LA River Revitalization Corporation (LARRC) and the LA River Cooperation Committee were formed to meet the needs respectively.

The Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan lays the groundwork for each of these conditions to be achieved transforming the river corridor into a continuous River Greenway that functions as a new green and sustainable spine for the city of Los Angeles.

WATER STORAGE AND OPEN SPACE Since its inception, reservoirs have been used by Los Angelinos as means to protect themselves; providing water during periods of drought or floods. Generally constructed in areas where water was scarce or where a controlled water facility was necessary, there are now 13 drinking water reservoirs in Los Angeles. Located five miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, the Silver Lake Reservoir (Fig.10) is one of Los Angeles’ largest open water reservoirs.

459

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig. 10

Historically, water infrastructure (these reservoirs) has been engineered and planned with a singular purpose and consequently, inaccessible to the public and disruptive to the fabric of local neighborhoods and the respective communities.

While the property had been off-limits to the public since the 1940’s, the LADWP Board of Commissioners adopted the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan in November, 2000. The Master Plan recognizes the reservoir as both a work of infrastructure and as a public amenity. In keeping with this approach, the Master Plan outlines improvements to the reservoir that increase public access to the reservoir while also ensuring public safety.

Pedestrian safety in the Silver Lake neighborhood was one of the important issues raised by the community during the Master Plan process. The Silver Lake Reservoir Pedestrian Path was completed in December 2008 as the first phase of improvements outlined in the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan.

Fig. 11

Using traffic calming methods, the new pedestrian path provides a protected two-mile loop, enabling pedestrians to traverse safely around the reservoir. The $4.4 million project improvements include: a new, permeable decomposed granite walking path, site walls at key locations separating pedestrians from automobile traffic, preservation of existing trees, drought tolerant trees and shrubs, a state-of-the-art water-conserving irrigation system and low-energy lighting.

Today, the reservoir is the focal point of the community and has evolved as a regional recreational resource. The Silver Lake Reservoir pedestrian path which stretches 2.2 miles (3.5 km) around the reservoir is used safely and enjoyably by walkers and joggers, the meadow provides green open space for the community to hold gatherings and several other recreational areas now surround the site including a dog park on the south, a nursery school on the North and the Silver Lake Recreation Center which includes a basketball court on the south side of the lake.

CREATING MOMENTUM Through leadership, community engagement, and the creation of comprehensive plans and policy the revitalization of The Los Angeles water network is possible. A strategic approach is imperative in facilitating ongoing communication

460

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE between stakeholders and securing support from funding institutions. This includes creating tangible community benefits, integrating environmental solutions that accommodate public uses, promoting research and development and perhaps most importantly, maximizing multiple-benefit solutions. Moving forward, solutions should not only improve water quality and increase water conservation, efficient water collection and storage, but support habitat creation and conservation, encourage recreation, conserve not only water but energy and increase the amount of usable open space within the Los Angeles region.

Over the past two decades, Los Angeles’s communities, together with local, state, and federal government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, have engaged in efforts to revitalize the Los Angeles River and its waterways while minimizing our reliance on external water sources through recharging the local aquifer and maximizing pervious surfaces (Lehrer 2012). With the improvements of water resources (street renovations), layering community benefits (parks) and improved access (pedestrian/bike paths and bridges) contributes to redefining citywide strategies for sustainable water management practices setting the groundwork for democratizing the water infrastructure system.

This approach will transform single uses infrastructures like Owens Lake, the Los Angeles River, and Silverlake Reservoir into multi-benefit infrastructural solutions as a source of socioeconomic revitalization and a crucial step in towards creating meaningful open spaces.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Gill, T. E., and D. A. Gillette, 1991, Owens Lake: A Natural Laboratory for Aridification, Playa Desiccation and Desert Dust: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 23, no. 5, p. 462.

Kohen, Devon S., McAdoo, David P., Nawrath, Steven G., Patton, Christopher L. Shaping the Future of Owens Lake California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (2007).

Lehrer, Mia and Jacobs, Margot. (2012) Invisible Borders: The Mapping of Owens Lake. Bordes South American IFLA. Lehrer, Mia. (2012) Los Angeles River: Using Green Infrastructure to Revitalize a City. Green Infrastructure: A Landscape Approach. David C. Rouse and Ignacio Bunster-Ossa Ed. Planning Advisory Service Report Number 571. pp.118-124.

Olekszulin, Amanda. Owens Lake Revised Moat and Row Dust Control Measures, EDAW, Department of Water and Power City of Los Angeles, December 16 2008.

54. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE’S GREEN DILEMMA MacKenzie A, McKenzie M University of Canberra ABSTRACT Landscape Architecture has, in recent years, positioned itself as the profession most capable of inserting a green legitimacy into the policy approaches required to meet the demands of an urbanising world. Terms such as green infrastructure offer promises of a policy fix that place landscapes at the centre of solutions needed to meet the infrastructure demands of burgeoning urban population. This occurs with little empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of such an approach, often relying on isolated signature projects rather than successful planning policies.

Yet landscapes have been intuitively valued in cities for centuries. As governments attempt to contain sprawling suburbs by pursuing a more compact urban form, this paper argues that, from a policy perspective, landscapes are becoming less rather than more valued in the growth of Australian cities. Using a study of Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) policies, this paper argues that terms such as green infrastructure reflect a free market environmentalism approach to development. As a result, they reflect and, in turn, support a neo-liberal ‘anti-planning’ paradigm that reduces the role of landscapes and fosters unsustainable urban growth.

This paper argues a radical change is needed to the way landscape architecture advocates for and supports urban growth.

It suggests that advocacy for policies concerning the growth of cities should avoid the oversimplification of landscapes as a green technological solution. Alternatively, when landscapes are thought of as a guiding principle for community engagement, landscape architecture policy can provide a more meaningful contribution to developing a resilient community.

INTRODUCTION Landscape architectural research is a vibrant and evolving field given the scope of current writing in the area [Cosgrove, 2003; Cosgrove, 2006; Wylie, 2007].Research into urban ecology also enriches our theoretical understandings into the value of landscapes in cities. The increased interest in urban ecosystems as a field of enquiry emerged in the late 1990s with the design of increasingly sophisticated software applications using high resolution satellite imagery (HRSI)

461

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE [Antrop, 2004a]. This metrics driven approach, popular today in ecological and natural sciences, is deeply embedded in measurable data and relies heavily on computer systems and software design [Al-Kodmany, 2000]. As a result, the value of the urban landscape is calculated using metrics that quantify ecological services [Van de Voorde, Jacquet et al., 2011].

However, such research does not interpret the experiential, affective and perceptual dimensions of landscape[Wylie, 2007].

The appropriation of ecological theories in landscape architecture gained popularity following the publication of Ian McHarg’s seminal work Design with Nature [McHarg, 1969]. McHarg’s work opened up the field of landscape analysis to increasingly complex and detailed understandings of landscapes that, with the advent of satellite technology, dramatically expanded the available tools for examining landscapes from an ecological as well as a geographic perspective.The focus on the physical landscape using a metrics approach to analysing the urban landscape has also generated interest among researchers concerned with the social and environmental impacts of urbanisation [Thwaites, 2001; Banks and Brack, 2003; Troy, 2004; Tranter, 2006; Hall, 2010; Wiesel, Freestone et al., 2011].These researchers have, by and large, defined landscapes by their physical components and rely on categorising different arrangements of structures, vegetation and landform. Such research relies on quantitative measures to determine ecological impacts and spatial changes [Antrop, 2000; Antrop, 2006]. This in turn reflects policy approaches to quantifying landscape values in an urban setting [Olwig, 2002; Cosgrove, 2008]. The translation of this research into policy reflects the physical structures bias, which does not reflect the development of the broad spectrum of landscape theory - but rather - focuses on the role of the physical landscape to mitigate or resolve seemingly intractable urban environmental problems in the face of climate change.

By the 1990s the landscape urbanism and ecological urbanism movements had inculcated ecological theory into a design philosophy.Terms normally associated with the natural sciences were commonplace within the field of landscape architecture. This new language emphasizes the importance of measuring the value of landscapes to improve the environmental performance of a site. Similarly, one of the primary goals of many landscape architecture projects has been to enhance the ecological performance of a site as a result of the design treatments. Despite these claims, empirical evidence through the publication of peer reviewed research is rarely used to support such an approach in Australia. Instead landscape architecture policy focuses on the creation of metrics using a free market approach to value landscapes in cities.

This free market environmental approach to policy is premised on the principle that the use of scarce resources is far better disciplined by the market than a central governing authority [Pennington, 1999]. Free market environmentalism puts faith in the market to allocate environmental values to prevent both the exhaustion of resources and the collapse of ecological systems. This view also sits comfortably with the dominant neo-liberal view of investment and growth [Gleeson and Lowe, 2000].This policy development within a narrowly defined econometric discourse has resulted in an array of new terms in landscape architecture policy from the fields of ecology, forestry and environmental management.

Terms such as green infrastructure are used by AILA to determine the value of urban landscapes in this way. Yet as evidenced by urban development in Australia in the last twenty five years, landscapes are playing less of a role in the everyday lives of citizens as new urban development reflects a drift towards larger homes and smaller backyards [Hall, 2010]. This phenomenon comes at a time when the awareness of the environmental urgency connected to resource depletion and climate change is a major public issue [MacKenzie, 2012].

The next section of this paper examines how the use of this ecological discourse, when poorly applied to landscape policies, risks undermining the very objectives that are being advocated by professional institutes such as AILA. AILA’S LANDSCAPE POLICIES The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects [AILA] has a range of policies which outline industry standards and perspectives on issues relating to the landscape architectural practice. AILA establishes the benefits of the application of ecological theory throughout its various national policy statements. The objective of these statements is to highlight the dividends of ecosystem services, provided through functioning ecosystems and their inherent ecological processes.

The AILA policy advocates that cities ‘focus fiscal measures on strategic incentives for enhancing and supporting green infrastructure potential’ by ‘tailor[ing] existing funding capacity and structures towards ‘value-added’ development’ [AILA, 2012]. AILA defines value by using terms such as ‘ecosystem service provision’ to ‘enhance the effectiveness of responses to climate change at local and regional scales’. In all, these goals seek to address climate uncertainty.

This approach advocates for ecological processes that provide a generative form of ‘green infrastructure’ enacted by new landscape typologies developed through design. For example, the coastal landscapes national policy statement notes ecological function as a ‘coastal resource’ which should be protected for the benefit of existing and future communities.This policy states that landscapes generate ‘a range of vital ecosystem services which directly and indirectly benefit human communities’ [AILA, 2010]. In this policy statement, the enacting of ecological processes taking place in the landscape - described as a form of infrastructure - provides a beneficial goods and service to the community.

Included in the goods and services provided by these processes are habitat and biodiversity, two components integral

462

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE to the functionality of ecological systems.

Less apparent is how policy outcomes are achieved, and this raises questions concerning the application of ecological theories underpinning these policies. Healthy functioning ecosystems do have the ability to produce ecological goods and services such as clean air and water; however there appears to be little understanding of the processes that underpin both ecological systems and fragile dynamic equilibriums which allow for these goods and services to become available.

For example, the AILA national policy statement on Water places emphasis on the ‘conservation of all waterways as a resource for human life and environmental health’[AILA, 2010]. While this statement reinforces the idea of ecology as a means for producing ecosystem goods and services by making references to ecological considerations it does not extend to the role of design in achieving this goal. In this way theories relating to ecological processes are alluded to but the application in practice has not been developed. AILA also advocates for increased recognition and support for design to enable ‘meaningful environmental’ outcomes for water management. The policy goal is to harmonise natural processes with planning, design and management, resulting in resilient ecological systems and processes.

In ecology, resilience is defined as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance before the systems fundamental structure crosses a threshold and changes [Walker and Salt, 2006]. Similarly, resilience describes the state of a system rather than imposing values on that system. In other words, resilience can be both good and bad depending on the circumstances, objectives and values of the operators in the system [Walker and Salt, 2012]. A good system can be adapted to build up resilience to shocks; a bad system can be transformed to push it into another threshold toward a better system. It depends on what the goal of change is. The AILAs policy approach to resilience is unidirectional, advocating that changes - through sympathetic development inspired by the landscape principles and policies - will exponentially improve.

As a result, the landscape is classified through AILAs appropriation of ecological concepts to support their policies using an overarching scientific and economic language. Yet if it is accepted that urban landscapes are both fragmented and heterogeneous [Antrop, 2000] then citizens also adopt an equally fragmented, rather than a holistic view of the landscape [MacKenzie, 2012]. As researchers seek to unpack the increasingly fragmented role landscapes play in cities, an equally opposing force seems to exist in the development of policies that appropriate landscapes as a unifying umbrella solution to urban ills. This mismatch between the policy aspirations and the community understanding of the role and function of landscapes bring into question the effectiveness of this approach. This is most apparent in the way in which landscapes have been ‘value managed’ out of urban developments on the edges of our cities [MacKenzie and Moulis, 2012].

The next part of the paper explores the gaps between research and landscape architecture policy. These examples serve to highlight the need for a different approach to advocating for landscapes on behalf of the landscape architecture profession.

ECOLOGY AND URBAN LANDSCAPES The AILA approach for many of its policies reflects a broad understanding of ecology promoted by the landscape urbanism movement. It acknowledges that systems function as dynamic combinations of interrelated processes that are co-dependent on each other to maintain balance and function. Changes created in one area or ecosystem can create a significant cascade of effects which manifest with significant implications in a seemingly unrelated area [Walker and Salt, 2012]. The emphasis on co-dependent interactions highlighted in ecology is used by AILA to emphasize the inherent interconnectedness of cities. This is amplified, perhaps a little clumsily by the opening statement of AILAs landscape principles. It asserts that ‘human activity threatens the fundamental capacity of landscape to sustain life on earth’[AILA, 2011]. This is a clarion call for a landscape led strategy for cities to adapt to climate change rather than an evidence based policy statement.

The corner stone of AILAs adaption strategy is resilience - a socio-ecological term which refers to the capacity of a system to respond to disturbances [Walker and Salt, 2012]. For landscape architecture, adaption is an attractive idea which resonates because it plays upon the continual need for cities and landscapes to be flexible, respond quickly to changing needs and demands, whilst creating new sequences of effects which develop potential for the future. This appropriation of resilience theory in and through ecological principles and function also suggests renewed interest in changed practices in design. The combination of different ‘ecologies’ within a site leads to new combinations, effects, interdisciplinary creations, and as a result, new kinds of public space. Supporters of this landscape approach promote complex design strategies through the engagement of ecological processes [Corner, 2004]. It is this combination of themes concerning ecology and dynamic systems that are used to promote the role of landscape architects when tackling large-scale, highly complex sites.

In contrast to this, Livesey [2009] notes that many of the ideas underpinning landscape architectural practice - as evidenced by many of the early works of the landscape urbanism movement are highly evocative[Livesey, 2009].

463

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE However upon examination of the projects produced over the last two decades under the banner of landscape urbanism, it seems as though they are “stuck in the history of grand park design”[Livesey, 2009, p.45]. Further, Livesey notes how many of the signature projects involve isolated Brownfield sites on the urban fringe or typically along waterfronts resulting in large parks isolated from other landscapes or relatively conventional landscape projects. What is often missing from such landscape architectural practices is the ability to recast the city in ecological terms, one of the most powerful, evocative and interesting themes originating from McHarg and developed by Corner. As a result many projects touted to embody ecological values do little to tackle the larger environmental issues facing cities. It is therefore not a surprise that within the framework of landscape architecture advocacy, the highly complex issues related to ecological function remain unresolved from a policy perspective.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE’S GREEN DILEMMA The strongest reference to ecology throughout all of the AILA policies can be found relating to the concept ‘green infrastructure’. AILA defines green infrastructure as “the network of natural landscape assets which underpin the economic, socio-cultural and environmental functionality of our cities and towns” [AILA, 2012] of which ecological function is a vital component. AILA’s green infrastructure strategy aims to enable towns and cities to function as integral components of larger landscape processes affecting ecological functions such as biodiversity. The Australian Landscape Principles strategic decision-making framework for green infrastructure also advocates for ‘measurable strategies for the protection, enhancement and regeneration of green infrastructure’[AILA, 2012].

AILA advocates that green infrastructure approaches to design and management enhance ecosystem functionality; however there is a notable absence of research material or references to support this statement. It is also stated that by improving urban landscape connectivity, it “exponentially compounds landscape performance potential” [AILA, 2012]. The objective of the green infrastructure policy is to enhance the performance of a landscape though the optimum performance of the physical elements such as soil, vegetation and water as part of a functioning system.

By appropriating an ecological narrative, the outcomes, along with a range of other benefits of green infrastructure include “strengthening adaptive capacity and reducing potential of adverse development impacts” [AILA, 2012]. The specific management objectives of this policy focus on the physical structure of the landscape at the expense of other socio-cultural values concerning the psycho-social and cultural associations citizens develop over time.

The AILA green infrastructure policy also suggests design can enhance resilience by improving or, in ecological terms, facilitating succession from one system to another. In other words, by adapting ecological functions through design, landscape architecture can initiate positive directional change. This can be achieved through enhancing connectivity, or increasing habitat diversity. However, while some outcomes, such as reducing habitat fragmentation is a well understood goal of resilience practice, many other influential factors in determining the ecological performance of urban landscapes including the role of disturbance and biological carrying capacity are not so well understood. The implications for landscape architecture policy remains that the effectiveness of such approaches are not known because of a lack of measurable, empirical data.

From an ecology perspective, evidence of the success of a metrics approach should be scientifically observable as it ensures that results are achieved and appropriate measures are implemented to demonstrate the improvements promoted by green infrastructure. Properly applied, this criterion for achieving measurable results may affect landscape architectural practices and ensure that credible, independently assessed results are produced and reported. In practice, measurement tools and strategies are seldom incorporated into a project as they require baseline indicators to be established prior to any intervention; this component is often overlooked as it often falls outside the realms of the design brief.

This has implications for landscape practitioners advocating for this green infrastructure approach to design practice.

Building resilience comes at a cost, including the design decisions that direct development and the associated investment in those activities. In addition, the indirect costs of lost opportunities by not using the resources in a different way are not able to be considered. Therefore, despite AILA’s bias towards metrics, the green infrastructure policy fails to fully account for the costs and benefits of adopting a landscape architectural solution for something as complex as an urban landscape system.

In practice the metrics used to determine the success of an intervention are calculated in dollar terms. This reflects an increasing need for landscape architects to argue that the component parts of the landscape have a quantifiable value that can be captured by an accounting method tied to infrastructure investment. As a result, landscapes become a form of ‘green’ infrastructure that can be quantified alongside other forms of infrastructure, so much so that the never-ending drive for numbers requires planners and designers to acquit their decisions and advocacy for landscape interventions against a set of measurable outcomes [MacKenzie, 2012]. However, the many tacit values embodied in the landscape cannot be captured in the design and development process. As a result, potential landscape interventions risk becoming ‘value managed’ out of major urban projects procured on a cost recovery model[MacKenzie and Moulis, 2012].

464

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Finally, the drivers for change policy [AILA, 2011] seeks to improve understanding within governments to the relevance of landscape, in particular the link between green infrastructure and ecological process. With the poor relationship between the theories of ecology - supported with empirical data from applied research - it is difficult to see how the AILA could contribute to a scientifically based empirically sound argument on the importance of green infrastructure and its influence in improving environmental performance and the benefits of landscape architectural outcomes. It is therefore not surprising that AILA is neither explicit on the definition of the term nor on how it fits into the broader concept of landscape architecture as a practice.

ADOPTING A DIFFERENT POLICY APPROACH - BALANCING LANDSCAPE VALUES As society plans for the challenges of urban growth it also needs to come to terms with the competing priorities in the way the landscape is understood, valued and incorporated into cities undergoing renewal. Figure 1. presents an alternative decision framework that could form the basis of a landscape approach to developing policies for growth and change. It presents a way of incorporating socio-cultural factors associated with understanding landscape change and argues that these knowledge domains broadly describe how people responded to the landscape.The diagram presents three ways of conceptualising landscapes and three stages for integrating landscapes into the decision making process.To the left of the diagram, the landscape is recognised as a setting which provides tacit values that can be described as the landscape character of a site, city or region. The right of the diagram captures the goals of environmental efficiency and factors in the tangible benefits that landscapes provide from an environmental perspective. The middle of the diagram represents the shifting views of those who derive an identity from the landscape of the lived experience including its ecological values. These also include personal histories, shared experiences and rituals to do with appropriating and occupying different spaces, both public and private. Such a decision framework could be used to develop consultation processes that help the community to participate in and take responsibility for decisions about changes to landscapes undergoing renewal.

Figure 1: Describes how landscapes can be used as an organising principle to understand and embody the different and competing values associated with change

This diagram highlights the need to find methods of incorporating these competing priorities. This requires a new policy approach to incorporating different landscape values. These values are culturally embedded and dependant on personal belief and perspectives as well as institutional and political influences. Regardless of what knowledge domain each person engaged in a project begins at, the more holistic understanding of landscape values requires a consideration of how landscapes are interpreted across all knowledge domains. This analytical method requires the decision makers to consider all interpretive methods to arrive at a balanced view of the landscape values from an analytical perspective. From an industry perspective it provides an opportunity for landscape architects to adopt a decision framework for developing policy instead of deferring to a raft of policies that serve to highlight the gap between scholarship and practice.

CONCLUSION The contribution of ecological theory has become a mainstay of landscape architectural policy over the last decade.

Indeed the policy aspirations of organisations such as AILA leverage the significant development of knowledge about

465

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE ecological systems in the urban context. Yet as this paper has shown, significant gaps remain between the application of ecological theory developed by published research and the design of AILA policy statements. In addition the appropriation of a metrics approach to determining the environmental values of the landscape have served to internalise within an econometric discourse, the physical components of the landscape, resulting in a devaluing of landscapes within a market system. This has two main effects that fundamentally undermine landscape architecture as the profession most capable of inserting a green legitimacy into policies concerning urban growth. The first effect is the mismatch between the goals of landscape architecture policies such as green infrastructure and the ecological theories used to support the design of these statements. Indeed the view that inserting ecological concepts will ensure a positive outcome misunderstands the scientific analytical method. No doubt we as a profession have espoused the benefits of resilient ecological systems, yet as this paper has shown resilience theory does not determine values but rather identifies structural dynamics and properties of systems both good and bad depending on the circumstances.

This approach in turn fails to provide a defensible measurable framework for advocating for landscape values.Therefore it is not surprising that, in new Greenfield estates on the edge of Australian cities, it is more sustainable to build energy efficient four hundred square metre houses for three occupants, than to retain landscapes for backyards, trees and gardens.

Finally, this overarching ecological approach simultaneously undermines our understandings of the fragmented, heterogeneous landscapes that are better comprehended by residents as places to enact daily rituals and develop emotional and psychological bonds rather than abstract terms designed to interpret theoretical ecological concepts.

Measuring landscapes should be one of a number of methods used to develop landscape architecture policies. The decision framework suggested in this paper is in itself not a policy tool but rather a consultation device for understanding how we as a profession can play an effective role in supporting and promoting change in an increasingly uncertain landscape.

REFERENCES AILA. [2010]. “National policy statement on water.” Retrieved 12/02/2013, fromhttp://www.aila.org.au/policies/docs/ WATER.pdf.

AILA. [2011]. “The Australian Landscape Principles.” Retrieved 12/02/2013, fromhttp://www.aila.org.au/ landscapeprinciples/.

AILA. [2011]. “Drivers of Change - Climate change policy.” Retrieved 10/02/2013, fromhttp://www.aila.org.au/policies/ docs/AILA-Climate2011.pdf.

AILA. [2012]. “Green infrastructure policy statement.” Retrieved 12/02/13, fromhttp://www.aila.org.au/greeninfrastructure/.

Al-Kodmany, K. [2000]. “GIS in urban landscape: reconfiguring neighbourhood planning and design processes.” Landscape research 25[1]: 5-28.

Antrop, M. [2000]. “Holistic aspects of suburban landscapes: visual image interpretation and landscape metrics.”

Landscape and Urban Planning 50: 43-58.

Antrop, M. [2004a]. “Landscape Change and the urbanisation process in Europe.” Landscape and Urban Planning 67: 9-26.

Antrop, M. [2006]. “Sustainable landscapes: contradiction, fiction or utopia?” Landscape and Urban Planning 75: 187-197.

Banks, J. and C. Brack [2003]. “Canberra’s Urban Forest: Evolution and planning for future landscapes.” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 1[3]: 151-160.

Corner, J. [2004]. “Not unlike life itself.” Harvard Design Magazine 21[Fall/Winter]: 32-34.

Cosgrove, D. [2003]. Landscape and the European Sense of Sight - Eyeing Nature. Handbook of Cultural Geography. K. Anderson, M. Domosh, S. Pile and N. Thrift. London, SAGE: 249-268.

Cosgrove, D. [2006]. “Modernity Community and the Landscape Idea.” Journal of Material Culture 11[1]: 49-66.

Cosgrove, D. [2008]. Geography and Vision. New York, I.B. Tauris.

Gleeson, B. and N. Lowe [2000]. “Revaluing planning Rolling back neo-liberalism in Australia.” Progress in planning 53: 83164.

Hall, A. [2010]. The life and death of the Australian backyard. Brisbane, CSIRO. Livesey, G. [2009]. “A look at landscape urbanism.” Canadian Architect 11[9]: 45-47.

MacKenzie, A. [2012]. Re-covering suburbia: An investigation into the reconfiguration of the suburban landscape Fenner School of Environment and Society. Canberra, Australian National University. PhD: 270.

MacKenzie, A. and S. Moulis [2012]. Heritage as a driver for sustainability in infrastructure development. International

466

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE society for heritage and sustainable development, Porto Portugal.

McHarg, I. [1969]. Design with Nature. New York, Natural History Press.

Olwig, K. [2002]. Landscape nature and the body politic. London, University of Wisconsin Press.

Pennington, M. [1999]. “Free market environmentalism and the limits of land use planning.” Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 1[1]: 43-59.

Thwaites, K. [2001]. “Experiential Landscape Place: an exploration of space and experience in neighbourhood landscape architecture.” Landscape Research 26[3].

Tranter, P. [2006]. Overcoming social traps: A key to creating child friendly cities. Creating Child Friendly Cities: Reinstating Kids in the City. B. Gleeson and N. Sipe. New York, Routledge: 121-135.

Troy, P. [2004]. The Structure and Form of the Australian City: Prospects for improved urban planning. Urban Policy Program.

Brisbane, Griffith University.

Van de Voorde, T., W. Jacquet, et al. [2011]. “Mapping form and function in urban areas: An approach based on urban metrics and continuous impervious surface data.” Landscape and Urban Planning 102[3]: 143-155.

Walker, B. and D. Salt [2006]. Resilience thinking: sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world Washington, Island Press.

Walker, B. and D. Salt [2012]. Resilience practice Engaging the Sources of Our Sustainability Washington, Island Press.

Wiesel, I., R. Freestone, et al. [2011]. GEN-X-TRIFICATION? Generation shifts and the renewal of low-density housing in Sydney’s suburbs. State of Australian Cities. Melbourne.

Wylie, J. [2007]. Landscape. New York, Routledge.

55. PUBLIC SPACE TOPOLOGY Pryor M The University of Hong Kong ABSTRACT Topology - study of the properties of an object that remain unchanged when it is transformed, or the history of a place as expressed through its topographic form The sudden population expansion of Hong Kong has predicated the densification of urban form and the physical / functional layering of spaces. Successive developments in building technology have allowed constructions to extend ever further out of / into the ground. The current scale of intervention now threatens to negate the ground plane as the reference by which occupants navigate and understand the city.

This paper presents two current research studies. First, an initiative to map modifications of the ground plane of Hong Kong Island (now obscured from view), since its first occupation, against the consequences of advances in building technology.

Through this we can understand how new topographies developing within the city are becoming the new landscape datum.

Second, a study to develop a computational movement tracking mechanism that can accurately and continuously represents activity in public space, for use by designers to understand specific patterns of activity in public space.

These studies are part of a broader initiative to reveal both the changes in the form and nature of public space and how users are occupying and appropriating them. The landscape architect needs to draw on traditional disciplinary wisdoms to be able to meet the challenges of changing public space, to transcend superficial responses, and create resilient designs that can maintain community and environmental relevance.

INTRODUCTION The density of building development and supporting infrastructure in Hong Kong, as in many modern high rise cities, completely obscures the ground plane, rendering that most relevant of data, and traditional source for landscape design, increasingly obsolete. Advancements in building technology have allowed builders to manipulate the natural topography to an ever greater extent, to a point where the city now has a completely artificial form which is disassociated from the original ground plane.

The history of built development in Hong Kong has undoubtedly left its indelible imprint in the topography, if only we could see it. A surprising facet of the central urban areas of Hong Kong is the extreme difficulty of seeing the ground surface as a whole, as any picture postcard image of the city attests.

467

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE GROUND PLANE STUDY The ‘Hong Kong Ground Plane’ research study looked to construct a computer model of a representative area of the most historic district on the north side of Hong Kong Island, Sheung Wan, from which the buildings could then be removed to reveal the ‘naked’ ground plane hidden beneath, and from that to interpret the topology of the city (Figs.1&2). The ways the city is mapped, planned, and at times constructed, lead to a systematic reduction of the ground we experience. This project aimed to use that reduction to reconstruct an image of the remnant topography of Hong Kong.

Figs.1,2: Model of the Hong Kong Ground. Plane with, and without, buildings

Fig.3: Construction of the model from survey plans

Two adjacent tiles of the HKSAR Lands Department’s B1000 series were selected for study. Owing to the relatively high-degree of geometric categorization in the datasets, several passes were required, beginning with the most physically relevant layers (e.g. buildings, podiums, curbs, retaining walls). While those hierarchies are logical for use in city planning, and its particular cultural and historical syntaxes, their correlation to 3D space is far from 1:1. The project did not attempt a direct representation of that space; but to reconstruct the surface. Various scripting languages were used to cull, clean and re-categorize geometry. Tiles within the overall topographic data record having been constituted at different periods in the last 15 years and carry significant internal discrepancies and inconsistencies (from human-made topology errors to complications in representing temporary or elevated structures).

Traditionally measured spot heights for streets, podiums, and buildings provided a low resolution point cloud of the study area. Using cost-distance mapping and smoothing algorithms, the contributing area of each spot height was

468

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE combined with street centrelines to determine the slopes of streets and to suggest road carriageway orientation (Fig.3). Finally, government databases were queried for the heights of (over 40,000) buildings which could then be individually mapped and extruded.

The project attempted to systematize production towards a direct input to output relationship, narrating the difficultly of systemic automation and the limit to that potential in an urban setting with such complex physical and cognitive geography.

A key difficulty in scripting the model was in determining actually where the ground was, either as a physical surface or a conceptual plane by which the city is understood. The surface is itself an abstraction; consider that the ground plane and the podium are often depicted as the same thing.

HISTORY OF HONG KONG’S DEVELOPMENT REVEALED The generated model reveals the combined extent of the physical interventions into the Hong Kong ground plane that have occurred in its 170 year history. These can be related back to the various historical stages in the development of site formation techniques and building technologies [Shelton, Karakiewicz, & Kvan, 2010].

Fig.4: History of reclamation and excavation along the shoreline (He, 2013)

Fig.5: Detail of the ground plane revealed

The position of the original Hong Kong Island coastline can still be seen in the model from the abrupt change of sloping ground to flat reclamation at Connaught Road, and in the line of the HK Tramway that runs along it (Fig.4). The need for warehousing to support the trading of goods resulted in the formalization of the water’s edge into a seawall and wharves. Subsequent reclamations extended the ground plane further into the Harbour, providing solution spaces for the city’s land use problems, notably for infrastructure and commercial buildings. The model shows ever larger building lots and wider roads in more rectilinear pattern.

Settlements to support port activities have carved their way into the slopes above. Platforms dug into the hill for small ‘tong-lau’ shop houses, tenement blocks and institutional buildings, can be seen, interspaced by the narrow roads winding along the contours and linked by inclined ramps (Fig.5). Amongst the numerous changes of level apparent on

469

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE the model, mass stone retaining walls that remain from the C.19th (traditional double wall constructions built by expert Hakka masons) can still be discerned from their scale and curvilinear geometry. These have been replaced in many areas by larger and more rectilinear engineered slopes, reinforced concrete retaining walls, and piled constructions.

Over time, the intensity of development within the very limited buildable space has driven up land values, making ever more complex constructions in more marginal locations (further up the slope or as infill within the historic urban pattern) cost effective. Corresponding innovations in building technologies e.g. high speed lifts slip form casting, and deep pile foundations, have spurred changes in building typology [Christ & Gantenbein, 2010] and allowed even greater building heights to be achieved.

With sizeable floor plates of modern buildings, the ground level on higher side of buildings can frequently be seen in the model to be several floors above that on the lower side. The densification of development has resulted in the three-dimensional-isation of the city and in the aggregation of different land uses in single mixed building developments.

Car parks for example can be buried up to six levels underground, and commonly extend up to 10 floors above with commercial or institutional uses above. These deep excavations can be seen in the ground plane model.

The development of HK’s staggering multi-modal public transit system has fostered further layering in the city, from the historic tramways to the mass transit rail (MTR), buses, minibuses, taxis etc. - all competing within the same ground space.

NEW URBAN TOPOGRAPHIES In order to maintain connectivity (walkability) in the city, pedestrian movement has had to be separated from the vehicle conflicts at the ground plane. The model indicates that the ground plane is no longer the main surface by which pedestrians understand and navigate the city.

Pedestrian movement has been elevated onto bridges, ingested inside buildings, and diverted in subways. The total length of the network of elevated pedestrian walkways in Central and Admiralty districts is now more than 5.5km, and it is now possible to cross both districts without setting foot on the ground. These walkways and passages, together with adjoining decks, skyways, podiums, rooftops, atria, have formed a set of multi-levelled (layered) emergent topographies (Figs. 6-11).

These have not been systematically planned, but are an aggregation of opportunistic responses. More than half have been funded by the public sector, most commonly where the majority land ownership in a sub-district is under a single corporate entity.

Commercial and retail property developers understand consumer comfort (ease of movement, noise and climate controlled environments) and are keen to maximize retail frontage in their properties, so are willing to facilitate this new separated pedestrian movement through the city on multiple levels, and vertical movement between them.

Frampton, Solomon, and Wong [2012] vividly illustrate the extent of some of the pedestrian networks that have developed.

470

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Figs.6-11: Public spaces being generated on new (elevated) topographies

This phenomenon is linked to transit. MTRC’s new rail lines are now wholly funded by the mixed use (residential and retail) property developments associated with the new stations, the form of which shows a clear objective to ensure maximum access and utility, combined with increasing attention to retail opportunity that the transportation of three million passengers per day brings. As the new pedestrian network is subsumed within MTR property it is becoming possible to traverse substantial areas of the city without ever seeing the sky. Our understanding of the city is becoming internalized, and relies more on route maps and building diagrams than on physical landmarks.

Urban form is being driven by connections to this pedestrian network. It is now common for buildings in Central HK to have public entrances on 3 or 4 different levels: from MTR and car parks in the basements, to public transit interchanges (taxis, buses, ferries, trams) at ground level and inter-building pedestrian walkways up to four floors above ground. In some buildings it is no longer possible to say where the ‘front door’ is. To arrange to meet a friend at the front entrance, say, of Alexandra House in Central, is risking your friendship: there are a least six primary entrances.

These buildings are no longer envisioned and described by their entry portals. The relationship between the building and the street has fundamentally changed.

The widespread use of lift (elevator) technology within buildings has also dramatically influenced building form and placed emphasis on vertical movement / interchange within the city. The entrance to the building has moved away from the street frontage to the physical core of the building (for efficiency in the floors above), altering the notion of

471

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE a defining entry point and modifying the public-private threshold.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PUBLIC SPACE? In Hong Kong, in addition to providing access, the street was the traditional venue for public activity, as an informal transactional space, for social interaction and recreation, and fundamentally as a medium through which the community functioned and identified itself.

In the new vertical city, once vibrant streets have been transformed and are no longer core public spaces owned and loved by their communities [Coates, 2012]. The ground plane has been surrendered to transportation. Pedestrians have, for safety, been increasingly corralled by railings, central dividers, on-street parking etc., into narrow and polluted road margins, making it harder and more time consuming to move, and only with higher levels of discomfort, noise and pollution.

As the city densifies available public space diminishes while population demand for it increases. The public realm is squeezed into ever tighter boxes with narrower ranges of possible activities. Space demanding sports such as football are now almost impossible and even tennis and basketball courts are luxury items. The standard flat plane, zonal approach to the planning of public space has become obsolete.

New public spaces are being formed (principally by the private sector) as physical extensions of, or adjuncts to, the emergent pedestrian topographies (separated above and below the street). New public space typologies are being defined (podium deck, roof top garden, sky garden, skyway, pedestrian deck, arcade, atrium, gallery, corridor etc.) by their location on top, alongside, and within buildings.

These are new grounds for landscape architecture and the discipline has an opportunity to lead the processes of determining and formulating this re-invention of the public realm.

Added structural and operational complexities (and expense) of these new venues changes the nature of the spaces and programs they carry. They are, by necessity, smaller, marginal, fragmented, more linear and ill defined. They are less accessible and have limited capacity for program. As Zheng [2012] notes, there is a new focus on edge and peripheries in the development of the public realm with human activity being pushed to the contested borders.

Sorkin [1992] identified the inherent ambiguity of public spaces being privately developed and managed. Although a public resource, and often provided as part of new statutory obligations in Hong Kong for green building coverage, these new spaces are likely to be appropriated for commercial use as Miao [2001] contends, with management controls on activity and use [Kayden 2000] and opportunities for occupancy and personalization removed. There is a subtle change in the public-private paradigm.

Reducing the capacity for the public on the street has tended to result in the exclusion of civic society from the decision making process in creating and managing public space [Rowe, 1997]. The disassociation of these new public spaces from the ground also denies the opportunity for casual public oversight. Likewise, the absence of a resident community, or in some cases even an environment, raises the obvious question: for whom are they being designed? [Kohn, 2004].

Landscape architects now have a vital role in shaping these new landscapes, defining the form, extent, and nature of the public realm. In doing so we need to revisit our understanding of landscape and our core rationale for landscape architecture. If what we do is “environment, community, and design”, what happens when we (apparently) lose the ‘environment’ and the ‘community’?

In addition to meeting the complex technical challenges, the discipline needs to take a broader, more proactive and critical role in the vertical city, in addressing issues of resilience, sustainability (the wise use of diminishing resources), in understanding experiential contexts, (a whole new environmental psychology) and in meeting the challenges of community engagement and acceptance.

The generation of non-prescriptive public spaces that allow for a multiplicity of uses and are adaptable to different user requirements has been strongly advocated [Project for Public Space 2013]. Likewise concepts such as reclaiming the streets, encouraging city space design that promotes walkability, and reactivating public spaces to engender social engagement, increased security, community identify and ownership by the resident community, all have strong currency.

Gehl [2011] emphasizes one of the discipline’s central tenets, the need to design urban public space with reference to their actual needs and desires and not based on assumption.

Designers require accurate information on patterns of pedestrian movement and public activity within the new multilevelled spaces in the hyper dense city, and how these change over time and in response to context and environmental condition, in order for their designs to be specific and meaningful.

TRACKING PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT AND ACTIVITY Mapping and representing the movement and activity of people has always been problematic. The volume of data

472

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE generated by even a few individuals in a small space over short periods of time is too great to capture accurately by eye, and has typically been recorded in a highly generalised way, according to what appears most obvious.

Early attempts to map activity in public space using time-lapse photography, and later video, demonstrated that the movement of multiple individuals through a public space over extended periods of time is too complex to record manually with any accuracy. Whyte’s [1980] analysis of small New York City plazas from films relied on painstaking work of many assistants and a highly generalized categorization of activity.

Recent methods of tracking movement using: human subjects carrying GPS devices or smart phones [Van der Spek, 2010], shoe-mounted inertial sensors [Foxlin, 2005]; or overlaying snapshot photos and manual analysis of CCTV footage [Transport for London, 2007], have all underscored the obvious problems of data volume, and highlighted concerns as to how representative the output is of actual conditions.

The ‘Private Lives of Public Spaces’ research project has developed a computer application that systematically captures real time data on pedestrian movement and activity in public space (over any length of time) and then translates it into a form that can be used as an analytical design tool. The method uses computational tracking technology, which has developed in the last ten years to the point where seamless tracking and capture of the spatio-temporal footprint of individual moving entities is now possible [Gudmundsson, Laube, & Wolle, 2012].

A continuous 150 minute video was recorded of pedestrian movement in the Sun Yat-sen Plaza, (a courtyard with a known intensity of use) by a single video camera mounted high on building on the south side at a 50 degree angle with respect to the ground plane (Figs.12&13). (Note: detailed protocols were established to overcome potential ethical concerns of recording individual behaviour in public spaces).

Fig.12&13:Video of activity in the Sun Yat-sen Plaza, HKU form an elevated position

Three 5-minute samples were chosen for video analysis using a purpose written dynamic object tracking algorithm.

The software detects motion by analysing the difference between the moving figure and the static field. A bounding box encompassing the entirety of each set of moving pixels was drawn, and the centroid used as the output tracking point (Fig.14). Tracking points were sampled from the video every second (time period chosen to balance level of detail and total data volume), and collated to form a ‘tracking path’ for each individual.

The methodology allows the flat (x,y) data of all the tracking paths seen in the space to be brought from the tracking software into a three-dimensional digital model of the courtyard (generated in Rhinoceros), through that software’s algorithm editor, Grasshopper. The animated output is shown as a moving point, with a ‘tail’ indicating position of the individual in preceding seconds (Fig.15). The length of the tail can be adjusted to suit analysis.

473

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE

Fig.14: Bounding boxes of individuals in still images from video tracking program

Fig.15 - Still images from rendered video output showing tracking paths of individuals

The optical distortion of the video camera had to be matched, to allow a virtual camera to be placed at the point within the digital model corresponding exactly to the location of filming, and to achieve the same video output image that was analysed by the tracking software.

Using Grasshopper, it is possible to analyse the movement of individuals in the courtyard according to period of occupation, densities of use, velocities of travel, group sizes, direction of travel, etc. The analysis can be rendered and animated in a number of different ways through a diversity of architectural modelling software programs. Through the parametric interface of Grasshopper, the tracking paths themselves can be converted to geometry, whose shape and size can be modulated by any number of other variables.

Having established this dynamic object tracking technique, the team is currently defining a methodology for attaching an attribute to the data point set to show individual behavioural activity, and thereby greatly expand the analytical potential of the technique. The team has also successfully tested approaches that coordinate the data output of multiple cameras (through common reference points within overlapping fields of view) to increase area coverage (indefinitely) and overcome issues of visual shadowing, and individual/group distinctions.

The technique generates a fully accurate account of movement (and activity) of pedestrians in a space. The density of output data can be condensed and edited, to enable patterns of movement and behaviour over almost unlimited periods of time to be identified and analysed. The technique can be used as a real-time design tool to understand changes in behavioural patterns resulting in physical changes in a space.

474

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE CONCLUSION The Hong Kong Ground Plane study reveals the huge modifications have been made in the original ground plane during its relatively short history of occupation. The current surface is a complex, highly geometric, multi-faceted topography, with abrupt changes in level and alignments.

The model highlights an ambiguous relationship in these dense urban settings between the ground surface and the buildings it supports. Construction technology has allowed developers to create new artificial topographies, disassociated from the original ground. Traditional notions of building ‘ground floor’ and ‘street entrance’ have radically changed. Typically, buildings now have multiple entrances, at several different levels, with the primary organising element within a building now being the lift core, rather than the portal onto the street.

The original ground is now seen to be dominated by infrastructure and transportation, with little space for public activity, and increasing separation of pedestrian movement from the ground surface. A complex, linear, internally focused, pedestrian network is being generated underground, within buildings, on bridges and across podium decks, promoted through building technology which facilitates vertical movement.

This network has been the impetus for the generation of new public spaces, which are exciting new grounds for landscape architecture. This public realm is spatially complex, technically challenged, and procured largely through commercial interest. Essentially the spaces are without ground, environmental or community, all essential references for landscape design. The landscape architect needs a much clearer, more accurate understanding of how people use and occupy space, so he can transcend superficial responses, and to create resilient designs that can maintain community and environmental relevance.

Mapping pedestrian movement and activity by eye or even by observation of time lapse photography has proved highly problematic, and techniques using GPS tracking devices have limited application. The computational technique developed by the HKU team, using dynamic object tracking of individuals, gives the landscape architect an accurate, graphically represented record of movement and activity. This can be condensed to detect the complex, long term patterns of behaviour. It can be queried to reveal the intensity and duration of specific activities, which can be referenced to location and contextual information to give designers immediate insight into how spaces are being occupied and used, and reliably to inform their designs for these new public spaces.

REFERENCES Christ, E., & Gantenbein, C. [2010] Hong Kong Typology: An Architectural Research on Hong Kong Building Types. Zurich: Gta Verlag.

Coates, G. [2012, August 19]. Time for Hong Kong to reclaim the streets. South China Morning Post, Sunday Foxlin, E. [2005], Pedestrian tracking with shoe mounted inertial sensors. IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://cs.iupui.edu/~tuceryan/pdf-repository/foxlin-cga-05.pdf Frampton, A., Solomon, J., & Wong, C. [2012] Cities Without Ground A Hong Kong Guidebook. New York: ORO editions Gehl, J. [2011] Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space [6th ed]. London: Island Press Gudmundsson, J., Laube, P., & Wolle, T. [2012] Computation movement tracking. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http:// www.geo.uzh.ch/~plaube/pubs/gudmundssonEtal12.pdf He. S, (2013) Filling the Blanks. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Kayden, J. S., The New York City Department of City Planning , & The Municipal Art Society of New York. [2000]. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. New York: John Wiley & Sons Kohn, M. [2004]. Brave new Neighborhoods: The Privatization of Public Space. New York: Routledge.

Miao, P [Ed]. 2001]. Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities: Current Issues and Strategies. Dordrecht: Kuwer Academic Publishers Project for Public Space. [2013]. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://www.pps.org/ Rowe, P. [1997]. Civic Realism. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press Sorkin, M. [Ed.] [1992]. Variations on A Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space. New York: Hill and Wang.

Shelton, B., Karakiewicz, J. & Kvan, T. [2010]. The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric [Planning, History and Environment Series].

London: Routledge.

Transport for London, [2007, May]. Measuring Pedestrian Activity . Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

475

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE assets/downloads/lip-measuring-pedestrian-activity.pdf Van der Spek, S.C. [2010]. Activity Patterns in Public Space: a tool for assessing city centres. In Proceedings of Walk 21, 11th conference, The Hague, Nov. 16-19, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://repository.tudelft.nl/view/ir/ uuid%3A35efd4d9-7422-4ddd-8fe9-05cb7ef9ba6f/ Whyte, W. [1980]. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. Washington, D.C.: Conservation Foundation.

Zheng, T. [2012]. The variations of the sectional City: Arcades Infrastructure and Urbanisms of East Asia. In “Masterplanning the Future. Modernism: East, West & Across the World” Conference Proceedings, Xian. Suzhou PRC: Jiaotong-Liverpool University

56. URBAN TREES - LIFE CYCLES Williams C Williams Landscape Architects ABSTRACT Successive and verdant populations of urban trees, fulfilling multiple physical and wellbeing functions are becoming tenuous.

The impacts of urban density, shorter political and fashion ‘cycles’, poor protection mechanisms, highly altered soil profiles, weakened knowledge and authority within key disciplines amongst other things - creates issues for urban form and the resilience of productive ‘forests’ within.

The ‘heritage’ trees seen today provide scale and being the largest ever, span generations. While modern plans show trees, seldom are these promoted as primary elements, nor afforded the spatial and physical ground considerations to achieve a desirable ‘fourth dimension’. Instead, trees can become maligned ‘appendages’ to city form.

If it is accepted trees provide important functional and social service, better pre-emptive strategies are required to support this ‘nature’ alongside ‘hard’ infrastructure. Different urban forest ‘classes’, or thematics, require multi and specific skill-sets.

The disciplines must collaborate and integrate technical, biological and ‘lifecycle management’ parameters economically, and over very long periods.

It is proposed the classes include for example: ‘The Urban Forest’ (planning such aspects as sequestration, thermal reduction, networks, urban renewal, design criteria, heritage, protection methods, education); ‘Park Plantations’ (design/management amenity, respite, recreation); ‘Corridors’ (engineering - design avenues, streets, ‘islands’); ‘Green Fingers’ (conservation - coastal/ waterways/remnant ecological functions); ‘Private’ (educative/protection/design/renewal - residential, institutional, commercial, industrial); ‘Edges’ (social partnerships - public/private trees for visual, catchment or ecological purpose).

Landscape Architects are well placed to lead many of these facets. However, to be most effective greater knowledge and language of natural sciences, soils, horticulture/arboriculture, civil engineering, and landscape management practises is required. This is to better bridge between specialists - art/science, nature/manmade, and technical/social. The paper reviews tree management in a NZ city, and recommends directions for verdant, productive, healthy city environs.

INTRODUCTION Trees, one of the earth’s oldest and largest life forms, create an ever changing and commanding aesthetic in the landscape while performing vital function. While forming part of our living heritage, or dynamic assets, trees may inspire, soothe and sustain us in more intense living environments. Yet, people tend to lose track of this significance and the delicate balances required in managing trees within the natural and human ecology.

If we continue to take trees (including associated ‘green’ vegetation) for granted we can expect an even more tenuous future. Trees (as ‘specimen’ and structure) present multiple values, benefits/costs, and are the major component in the formation of sense of place, the aesthetic, character and liveability in cultural landscapes (Arnold, 1993; Spirn, 1994). But, the tension and conflicts over the differing values, as interpreted by different sectors of the community (professionals and generally), can be confusing or conflicting. (For example: trees for spatial organisation v environmental moderation; ecological service v engineering function; species conservation v cultural landscape; tree management as a property right v community assets; or more simply, what is effective management ‘prune it up’ v ‘cut it down’.) There are many facts and fables about trees, which means it is not easy to know how to react. Compounding this dilemma is the falsehood that ‘trees are easy to replace!’

As a profession Landscape Architects have played an important part in forming urban tree cover, but currently is this significant enough? We appreciate history, and landuse; we understand form, scale, character, and time; we can design new from old; and we have learnt (to differing degrees) the technical aspects of implementation and landscape management. It is possible however, Landscape Architects have allowed, over time, other professions to speak when

476

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE we should be speaking on these important elements in the landscape. Have we become too general?

WHERE ARE WE? This paper draws on my observations, practice, study/research, and advocacy, which have evolved over 35 years.

This started practically in pastoral and horticultural production, horticultural study, international travel and landscape contracting in urban Auckland. Further, professional study and experience was gained in a major Australian city, fostering a particular interest in trees, which has informed what follows. Also there has been the irregular influence of, and input into, the advocacy group The Tree Council (Auckland). Learning has been taken into practice, and practice has provided input for advocacy.

There is real complexity in effective tree cover and management, and the range of issues discussed here are to highlight that breadth, leading to a proposal as a way forward.

Initially and as a new profession Landscape Architects focused on the bridge between art and plants in urban places, working towards a green fabric, respite, aesthetic, amongst other things. The profession today seems to have diverged with greater focus on architecture, the built, mechanics of complicated planning law, or pure ecology, and away from a fundamental tenant of “shaping places that are functional, sustainable, meaningful, and artful, places that help us feel and understand the relationship of the natural and the built” (Spirn, 2013).

In my view plants, especially trees, as living structures should again be the centre of the Landscape Architects attention.

To do this we need to expand our language, reclaim our roots and resilience, understand this breadth of issues and reassert our ability to talk between disciplines - between art/science, hard/soft, nature/manmade, planner and ecologist, engineering and environmentalist, recreation and open space, sciences/soils/horticulture and arboriculture, social design - within public authorities and private investment, as may be required.

An observation is arborists are now managing many tree issues. Some of the issues have impact on landscape planning/ design. There were no ‘arborists’ 25 years, just a couple of overseas trained ‘tree surgeons’. Arborists as a group have been successful in taking up the slack in knowledge and action left by Landscape Architects, parks/recreation specialists, horticulturists. This in itself is not a bad thing, as there is now greater respect and discussion for trees.

Like Landscape Architects there are differences in skills and focus within that industry. There are consultant arborists with professional/degree training and international experience, and who acknowledge the focus of work is in association with other disciplines. Then there are the generalists who climb, prune and provide service, which may include horticultural/ tree replacement works. There are those who started out practically (and /or with diploma qualifications) who are now council officers, when years ago the roles may have had horticultural and/or parks training. On occasion the limited ‘big picture’ or design experience has frustrated wider issues. (And there are those ‘arboriculture’ companies that have large capital investment in big machinery and men, and fulfil contracts (e.g. powerlines clearance, land clearing)).

Also, different engineering standards have evolved, some of which has had major impact on the effectiveness of tree cover and urban design. The issues range for example from the visual impact of power line clearances; the removal of larger trees near roads (because of fears of tree failure, or vehicle impalement), and replaced with short-term understory species, or ‘nothing’; services/utilities providers demand their own in-ground space; the use of flexible or ‘bridging’ type structures to cater for trees is hindered; the lateral and vertical spaces and soils provided in road design limits growth, (this last point is exasperated by the continual use of poor landscape planting standards, which if modified would reduce tree failure).

Landscape Architects need to be able to speak with ease across these kinds of issues, to balance and integrate people needs with that of trees, and the structures/development. We have to complete the circle of planning, design, implementation and practical/technical landscape management, and the thinking has to be over much greater periods of time.

TREES The English and Europeans, with different cultural understanding of landscape came, settled and started developing Australasian urban centres not that long ago, for example Auckland was declared the capital of New Zealand in 1840 and moving to Wellington in 1865(Wikipedia). As the bush was cleared the gardeners emptied their pockets of seed collected from across the globe, and organised an eclectic range of plants into fertile soils (Wilcox 2013). The residential lots were generally bigger than in the homeland – so evolved the quarter acre (1000m2) ‘pavlova paradise’, and a strong gardening culture. Local species were soon cultivated, and added to the wide selection of species.

Consider, the large trees seen today in our cities are probably the last large trees that will ever be seen. There has been continual neglect of the long-term biological provisions required to nurture trees to mature and sustain gracefully. In Auckland large trees are being felled regularly, reducing scale, form and heritage value that evolved over only 160 years.

Political indecision, or a lack of long-term commitment, towards trees becomes apparent, exacerbated by among other

477

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE things, rapid increases in urban density, short political and fashion cycles, and highly modified urban soils (Williams, 2005).

Trees can be treated as ‘appendages’ rather than principal elements in the planning and management cycle of the urban fabric. They look great on the plan, there is intent, but too often trees exist in suspended animation, wanting to live, waiting to die. They suffer from lack of care below ground (Urban, 2008). As older trees are removed, many of the next (current) generations are not performing as planned, or as they could. If the current malaise and inaction continues, we can expect an even greater decline in effective, healthy tree cover.

As science and research into natural systems now provides us with a lot of information about how trees work, we should be able to ‘reconstruct’, in this case, the tree cover. The reasons for urban trees have changed emphasis over time. Where Olmstead in the late 1800s, thought about trees as ‘solace and comfort’ for the stressed minds of urban dwellers (Arnold, 1993), we now talk of tree populations as carbon soaks, or reducing the ‘heat island’ - trees assisting in climate change remediation. Unfortunately carbon-trading schemes are focused ‘out there’ where ‘soakage’ may be better at source, in or close to the city. Related to this is the study and measure of benefits from clean, green environments on human health and well-being. (Laidlaw, 2013). Imagine, trees being thought of as a ‘complementary medicine’ in a healthy, vibrant city.

THE VALUE OF TREES Trees have unique cultural, social, environmental and economic values, benefits and uses. Managing trees is complex, as people see these aspects in very different and sometimes conflicting ways. In the widest sense, as stated earlier, managing trees is the marriage of people, man-made structures, with natural objects. Texts over time refer to these values, benefits, and uses in different ways, and the lists may be inclusive or simple. Likewise, I have revised my thinking and composite list – for example trees: • Create spatial delineation - screen, shade, enclose, frame, link, harmonise; visual remediation; public or private • Deliver ecological service – wildlife habitat, species conservation; occupy space and cause activity/life below ground; moderate solar access • Perform engineering functions - calm traffic, soil stability, land rehabilitation • Define ‘zones’ - influence the character of landscape, sense of place, and beyond the space on which they grow; present a ‘natural’ or ’created’ identity • Define landuse – allow or constrain development options • Moderate climate – reduce temperatures (‘heat island’ effects), glare and wind • Moderate air and water quality - absorbs erosion, dust, pollution, noise • Provide human scale - emotional/spiritual or ‘health’ benefit; forest, bush, plantation, park, respite, avenues or islands • Provide aesthetic/sensory/dynamic qualities - texture, colour, seasonal variation, movement/stillness, sound, smell, age/size/form overtime • Generate stories - relationship to heritage, enduring qualities, landmarks, events • Link to natural systems - specific growing conditions, adaptation, respond to the right balance of food, water, air, light/shade, cold/heat • Moderate energy consumption – right tree can reduce demand for cooling, heating, dehumidifying • Contribute to economic returns – production (materials, food), add dollar value to property.

But more importantly, when assessing tree issues one must understand the existing or potential growing conditions and soils. This may include air space in 50 years, the volumetric space below ground, future root run (existing or remediated). Only then evaluate a species’ inherent qualities to meet design objectives, i.e. any or all of the values and benefits suggested above. Alternatively, James Urban (2008) suggests selecting the species options for design intent, and then remediate soils accordingly. Either way, it is felt good healthy growing trees will cost less, and provide better benefits in the long term.

Experience and observations indicate there is no easy ‘right tree in the right place’. Exceptions to any ‘rules’, bias or preferences established in a different era, or fashion cycle, can always be found.

The term ‘Urban Forest’, coined in the US (Tree Council, 1997), and more recently adopted here, is useful in that it recognises different parts to a ‘forest’– the planning, a selected layout and purpose, technical inputs - concepts which are similar in a urban situation as with good production forests. However, the term ‘forest’ has been problematic in

478

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE the New Zealand context, as forestry generally means a mono species production system with a defined total harvest point. It is only relatively recent a succession mix of diverse species, providing a range of benefits over a long period (Barton, 2008) has entered more localised forestry concepts, and yet to be noticeable in the urban context.

SIX THEMES My observations over some time suggested there were underlying conflicts in approach between those who were responsible for managing urban trees. For example the traditional parks department horticultural approach to trees was different to those with a more heritage, environmental, or local ecological focus. In addition, the influence of infrastructure providers was becoming more assertive, and less considerate of trees. There was greater unease between public authorities and a few but vocal private tree owners. In my view successes and failures could be attributed the varying perceptions, the skills, character, and assertiveness of people involved, and traditional v possible management regimes. There was no script that fits all, yet each part was important. It became apparent there needed to be a different emphasis.

This lead to thinking of themes or classes of trees in the urban context (Williams, 2005). (Varies texts have different ways of grouping urban trees e.g. Arnold, 1998; Hitchmough, 1994; Urban, 2008; Wilcox, 2013).

The tentative themes were used when outlining a city’s future tree strategy (2006). When further analysing planning objectives, tree ownership, landuse, stakeholders, the management processes, et al it was thought each potential ‘theme’ required more detailed description. What became more apparent and helped confirm each ‘class’ was the different professional mix of skills and experience required to plan, design/implement, and manage each class, with effective integrated collaboration and overarching guidance.

It is worth noting a Council has influence over Trees and other vegetation in several ways - as regulator, landowner and asset manager, or as an (social and equality) advocate.

The idea of themes, as far as it went, was not eventually used in the strategy as an organising method This is a modified version: • ‘The Urban Forest HQ’ - network planning e.g. sequestration, thermal reduction, networks, urban renewal, design criteria, heritage, tree protection methods, and education. Skills - multi-disciplined, e.g. social science, consultation, scientist, planners, legal, engineers, soils, conservation, horticulturists, arborists, writers/public relations.

• ‘Park Plantations’ - public amenity, respite, recreation; Skills – heritage, leisure, sports, recreation, plantsman/ horticulture, public open space design, events, (some ecological function).

• ‘Corridors’ - avenues, streets, ‘islands’, rail, motorway, built stormwater management; Skills – public land, engineers (civil, drainage, transport, utilities), amenity design, arborists, land restoration/soils, operations and maintenance • ‘Green Fingers’ - conservation, a sense of naturalness, coastal, waterways, remnant bush, wetlands, ecological functions; Skills – public land, natural heritage, ecology, water, wildlife, pest control, restoration.

• ‘Private’ - residential, institutional, commercial, industrial; Skills – educative/direction, protection, legal, design/ renewal, gardeners, landscape management; i.e. the cumulative qualities and contribution of private landscape to city form.

• ‘Edges’ – public and private trees for visual, catchment or ecological purpose; Skills – private land managers, gardeners, residents, social partnerships, volunteerism, multi-discipline teams; e.g. private gardens and redesigned road reserves for ecological buffer/‘stormwater treatment’ infrastructure; industrial ‘wastelands’ as temporary tree crops; esplanade reserves/neighbouring properties as one.

A Landscape Architects skill set, with a specialist focus, could fit and comfortably lead in any or all of these sub sets of an urban forest.

ISSUES ‘Tree’ issues affect all New Zealand councils/authorities, and communities. The following are selected to demonstrate the complexity and breadth and to suggest where a Landscape Architects influence could be more focused, (note some are factual and some opinion): • National and Council strategy, policy, and administrative obligations, which have regard to urban trees, are often disjointed, incomplete and possibly contradictory. Moreover, the status or regard for trees within a city bureaucracy often does not reflect the important value and challenges trees face in the cityscape (District Plans).

479

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE • Urban design methodology, e.g. Urban Design Protocols (MOE, 2005) and urban issues information on the Ministry for Environment website) has not recognised trees (i.e. vegetation, in general) as a long-term element/ infrastructure. When vegetation is referenced it is usually to natural/native systems, rather than the full range of vegetation desired in urban context.

• Strategic documents e.g. The Auckland Plan (Auckland Council, 2012), has no specific focus on the challenges of vegetation in the city. It is important that remnant local vegetation is conserved and enhanced. So too its vital that water catchments are managed in a more holistic way. And there are many more reasons to highlight and prioritise trees as a strategic design element in city form (Arnold, 1998).

• Intensification and city density shifts responsibility for provision of trees from the private to public realm.

Vegetative ‘bulk’ used to be in large residential lots, but intensification and smaller lots means less room to provide this. (Tree Council, var.)

• The lifecycle of trees can extend well beyond the average life of landuse around them. (The average house ownership is suggested as 7 years). The short term political or fashion ‘cycles’ tend to regard trees as expendable, or relocatable ‘appendages’. (Williams, 2005) • There has been an inconsistent approach to tree protection methods between different local authorities (more details below). Yet there are accepted conservation incentives and mechanisms to protect significant natural bush, landscapes or ‘heritage’ built features.

• There is little reflection in current ‘sustainability’ models that include trees (landscape) to be part of urban development – e.g. opportunities for trees to provide winter solar access (light, warmth), summer shade (cooling), and therefore reduce reliance on manmade techniques, and energy • Other threats to trees and amenity values across the country include: – --

Pests and disease outbreaks (bio security measures - lack of funding and consistent programmes)

--

Minimal Research funds for urban tree issues – therefore big costs and responsibility for a Council with a particular need.

--

The visual impacts caused by utility companies applying heavy standards (e.g. current power wire clearance). There has to be a better aesthetic outcome, e.g. aerial bundle cables, remove lines, or remove and replace the trees.

--

Lack of provision of common trenching and shared ducting to allow greater uninterrupted space for street trees

--

Engineer and roading standards that prevent trees, or compromise growth, e.g. set backs from traffic flow, or ‘frangible’ trees (motorways), only 1.2m space kerb to footpath, etc.

--

Trees as a valued city asset – there is no accepted standard to reach a dollar value for in-situ trees nor to define trees cover on the books as a City asset. The cumulative economic value is needed for accounting/depreciation purposes, so to allow for replacement costs, just as with ‘hard’ infrastructure.

--

Risk assessment – the trees are seen as at ‘fault’ - when in fact it has been human error for a lack of care or effective management (Hitchmough, 1994). Conversely many trees are removed because of a potential risk when different and creative management, or redesign approaches, may have the maturing trees retained while replacements are established.

Then there is the debate weather exotic or indigenous species are best. The ideal in the urban context is a reasoned design intent to achieve ‘productive’ and site appropriate results whether it as specimen, plantation, garden, park, infrastructural services, etc (Urban, 2008).

It is foolhardy to use local evergreen forest tree species that depend on symbiotic ecological relationships and expect them to survive well as specimens in dense ‘concrete deserts’ and lifeless, compacted soils. The provenance of trees is secondary to understanding the inherent qualities and habit of the individual species to be used. This includes the ‘adaptability’ to growing conditions at each site. Trees have to grow effectively, be manageable and not produce adverse conditions, e.g. low natural light values, damp living, structural failure, require excessive informative pruning, lateral growth next to roads, etc (Hitchmough, 1994).

Either exotic or native trees could produce good results. In Auckland the management and extension to the natural remnant ‘bush’ is highly desirable. Where revegetation and restoration programmes are implemented the impacts and challenges in managing exotic pest plants is evident. It is possible, in some locations where revegetation with native species is taking precedent e.g. along urban waterway, that the inclusion of exotic ‘plantations’, or specimens could provide quicker and more economical landscape results, as well as better provision of vertical scale, bulk, sensory

480

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE experience, or a different respite for residents.

A Sydney Urban Tree Forum (2005) sponsored by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and other ‘tree or heritage managers’ grappled with a principle question - trees as ‘Relict objects or ageing organisms?’ This was answered as ‘living objects, dynamic organisms!’ The objective of the forum was to develop a framework or tree charter to be used as a reference standard by people involved with urban tree.

Tree strategies are not to ‘green everything’. Hard spaces are a fact in a city, and can be appealing in themselves.

The intent is for a healthy, productive, dynamic and affordable tree cover effectively combining the forces of ‘politics’ (decision making) and long term ‘biology’ (life forces) pertaining to urban vegetation.

On balance, one of the most serious threats to the trees in the landscape is inconsistency in approach - under public and legal mechanisms, and the conflicting community values and attitudes. The disparate energy, just to use the Auckland region as the barometer, is in my view unfortunate and alarming.

GENERAL TREE PROTECTION As suggested managing trees in the urban environment is very complex – and ‘life cycles’ are shortening. Conversations suggest the average age of an American street tree could be 15-20 years. The average ownership period of a house in NZ is said to be 7 years (Tree Council).

Over 25 years ago an advocacy group,The Tree Council, was formed. It was largely in response to the observation that changes to Auckland planning ordinances to allow ‘infill’ housing, created considerable impact. The group’s international research, and ideas from extensive consultation locally, dove-tailed ‘General Tree Protection” into the role-out of the new New Zealand planning structure – the Resource Management Act, in 1991.

The basic premise for a tree protection method, as I remember it, (Tree Council, var.), was formulated around: • The cumulative benefit afforded by trees becomes of greater good – a community asset, contribute to social well-being and landscape values - not solely for an individual or specific private property.

• Property ownership can be relatively short term (average 7 years), so a stay from unnecessary removals for short-term gain was needed.

• Urban infill housing and intensification limited the scale, number, health, and vibrancy of the tree cover.

• There are, and always have been, restrictions on the way property can be used. As trees take time to provide full benefit, or require long-term planning to replenish, then they had to be held in higher regard.

• It was to be a process to check, discuss, review options before tree removal, or works undertaken that could impact tree health (- an educative moment, hopefully so owners would be comfortable to retain, enjoy and effectively manage trees).

• Trees can become problems, outgrow the purpose planted for, or are just wrong for the location. Therefore removal and succession planting is important.

Auckland’s six city Councils (1991 to 2010), adapted different approaches for protecting trees. The scheduling of all significant trees was undertaken to a degree, but there was favour for ‘general’ (sometimes referred to as ‘blanket’) Protection. The methods were either, all trees over a specified size (e.g. 6-8m tall) were protected (excluding listed species), or a list of specified species over a specified size. (District Plans).

On most accounts the system was successful – and applied with ease. It recognized that while trees are very important, at times they outlive site and purpose, and could compromise intensification land use options. There was little or no cost to tree owners for most applications to remove or prune. Over 85% of applications were granted, or changed, without notification or appeal. But some cases became controversial where either a landowner was greedy (wanted to remove all existing trees), or an officer stuck to their guns on a point. There has been little reflection on the systems success in that most people comply with rules and would have stopped and thought, before work effecting their trees (Tree Council, var).

Unfortunately over this period the development of different mechanisms that would allow trade-off, should trees be removed, have not been effectively developed. (A ‘trade off ’ is an option within the effects-based planning approach of the RMA). Possible trade offs adapted for tree benefits could include: • Transfer of development rights, variable development densities • Developers ‘Reserve contributions’ targeted payments for multiple replacements within the same local area as the loss; Replant before removal • Covenants, private reserves, rates relief; creation of ‘tree reserves’

481

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE • Performance bonds, management plans and legal agreements • ‘Enforcement’ systems to ensure success (e.g. for 5-8 years or until trees are stable, or become ‘protected’) • Or a combination of the above (Williams, 2005).

The current Government, in review of the RMA legislation (2009, 2013) has pursued the dismantling of the system (effectively banning local authorities from having (any) general tree protection). Currently a second attempt is in process. It maintains the system has been complicated, costly and hinders progress (note - the protection system(s) had only been applied in Auckland). Interestingly, there has been little democratic discussion on why the proposed changes, how it could have been simplified and remain effective. The changes are contrary to good environmental management, (e.g. methods to reduce urban temperature, add-value to ‘liveability’, ‘clean green’ concepts, as are heavily promoted elsewhere).

The (national) Environment Court has been involved after the first round, basically saying that if a local councils District Plan Zone had objectives that included character, amenity and managing tree cover, then protection measures were proper and stood. But many urban areas do not have the same amenity orientated criteria, and these in my observation are usually the areas where more trees are needed.

The currently proposed amendments to the Act propose only scheduling of specific individual trees for on-going protection. This system is complex, costly to implement and maintain. (Tree Council, 2011): • Only recognises the elderly, large and significant. These trees do need recognition (e.g. a Notable Tree status), but this system alone cannot provide for future generations of trees worthy of scheduling (– as there may not be any worthy!).

• Without trees property values can reduce, and there is a cumulative degradation of air and water quality, and particularly demise of the quality of amenity, health and well-being.

• Scheduling does not recognise that groups of trees function as ecological and amenity units. It is not the individual tree alone that matters, but the overall tree cover which includes a range of ages, sizes, distributions, successions, and species • Also it is unreasonable in my view, to place restriction on a property that holds a scheduled tree when the surrounding neighbourhood draw value/benefit from that tree, but do not have similar restrictions or obligations to provide for trees as part of their contribution to a liveable city concept.

Other observations regarding the proposed changes: • Landowners (including Councils themselves) will be able to remove, damage, or not comply with other mechanisms (consent conditions, engineering requirements, heritage ordinances, natural areas covenants), except for a few trees listed on Schedules, or happen to sit on Reserve land.

• Trees tell the story, are indicators, of a cities settlement and subsequent development, - change should be evolutionary not destruction by a (random) thousand cuts. Already, since January 2012, when the rules were relaxed, there has been a noticeable increase in larger tree removals. A supplier to Arborist has noted an increase in sales of specialist gear to undertake such work.

• It is very concerning that Trees within parks and public places may be left unprotected, as they are not within designated or gazetted Reserves. Therefore trees in public places and or under the management of a council could be afforded effective consideration (protection) and management under the different Public Open Space zones, and the objectives of District Plans.

• If the current proposed changes go ahead, large numbers of trees would not have any legal protection. – There will be a huge negative landscape change. The task of planning and establishing fair numbers of future trees is for e Landscape Architects and colleagues.

In addition, to general tree protection and advocacy, the Tree Council (Auckland) developed and supported a ”Trees in the Urban Environment” short course. The intent was for Community Tree Officers (eyes and ears), and the curriculum was adapted from the Tree Council UK Tree Warden Scheme (1997). This provided a range of topics to inform participants about tree issues and how to engage in them. The courses were managed by Unitec (Auckland) and Tree Council volunteers, and provided a good platform for further engagement.

LIFE CYCLES ‘Lifecycles’ or ‘design life expectancy’ are terms used in regard to many hard urban assets. It is odd that roads are designed for a 40 years life expectancy and managed for 80. Yet a tree near that road could live for 150 years, but the fashion or urban pressure dictates a 20-year life. To achieve acceptable ‘lifecycles’ trees require a higher priority in the

482

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE urban planning design and management process. (Williams, 2005) The complexities of growing urban trees are too diverse to be managed by one profession. After all, effective tree management deals with competing forces - people (diversity of wants and needs), built structures (control/constraints) and trees (natural objects and processes). Therefore, a ‘tree team’ must balance economic, planning, design, and specific spatial aspects with technical implementation, biological parameters and management processes to sustain growth over long periods (Hitchmough, 1994). Tree management is largely ‘space management.

PROPOSAL At this point tree management is tenuous. The current New Zealand government is desperately trying to dismantle a relatively successful tree protection method (ex Auckland), one that provided a good starting point to better manage and enhance the current tree cover. If the government is successful or not, something different has to happen. With urban tree cover under constant attack, changing type and form, becoming fragmented, reduced in scale, there needs to be revision, a better strategy, with effective mechanisms for a robust tree cover – a liveable urban.

The Landscape Architect could be well versed and pivotal in this drawing together the often disparate issues and skills involved. However our education and training has to refocus on the language and technical aspects required to provide for trees as a primary element in city landscapes.

The management system for urban trees needs to be reasoned, current, comprehensive, educative, pro-active, and well funded. It needs a community’s buy-in. While there has to be a legal framework that sits behind the new ‘Plan for Trees’ the main thrust is to provide flexibility, incentive and encouragement to all sections of the community, and ensure verdant growth enhances the urban liveable in the face of dramatic changes – e.g. urbanisation, densification, desertification, effects on climate and water quality, sea levels, multicultural populations and different age distributions, et al (Williams, 2005).

Urban Tree Management is a matrix involving competing forces. It challenges and balances the short-range political and fashion lifecycles against long-term biological parameters Integrates: Planning – vision, frameworks, performance criteria Design – enduring and new principles, details, implementation Management – spaces, protection, replacement, removal With: Social – people, cultural values, aesthetics Trees – nature, natural processes (soils, space), dynamic change Structures - man made constraints, economics.

The Future Framework requires different levels of engagement: National Responsibilities - a central agency to: • Develop ‘legal’ frameworks, mechanisms and ‘performance criteria’ • Retain overview, create opportunity, provide guidance and forums • Coordinate research and standards, define themes, (e.g. as above), design principles, valuation methods, planting techniques/tree care practices • Coordinate and manage the impact of utility companies and other ‘authorities’ • Promote, educate, and disseminate information • Provide templates for localised ‘tree plans’ • Manage multi-disciplined teams to work across ‘boundaries’.

Collaborative apolitical multi-disciplined teams, with vision and practical skills, including: • Landscape Architects – as designers, the link arts and sciences • Specialists - arborists, horticulturist, parks officers, plant pathologists, engineers (civil, structural, transport, utilities), foresters, ecologists • Planners, Urban designers – strategic, resource consents, heritage (natural, cultural, historical) • Legalese – government legislative, insurances, safety

483

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE • Social, Community - public relations, consultation advisers, networks, education.

Local responsibilities for identity, specifics, operations and administrative processes: • Maintain inventories and monitor • Develop the comprehensive and ‘local’ Tree Care Action plan • Provide regulatory, operational and enforcement • Fund and staff • Provide tree selections for location • Promote professional services • Provide assistance for Private Tree owners • Support ‘Community Tree Advisors’.

Industry responsibilities provide quality standards for products, services: • Advocacy, design principles and detailing • Specification standardisation • Nursery growing standards • Tree Care Specialists – Arboriculture standards • Contractor implementation methods • Specialist Soil and building material suppliers • ‘Quality assurance’ • Self-regulation - Industry approved contractors and suppliers.

Private responsibilities - a pro-active public planning and managing trees to effectively complement public stock.

SUMMARY Improved care for trees over the last 20 years has been a significant achievement, assisted by a general tree protection method. We have come a long way - but have we gone anywhere? The current New Zealand Government review is seeking to dismantle this achievement, rather than revise and improve urban tree management.

Trees that are able to provide effective future amenity and/or functional requirements are very difficult to re-establish, and the thinking has to be 60 years ahead. So too, the existing tree populations need effective conservation, and conservation.

The recommendation is to raise the bar by establishing a specific Future Framework/ tree strategy (nationally and local). This would redevelop simple general protection method and comprehensive guidelines for evolution into s increases of appropriate and verdant tree cover in urban landscapes. Landscape Architects are well placed to upskill and give greater focus to lead and support this task, REFERENCES Arnold, Henry F. (1993). Trees in Urban Design, (2nd ed). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Auckland Council, (2012). The Auckland Plan. Retrieved from http://theplan.theaucklandplan.govt.nz/ Barton, I. (2008). Continuous Cover Forestry – a handbook for the management of New Zealand Forests.NZ; Tane’s Tree Trust.

District Plans (nod.). Varies planning documents from Auckland region (i.e. Auckland, Franklin, Manukau, Northshore, Papakura, Regional, Rodney, and Whitaker.

Hitchmough, J.D. (1994). Urban Landscape Management. Australia, Reeds and Inkata Press.

Laidlaw, Chris (presenter). (17 March 2013). Radio New Zealand National ‘Ideas’ www.radionz.co.nz/sunday [including Thomas Doherty: http://www.selfsustain.com/; Niki Harre: http://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/niki-harre; Taciano Milfont: http://www.victoria.ac.nz/psyc/about/staff/taciano-milfont Ministry for the Environment, (2005). New Zealand Urban Design Protocol (in conjunction with the Urban Design Advisory Group).

484

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE Spirn, Anne Whiston (1984). The Granite Garden – urban nature and human design. New York: Basic Books.

Spirn, Anne Whiston (2013). Retrieved from http://www.annewhistonspirn.com/ Tree Council (various, 1996 to -). Meetings, minutes, newsletters, publications, submissions.

Tree Council (1997). Planning the Urban Forest. Proceedings from Seminar, March 1996.

Tree Council (2011). Tree Protection Issues In Auckland (March 7th) –(multi-discipline and collaborative paper to Auckland Council; and response from AC officers Assessment of the ‘Tree Protection Issues in Auckland’ Report, 7/6/2011.

Tree Council (UK), (Oct 1997). National Grid Tree Warden Scheme. (Students folder) Urban, James (2008). Up by Roots. Illinios; International Society of Arboriculture.

Wikipedia. Auckland History. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Auckland Wilcox, M. D. (2013). Auckland’s Remarkable Urban Forest. Auckland Botanical Society.

Williams, C. (2005, April). Heritage and urban trees, the biological and political needs. In Mick Abbott (Ed.) Looking forward to Heritage Landscapes: proceedings of NZ Institute of Landscape Architects 2005 Conference. (pp 234-248).

Williams, C. (2005, May). Future Urban Trees-the Biological and Political Life Cycles. The AILA NSW Tree Management Forum . Retrieved from http://www.aila.org.au/treemanagementforum/williams.htm Williams, C. (2005, August). Future Urban Trees the Biological and Political Life Cycles. In Urbanism DownUnder 05 (unpublished). Wellington, New Zealand.

485

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION 57. TANGSHAN NANHU ECO-CITY CENTRAL PARK - FROM BROWNFIELD TO GREEN PARK Hu J Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Institute ABSTRACT Tangshan is the birthplace of Chinese modern industrial civilization, with abundant underground coal resources. In 1976, Tangshan suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, a large area mined out space collapsed and subsided. Nanhu area became a typical urban brownfield filled with urban and industrial waste, as well as domestic sewage. The total area of the Eco-city is 105 km2, and the Central Park within the core area is 630 ha.

Based on the analysis and research regarding the geological structure and potential risk of continued coal mining subsidence in Nanhu, designers started a series of research and planning studies: utilizing Geographical Information System (GIS) for the analysis of the status of land use, collecting eco-factors, evaluating land eco-sensitivity and construction suitability, and determining an appropriate and secure basis for land development.

The park was designed as an urban public space focusing primarily on the ecological restoration of a subsidence area.

Designers fully integrated the factors of natural environment, historical culture and modern civilization, preserving and restoring the existing essential landscape elements to form a holistically spatial structure and created a security, open and comfortable urban park.

Additionally, a series of ecological techniques of “low carbon, low impact and low cost” have been performed regarding existing severe problems, such as rubbish hill, coal ash, soft foundation and water loss and soil erosion.

Keywords: brown field, coal mining subsidence, geological risks, green park, landscape design.

BACKGROUND Located in the northeastern part of Hebei Province, 154km from Beijing, Tangshan city was regarded as one of the foundations of modern Chinese industry, promoted by abundant mineral resources-especially coal. After a hundred years of industrial development (1878-1976),Tangshan experienced a rapid increase in population and urban expansion.

However, urban construction lagged behind.

The Nanhu area, 1 km south of the city center of Tangshan, consists mostly of underground coal mines. After one hundred years of mining, a large subterranean cavern had been formed. After a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1976, the excavated area subsided seriously, causing severe surface disturbance. By 2006, the subsidence area in Nanhu had grown to 28 km2. (Figure 1)

Figure1: Earthquake - Prototype of Brownfield Emerged. Diagram by the author

After the earthquake, Tangshan began post-disaster reconstruction, but coal mining continued, based on the principle of “economic production first, quality of life later”. Because of the large area of subsidence and resumed mining activity,

487

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION Nanhu could only be used to dump urban waste. It became a ruined area and safety hazard. In the last 30 years, the central area of Tangshan city to the north of Nanhu had developed rapidly and had finally become the economic center of the Bohai region. However, Nanhu was still filled with urban, construction, and industrial waste, as well as domestic sewage. People had abandoned this run-down area and nearby residents in several villages had also moved out.

The Nanhu area, a devastated wasteland, had become a “restricted zone” in Tangshan’s urban development. With Nanhu as a boundary, Tangshan’s southward expansion stopped abruptly. (Figure 2)

Figure 2: Existing Site Photos - Four Factors Created a Brownfield. Photo by the author

In 2008, the China Seismological Bureau, the Coal Science Research Institute and some other authoritative organizations performed comprehensive research and analysis regarding the geological structure and potential risk of continued coal mining subsidence in Nanhu. Three assessment reports were completed announcing: “most of the Nanhu area is in a subsidence stability period, and has already met prerequisites for construction development.”

Accordingly, the Tangshan government proposed a strategy of constructing “Nanhu Eco-city”, intended to transform what was previously an urban wasteland into a world class new eco-city.

CHALLENGE How should the relations between the Nanhu area and the city be managed in order to realize a transition from an “Industrial City” to an “Ecological City” with landscape strategies? How can a win-win situation be achieved by maintaining both a healthy ecosystem and continuing coal mining through landscape design? How can conflict be reduced between urban economic development and the poor quality of residential life that has occurred over a 30 year post-disaster reconstruction period?

CONTEXT, PLANNING AND INTENT Through the analysis of ecological conditions and social demands, a master plan for Tangshan Nanhu Eco-city was prepared and designated as “A City that Grew from the Ruins”. The Central Park area, which is not suitable for construction, has been designed as an urban green heart. Extending greenbelts to areas of urban development forms a palmate urban green system that can organize and provide separation between various functions. Comprehensive utilization of the subsidence district provides an important opportunity for shaping open space during the process of urban transformation. (Figure 3-4)

488

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 3: Overlay Ecological Analysis. Diagram by the author

Figure 4: Palmate Green Core Concepts. Diagram by the author

DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY Nanhu Central Park comprises an area of 5.91 square kilometers. Due to existing Tangxu Road, the Central Park was divided into northern and southern parts.The northern part is geologically stable and is therefore designed as an active and vital public space, including large natural landscape features and public recreational facilities. A variety of services and activities are provided to create a comfortable recreational environment. Main attractions include: Revitalized Garbage Mountain, Long Dyke and Central Island, Botanical Garden, and the Central Plaza. (Figure 5)

489

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 5: Master Plan and Renderings. Diagram by the author

Considering the influence of geological subsidence, the southern part is designed as a natural reserve to protect and restore part of the regional ecosystem, retaining its natural landform and vegetation with minimal intervention and public visitation will be limited in order to maintain an environment favorable for plants and animals. Landforms have been designed through subsidence calculation to form different landscape effects as the subsidence process continues.

Main attractions include: Cedar Grassland, Flower Island, Wetland, and Bird Island.

Based on an ecological analysis, a 3 square kilometer water surface was formed in Central Park by excavating, dredging, and integrating the original fish pond and subsidence cavern. Reclaimed water from the sewage treatment plant flows through QingLong River into the lake as the main source of recharge water for landscape requirements. An artificial wetland landscape system also helps to purify reclaimed water along with other water quality improvement solutions, creating a unique wetland landscape and providing a valuable setting for environmental protection education and understanding of the natural ecosystem functions.

In consideration of the site conditions and potential for terrain transformation, large areas of hard landscape and the construction of large buildings was avoided with the design primarily implemented through planting. Constructed buildings are designed as earthquake resistant wooden structures.

Combined with ecological planning and a variety of ecological technologies, the habitat structure is comprised mainly of woodland, bosque, grassland and wetland. Each area maintains its specific natural scenery corresponding to different flora and fauna communities. By cultivating dominant communities in the park, native species are emphasized and by preserving existing plants, many adult trees are retained, helping to rebuild the city environment.

The landscape design highlights the local regional character and follows the principles of Chinese traditional garden design that emphasize design with nature. The design consciously preserves, recovers and recreates the original scenery elements like mountains, water and wetlands with Chinese traditional landscaping methods. It has merged with developed areas and changed the simple linear planning pattern since earthquake reconstruction. (Figure 6)

490

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 6: Satellite Pictures. Diagram from Google Earth

DETAILS OF THE RESTORATION PROCESS Implementation of the plan strives to integrate the solution of ecological problems with human requirements, using waste materials in the site as much as possible and technically reforming waste that could create secondary pollution.

Public use areas were built incorporating rubbish hill reformation, coal ash reuse, embankment technologies suitable for surface subsidence, embankment protection and the use of light timber as a framework for structures.

Rubbish Hill Reformation Located in the middle of the western area of the site, a 50m high hill had been formed by 450 tons of rubbish-treated domestic and commercial waste from the center of Tangshan city. However, at present the rubbish hill had been totally sealed, covered by soil and planted with trees to create a 130,000 m2 green space. “Phoenix Flat� is the name of the landscaped hill transformed from the 50m high rubbish dump. The meaning is encapsulated in the city of Tangshan, which is also called the Phoenix City. The city will experience a rebirth transformation from a resource-dependent city into an eco-city. The rubbish hill reformation measures included: (Figure 7) 1. Collecting all the rubbish and reforming it into a hill 2. Covering the rubbish with LDPE- Low-Density Polyethylene 3. Covering the surface of LDPE with planting soil 4. Compacting the planting soil in layers 5. Constructing a retaining wall with sacks filled with seeds and nutrients 6. Installing a waste gas collection system

Figure 7: Before and After Rubbish Hill Reformation. Photo by the author

491

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 8: Rubbish Hill Reformation Measures. Photo by the author

Coal Ash Reuse During the project construction process, a lot of onsite coal ash was reused, as base material for foundations, for reforming terrain (covered by planting soil), and for producing coal ash-bricks, coal ash-cement and concrete mixed by coal ash that can be used as a road foundation and for other park construction.

Eco-technologies for Land Subsidence (Figure 9) In this special project, some low cost ecological technologies were adopted to deal with the problems of subsidence and deformation.

Tree Branch Embankment Waste botanical materials such as tree branches were collected on site to form flexible embankments as a revetment for retaining soil and avoiding subsidence impact, which can also provide habitats for insects and small aquatic organisms.

Short Timber Piles Short timber piles were used to build road foundations consisting of coal ash, sludge and allied soil, with the goal of raising the strength of foundations, securing their stability and decreasing their potential subsidence.

Gabions Gabions were used to make retaining walls or revetments.They effectively avoid problems of cracking, deformation and collapse caused by fundamental subsidence or reformation. With good extensibility and flexibility, they may be used for preventing water erosion and stabilizing embankments.

492

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 9:Waste Material Reuse and Low-cost Ecological Techniques. Diagram by the author

Light Timber Framed Buildings Light timber framed buildings in the park were designed in consideration of the following factors: limited ground bearing capability; traditional Chinese cultural characteristics; resource and energy consumption requirements for differing structures and materials and environmental effects on the park.

Figure 10: Light Timber Framed Buildings. Photo by the author

Creating Habitats for Birds In the south part of Nanhu, an artificial tree-shrub-herbal community was built by preserving tree islands in the lake, forming a habitat that provides dwelling space for birds in the lake area, combined with an aquatic habitat, wetland habitat and terrestrial habitat.

493

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 11:The southern Bird Habitat Overlook. Photo by the author

CONCLUSIONS The construction of Nanhu Eco-city Central Park considers both the ecological security patterns of the site as well as human needs and it has influented major changes in the surrounding area. In 2015, Nanhu eco-city will have 400,000 residents, housing values worth about ¥48 billion, and an increase in the consumption of goods to about ¥8 billion.

Ecological,economic and social benefit are quantified by Landscape Architecture Fundation’s Case Study Investigation program after the completion of the park in 2012, results will be shown on LAF’s official website in Landscape Perfermance Series program soon. For example: 1. Sequesters an estimated 2,828 metric tons (6,233,946 lbs) of CO2 in the trees of the park per year, equivalent to removing 555 passenger vehicles off road per year.

2. Provides habitats for 7 national second-class protected wildlife species, and improved urban biodiversity for amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds.

3. Reduces the consumption of potable water by 29,200,000 cubic meters (7.7 billion gallons) every year through importing reclaimed water from a nearby sewage treatment plant, equivalent to 11,680 Olympic sized swimming pools. The reclaimed water is further treated in a series of constructed wetland and used for water body recharge and irrigation in the park, which equals a saving of about $15.4 million.

4. Improves microclimate by reducing extreme high temperature of the city by 3-4°C, and increasing the extreme low temperature of the city by 3-4°C, according to Tangshan Meteorological Administration.

5. Saved $47,160,000 in material costs by reusing 6 million cubic meters of coal ash.

6. Saved $369,000 in construction costs by recycling 133,820 trunks of dead trees to form an embankment structure to prevent water erosion.

7. Produces $157,300 revenue annually from recreational and facility rental fees.

8. Provides a park access for the 10,000 nearby residents in less than 15 minutes by walking.

In the transformation process of resource-dependent cities, brownfields that are created by geological subsidence, soil and water polluted areas formed due to long-term industrial exploitation, and the negative effects of human habitation can be made into spectacular eco-friendly habitats. Converting brownfield sites into useful urban spaces is a key factor in the dynamics of urban development-a challenge faced by cities in the future. Tangshan Nanhu Eco-city Central Park landscape design not only created a new urban center for the city, taking into account both ecological security and human needs, but it also effectively enhanced the economy of peripheral urban areas. The rapid transformation of Nanhu from a wasteland filled with rubbish into an urban development economic engine is powerful proof of the ecological, social and economic benefits that can result from landscape design, which may serve as a case study for the

494

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION redevelopment of other resource-dependent cities.

Figure 12: Aerial View of Central Park After Construction. Photo by the author

Figure 13:Tangshan Residents Enjoying Life. Photo by the author

REFERENCES Matthews R.A., Metthews G.B., Landis W.G. 1998. Application of community level toxicity testing to environmental risk assessment. In: Newman MC and Strojan C L,eds.Risk Assessment: Logic and Measurement.:225-253.

Wickwire W.T., Menzie C.A. 2003. New Approaches in Ecological Risk Assessment: Expanding Scales, Increasing Realism, and Enhancing Causal Analysis. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 9(6): 1411-1414.

Willis R.D., Hull R.N., Marshall L.J. 2003. Considerations Regarding the Use of Reference Area and Baseline Information in Ecological Risk Assessments. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 9(7): 1645-1653.

495

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION 58. THE PERSIAN GARDEN AND ITS HEAVENLY WISDOM AS A CONTRIBUTION TO CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Jalayeri H, Hassan Taghvaei S Shahid Beheshti University ABSTRACT The Persian Garden is one of the most important archetypes and on-going contributions to creativity from Iran over the centuries.This creativity is related to human living space, paradigms and “Manipulation of the Natural Environment,” based on many historical contexts and examples, ( Moynihan,1982) (Beasley& Harverson,1982), (Khansari M., Moghtader M.,Yavari M ,2004). Its roots may found in the settlements throughout the Plateau of Iran with their long history (which dates back to the 5th millennium BC), in the Achaemenid era in particular and has continued until today.

From the beginning, Iranians understood the concept of the garden as an earthly expression of a spiritual fact; a reflection of the paradise in the world as an “earthly paradise” (Lehrman,1980). Meanwhile, it is a place for physical comfort and pleasure in the various regions and sites; being enclosed by walls and tall trees.

In adition, the garden experience was not limited to the tangible world. It was instead a sacred art and “symbolic language” in the traditional way of living, too. Such a sacred aspect is related to four fundamental elements: water, soil, fire and wind.

On-going viability has been achieved in harsh climatic conditions and arid zones in particular, by the Persian Garden.

Therefore, traditional and sustainable living conditions for people continue through harmony with nature. This is a kind of sustainability based on paradigms, tacit environmental knowledge and the echo of these four elements. This achievement could be based on a well developed culture and heavenly wisdom, too. How does does this wisdom contribute to the sustainability of today’s landscape’s?

From a Landscape Architecture point of view and first of all, we need to study the characteristic of four elements and their harmonization in the Persian Garden. In addition, we need to consider how this harmony responds to deficiencies in living conditions.This information can then be applied to factors of contemporary landscape’s management.

The studies confirm the important role of tacit environmental knowledge and “eco-value tendencies” of people in benefitting from natural potentials, paradigms and cultural values in order to shape habitation clusters and manipulate the landscape and gardens on the Iranian plateau. In addition, with a primary focus on aspects of natural environment and cultural values, if we can recognize natural deficiencies throughout the world, we can conclude that the roots of these deficiencies are in imbalances between the mentioned sacred elements.

Therefore, understanding the balance between living realities, natural potentials in the case of sources and interaction of the sacred elements in particular, is an ancient wisdom. This is not in conflict with today’s knowledge and science. Wind, water, soil, energy, ...management are the main subject of today’s science. The importance of these elements, their roots, can be found in the idea of the Persian Garden.

INTRODUCTION Undoubtedly one of most exquisite and evocativelandscape images, derived from Persian beliefs, is the Persian Garden [Toosi & Emamifar, 2011]. The Persian Garden is a phenomenon of culture, history and the physical territory of Iran. It is usually is made in a confined area where the plant, water and buildings are combined with the specific architecture.

It creates a desirable, safe and comfortable environment for people. The Persian Garden as an archetype is affected by paradigms and cultural values related to nature and environment occurring during ancient the Persian Empire and the Islamic period afterwards, which in turn influenced arts, and crafts.

Furthermore, the Persian Garden as a pattern, demonstrates a unique relationship between man and nature in different scales and regions (mostly arid zones). The relationship between environment, people, natural elements and landform is “expressed through aesthetic appreciation of the farming landscape and gardening as a tangible expression of the human dimension in the landscape” [Taghvaei, 2010]. On the other hand, the Persian Garden is the original product of interaction between the Iranian mind and life in their natural environment, which in international garden construction history is recognised as contributing a very special style and identity [Soltani, 2008].

THE PERSIAN GARDEN AS AN EARTHLY EXPRESSION OF A SPIRITUAL FACT Spirituality is based on a sacred image of the world through a symbolic framework derived from Iranian-Islamic cosmology, the paradigms, and natural elements in creating the Persian Garden with its echo of traditional landscapes.

The garden has featured significantly as a phenomenon in Iranian landscape design through offering a life interconnected with nature and spiritual qualities and conceptions [Taghvaei, 2010].

Clark writes about the sacredness of the garden: The garden should be, first, a sanctuary in which a focus on the soul enables freedom from distracting thoughts and achieves a state of calm and spirituality. The garden is based on the

496

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION notion of the spiritual world, and like any sacred art, its objective is bringing the “observer” closer to God [Clark, 1999].

Dadbeh in an article titled “ Persian Garden and scared wisdom” said: The Persian Garden is a cosmic event (about) reconstruction and rebirth of the sacred world; general principles and details of Persian garden design show how to shape the plan and division of sacred art and their four sacred applications or performances in the garden, which leads to substantiality being lost, and links the human with the spiritual realm. Thus, an important aspect of the Persian garden, is the divine and sacred [Dadbeh, 2004]. The Persian Garden is a reflection or projection of a paradise garden appearance that exists in the unconscious mind of ethnic and eternal memories. Its sacred aspect is related to four elements: water, soil, fire, wind.

FOUR ELEMENTS: AS A HEAVENLY WISDOM We can find adaption of the quadripartite in the body of water- tree and vegetable-soil and earth- light, fire, and air in the Persian Garden. On the other hand, the quadripartite design of Persian Gardens is based on the four fundamental constituents of the world as understood in ancient philosophy. These substances i.e. earth, water, air, and fire have deeply influenced the design of the Persian Garden.

In the pattern of Persian Garden, we can find below mentioned associations: Through association with earth, the garden fulfils its function of regeneration and quadruplication. Through the association with water, the four water channels, fountains and pool are formed. Through association with wind and climate, the walls and enclosure is formed. Finally, through association with fire, [sun and light], the quadrilateral pavilion is formed to witness the recurrence of four seasons.The balanced combination of these four elements thus creates the equilibrium sought after in the Persian Garden [Taghvaei, 2010].

The four elements rooted in the ancient Persian Garden: Water The water goddess Anahita is always represented in Persian faith and the water of life, which is divided into four parts in its manifestation, creates paradise in the heart of the desert. [Figure1, 2]. Water is the main and most crucial element in the formation of the garden. Use of water for construction of the Iranian garden is very clever and artistic. Iranian design with a subtle approach enables the perception of water more broadly than as the element itself. Water is not only used for watering and feeding garden plants, but the conceptual, poetic and artistic use of it, decorates the garden space and with its presence bring freshness, vitality, movement and beauty [Johnson, Sydney Johnson, & Links, 1929].

Soil A garden in the hot and dry land is a sign of vitality and blessing provided by the soil and it is an allegory of heaven on earth [Bemanian, Taghvaei, & Sharif Shahidi, 2007]. Soil is a material for covering that covers seed inside itself, producing fruit and fertilizing the garden. The soil and litter material, suitable slope to facilitate the movement of water, irrigation and fertile potential and good prospects are the factors considered in placing the garden in an area.

Figure 1:The Fin Garden of Kashan and the central pond Koushk Safavi, divided by the square pool of water in four directions [Toosi & Emamifar, 2011]

Figure 2:The Persian Garden: reflection of paradise in the heart of the desert [Khansari, Moghtader, & Yavari, 2004].

Fire Mithras emerged in the middle of the two ancient stones; so no doubt, there is a place for kindling fire in ancient Iranian gardens [Dadbeh, 2004]. From aerial photographs of the Firooz Abad city (a city in Fars province), it can be deduced

497

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION that the existing fire temple minaret was in the city center at the intersection of two rectangular gardens which were irrigated by a network of streams [Bemanian, Taghvaei, & Sharif Shahidi, 2007].

In ancient civilizations, in many kinds of arts especially in architecture, a sun god was represented and in this land, temples and monuments were allocated for its honor and sanctification. One of the important functions of such places was astronomical functions. It helps people to determine the relative time of the year fairly accurately [Khansari, Moghtader, & Yavari, 2004]. Fire in the Persian Garden, is the most sacred essence. It is a way to enter the kingdom, representing brightness and purification, is a manifestation of the divine light in plants and inanimate objects and banishes the darkness[Figure3].

Figure 3:The elements of fire and water as sacred elements of the Firoozabad temple of fire [Khansari, Moghtader, & Yavari, 2004]

Wind Why is a high wall and fence built around the Persian garden? What does this archetype hide in itself from Iranian people’s beliefs? A garden with a fence, in the Iranian people’s beliefs, is a conceptual entity. Wind symbolizes safety and health, having a function of protection from evil and demons, and leads to birth, fertility and fecundity (and blessing). Wind flow is the soul of heaven. The wind causes the water to flow and circulate, the seasonal essence in the microclimate of the garden, and creates the four seasons garden and stylizes and circulates the air.

The forms, scales and orders of Iranian Gardens are deeply influenced by understanding the realities of living and maintaining qualities and paradigms which themselves are about the reality of heaven and its imagination. On the other hand, these beliefs are interconnected to the four fundamental elements of being, by which the garden fulfils its function of regeneration and quadruplication [Taghvaei, 2010].

THE PERSIAN GARDEN: CLIMATIC HOSPICE IN HARD GEOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS The Persian Garden has adapted itself to its environmental context. The Gardens with clever decisions on their location, surrounded by walls sheltered from harsh surrounding climate, offer security, privacy and spiritual experiences for different users [Taghvaei, 2010].

There is one common aspect between different Persian Gardens. They are in harmony with nature, and respond to human nature, particularly Iranian. As a simple definition, the Persian Garden is the art of combination of architectural and planting elements and water features for generating a balanced setting in one whole body specifically for arid zones. These objects of craftsmanship respond to human needs, wishes and pleasures conforming to ecological and other existing facilities.

Climate is a significant factor in the formation of each class of landscape design. As climatic factors make an impact, mainly through perception, so some distinctive differences can be highlighted in each climatic condition.

As the range of vegetation receives a direct influence from each region’s climate, therefore the form and type of materials used in both architecture and landscape architecture is exclusively dependent on the region. Based on Hassan Ganji’s classification Iran has four main climatic classes [Bani masoud, 2009]: • Hot and arid climate (central regions of the Iran plateau);

498

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION • Hot and humid climate (coasts of Oman Sea and Persian Gulf); • Cold climate (e.g. North-West of Iran, and mountain regions of the central plateau); • Mild and humid climate (coasts of the Caspian Sea); The most important Iranian gardens are situated in hot arid and semi-arid zones.

METHODOLOGY Harmony between four elements in the Persian Garden The Persian Garden is an interconnected collection, providing favourable weather conditions for the growth and expansion of green space, moisture and oxygen production and climate regulation and control.

The Persian Garden plays a vital role in creating an hospitable climate for humans. Because the garden is in the heart of desert, by creating shade and cool breezes (wind) that emerge with the combination of water and vegetation, the garden provides comfort for the human body. We can say the garden in the desert creates a micro-climate in a closed environment. With the construction of canals in the desert, a necessary condition for the creation of gardens in hot dry areas, the garden was made possible. Continuous water flow (water) and the benefit of plenty of light (fire) and soil fertility (soil) was essential for the growth of the trees. Also by surrounding the garden by a sufficient wall, the conditions are provided to prevent evaporation and loss of moisture. Gardens in the heart of the desert, in mountains and along the watercourse, in addition to creating a beautiful and conducive environment, reveal concealed environmental potential and lead to marshalling a rich ecosystem. By balancing the four elements of nature, environmental sustainability in the Iranian gardens is created. The absence of any of these elements can disturb this stability. Absence of water as the most important element in the formation of an Iranian garden destroys it. Improper positioning of the garden based on inadequate quality of the soil environment (soil type, soil slope, etc.) subjects the garden to risks. Proper orientation of the garden with respect to wind direction is an important factor in encouraging air flow and making sense of satisfaction for the residents of the garden. Proper positioning of plants to take advantage of light and shadows, is another important factor for durability and stability of the Iranian garden [Table 1]. water

Water shortages and moisture in desert regions, create a feeling of mental relaxation, as a cleansing and refreshing agent, forming pillars in the garden

Soil

Growth, birth, blessings, establish order and geometry, appropriate positioning for soil garden type and slope

Fire

Release from darkness , a way to enter the kingdom, luminous, places of worship

Wind

Spirit flow in heavenly space, air permeability, cause four seasons gardens, birth and fertility Table 1- Four Elements in the Persian Garden (Reference: authors)

After recognizing the impact of each of the four elements in the Iranian Garden, we will investigate deriving factors for a new landscape.

COMPONENTS OF LANDSCAPE Landscape elements, in the presented model, include elements of the built environment, the elements of the natural environment and human activities. In this model, the interaction of components is emphasized in shaping the landscape and the interconnecting components. [Figure 4]

Figure 4: Landscape elements (Taghvaei, 2012)

499

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION BUILT ENVIRONMENT If humans change nature by adding or deleting elements, the built environment is created. This new body is a novel interpretation of nature, which is called built environment.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Natural environment as the context for human activities has a systemic structure. This system has elements that will form the structure of the environment by its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Each of these components plays a certain role that creates environmental performance. Environmental factors are as follows: • Topography • Rivers networks and surface flows • Characteristics of climate (including rainfall, temperature, humidity, radiation, wind, etc.)

• Surface water and groundwater resources • Geological structure • Vegetation and animal life • Natural Resources and attractions In summary, the natural environment includes non-physical and physical factors. Physical factors include ground, topography, water, vegetation. Non-physical factors include climatic factors (temperature, radiation, humidity) and sensory factors (light, smell, sound, airflow).

HUMAN ACTIVITIES ENVIRONMENT The area of human activity includes perception, emotion, behaviour and changing context by man through construction and land use. The context of human activities emerges from environment and physical interaction. Awareness of the impact of human activities on the environment is critical. Because what is conceived as a natural environment, it is only when it remains in this state that specific land use and management is applied. Landscape is the result of many complex interactions between humans and nature. Every landscape has certain characteristics based on the relationship of people with the physical and natural environment in the past. Maintaining the character of the landscape is important because it reflects heritage and shows how people used the land within the constraints of the local environment.

Landscape is part of people’s sense of belonging to a particular place.

Lack of attention to each of these components and the imbalance between them leads to a lack of environmental sustainability [Figure5]. For example, the placement of a residential building, without regard to environmental issues such as slope, orientation and material, water flow and movement, vision and perspective, the amount of screening and direct radiation, vegetation, erosion (wind, water, weathering, radiation), wind direction and many other factors will lead to the lack of stability and the discontinuation of life in the residential zone. Therefore, for landscape planning and management is important to consider all environmental and human factors [Figure 6, 7].

Figure 5: Lack of attention to each of these components and the imbalance between them [Reference: author’s private archive]

500

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 6: GIS Model: Excessive speed and increased runoff and erosion [Reference: author’s private archive].

Figure 7: GIS Model: Lack of attention to the general slope of the land and inappropriate construction, iresults in a disrupted local ecosystem [Reference: author’s private archive].

CONCLUSION If we review components of a Persian Garden and important factors for new landscapes, the results are shown in the following table:[Table 2] Constituents New Landscapes

Persian Garden

Built environment

Natural environment

Architectural system and construction

Four elements (Water, Soil, Wind, fire)

Human activities and land uses

Castle garden, tomb garden, hunting garden (Garden function: definition of human activities)

Table 2: Constituents of the Persian Garden and new landscapes and their interrelationship(Reference: authors)

The built environment in new landscapes can be equated with architectural systems in the Persian Garden. In the natural environment it is important to consider factors such as surface runoff, groundwater, soil (aspect, material, erosion, excavation and embankment), wind and its direction. These factors can be matched with the four elements (water, fire, earth, air). In addition the environment of human activity can be defined based on their performance in both of them (Persian Garden and new landscape).

The Persian Garden is formed based on the relationship and balance between its constituents.The architectural system, with four elements and human activities interact with each other and work together to form the Persian Garden. Lack of any of the components of the garden disrupts the sustainability of the garden. The problems of new landscapes are that they lack attention to each of these components in the new the landscape. Lack of planning and proper management of each of the components of the landscape, ignoring the environmental and natural factors, human activities, their needs and the built environment, will lead to landscape instability.

Therefore, it’s understood, in global terms, if we can recognize natural deficiencies everywhere, we will conclude that the roots of these deficiencies are in imbalances between four sacred elements. Balance and interaction of them is an ancient wisdom. It has no conflict with today’s knowledge and science. Wind, water, soil, energy ...management are the main subject of today’s science. Their roots can be found in the idea of the Persian Garden.

BIBLIOGRAPHY • Bani Masoud, A. (2009). Persian Contemporary Architecture. Tehran: Honar. [In Persian] • Beasley & Harverson. (1982). Living With The Desert. ARIS & Phillips Ltd. • Bemanian, M.,Taghvaei, A., & Sharif Shahidi, M. (2007). Foundations of culture - the physical environment of the Persian garden. Sciences and Environment Technology, 103-112. [In Persian] • Clark, E. (1999). View Paradise, Gardens Alhambra. International Conference of Religious Art (pp. 46-58).

501

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION Tehran: Soroush.

• Dadbeh, A. (2004). Persian Garden and sacred wisdom. Persian Garden first conference (pp. 45-57). Tehran: Cultural Heritage and Tourism. [In Persian] • Johnson, J., Sydney Johnson, J., & Links, J. (1929). The Persian Garden. England: Windsor Press.

• Khansari, M., Moghtader, M., & Yavari, M. (2004). The Persian Garden: Reflection of Paradise. Tehran: Persian Garden Conference Secretariat. [In Persian] • Lerhman, J., Eerthly Paradise:garden and courtyard in Islam, Thames & Hudson, 1980 • Moynihan, Elizabeth B. (1982). Paradise As A Garden in Persia and Mughal India. London: Scholar Press.

• Shahcheraghi, A. (2010). Paradigms of Paradise: Recognition and Re-Creation Of The Persian Garden. Tehran: Jahad Daneshgahi. [In Persian] • Soltani, M. (2008). Shaping contemporary urban gardens: the garden through the park (with a focus on the experiences of Tehran). Baghe Nazar, 48-58. [In Persian] • Taghvaei, S. (2010).The Echoes of Traditional Iranian Landscaping- The Role of Paradigms, Natural Environment and Tacit Knowledge in Persian Gardens. IFLA, (pp. 207-216).

• Taghvaei, S. (2012). Landscape Architecture: An Introduction to Theory & Meaning. Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University.

• Toosi, M., & Emamifar, S. (2011). Semiotics and semiotic elements of Persian gardens of the Fin Garden in Kashan. Negareh, 50-71. [In Persian]

59. METHODS OF ESTIMATING LIGHT POLLUTION IN DESIGNED ENVIRONMENTS Kim M Virginia Tech ABSTRACT This study examines and suggests ways to evaluate light pollution of existing sites (not new projects)in an effort to ultimately reduce light pollution.

Light pollution has been a topic of sustainable design discussion for many years.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design; an American certificateprogram for sustainable design) and other sustainable design guidelines recommendminimizing light trespass from buildings and sites, reduce sky glow, reduce glare, andreduce impact on nocturnal environments. Currently the reductions are achieved usingproper light fixtures. The author, however, found that the recommendations largelyignored the reflectivity of materials on the ground. For example, the reflectivity of light-colored concrete is high and, thus, lights need not be as bright in this circumstance as compared with other areas.

The author has also found that the current recommendations are for new projects. Furthermore, in seeking light pollution reduction of existing sites, there lacks proper ways to evaluate site conditions influencing light pollution before future measures are taken. Currently, there are no site-scale methods to estimate light pollution.

The author has developed methods to estimate site-scale light pollution. This study examines the characteristics of surface materials - ground and wall - by measuring their reflectance under various types of light fixtures to find better material choices for light pollution reduction. Both natural materials and man-made materials are tested. Natural materials include trees, shrubs, ground cover species, and water. Man-made materials include those commonly advertised in trade magazines, such as asphalt and concrete of different type and color. In addition to reflectivity, thermal characteristics are measured with dark low albedo,reflection coefficient, material tendencies to hold heat contributing to urban heat island effect.

INTRODUCTION While sustainable design guidelines often suggest the use of full cut-off light fixtures to reduce light pollution, reflectance from the materials used for walls and paving are hardly ever discussed. This paper argues that if a material with characteristics similar to a highly reflective concrete is used in a design environment, the intensity of light emanating from light fixtures can subsequently be reduced and should be adjusted accordingly.

Light pollution is excessive light shown in unintended areas such as the sky (sky glow) or upon neighbors (light trespass). Light pollution wastes energy, natural resources, and affects human and ecosystem health. (Knez 2001; Hansen

502

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION 2001; Longcore and Rich 2004; Rich and Longcore 2006; Salmon 2003; Shaflik 1997; Borg 1996; Bell 1999) Safe living conditions are also compromised by light trespass, glare and up-lighting. Many of us have been blinded by poor lighting or have light trespass enter our home and interfere with our night-time activities. Light trespass especially affects our sleeping conditions due to an alteration in our levels of melatonin, which can only be generated under dark environments. Proper levels of melatonin are important due to its anti-oxidant properties which helps fight off disease, especially cancer. Poor or excessive lighting can affect many animals as well. (Perry et al. 2008; Rowan 1938; Kristen and Navara 2007) Night migrating birds have been diverted off course and have flown into lighted buildings, resulting in millions of bird deaths each year. In addition, animal habitats are increasingly affected by sprawling development and the excessive and often-unnecessary lighting introduced to their environments. Outdoor lighting that is wasted and spilled outward and upward, having no lighting value, adds roughly $1 billion a year to the United States’ energy bill according to the International Dark-Sky Association in Tucson, Arizona. The waste of energy is not only costly, but also results in major chemical pollution, including carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), from electricity generation by utility companies. Furthermore, for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, approximately 2.5 liters of water are used by power-plant sources.

This paper is comprised of two parts that describe two separate study methods for understanding materials, lighting and reflectance. The first part discusses types of light pollution in designed spaces, then examines surface materials in designed environments and the respective reflectivity thereof. The second part discusses the reflectance of materials in a simulated environment via a dark room.

TYPES OF LIGHT POLLUTION Before the discussion of the two mentioned parts above, this section illustrates types of light pollution using images found in an institutional environment. It illustrates various light pollutions, such as sky glow, light trespass, and glare.

1) Undirected lighting: sky glow and light trespass Some lighting fixtures are lighting more than the area intended. Undirected lighting results in either sky glow, light moving in an upwards direction, or in light trespass, the undirected light falling upon an area or property that should not receive light. Sky glow impedes the clearness of the night sky and light trespass can cause negative effects on public health. (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Undirected lighting. Light is shown to all directions.

2) Glare and blinding effects Many lighting fixtures create an extremely high contrast environment resulting in glare and blinding effects that may impede the safety of the immediate surrounding area. Glare is often blinding and makes it difficult to identify features at night. (Figure 2) If a person’s background is lighted by glare, it is hard to see that person’s features.

503

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 2: Glare makes it difficult to identify features at night

3) Discontinuous lighted paths A lighted path is intended to guide the way for pedestrians, and if there is a break in the continuity of path lighting then the path can seem to disappear at night, jeopardizing safety and wayfinding. Human eyes cannot quickly adjust to lighting changes at night (Figure 3)

Figure 3.: Discontinuous lighted paths

4) Inefficient lighting by targeting non-usable spaces Many path lighting fixtures on campus light more than just the intended path. An increased number of fixtures result in higher energy costs. The luminaire design or the placement of the fixtures in relation to the path could be changed in order to remedy this problem. (Figure 4)

504

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 4: Light is directed to grassy area that are not used at night, not just lighting the paths.

PART 1 REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES OF SURFACE MATERIALS IN DESIGNED ENVIRONMENT Reflectance is the ratio of the light intensity of the reflected light from the material to the intensity of the light source expressed as a percentage. Materials like glass and concrete are more reflective than red bricks and asphalt.

The purpose of Part 1 is: 1. To measure, map and create a database of the reflectance properties of the various materials used on the buildings and ground surfaces of the University of Arizona campus.

2. To generate data that can be used to better our understanding of how architectural and landscape surfaces may be used to reduce light pollution by employing sensitive lighting design.

Method This study examined the University of Arizona campus bound by Helen Street on the North, to 6th St. on the South, Park Ave. on the West and Campbell Ave. on the East, with the inclusion of the Park Student Union. This area was selected based on the variety of surface conditions presented. The study area was initially examined by aerial photos.

Detailed, interpreted maps were created to gather further data on the ground. The following data was collected on site: material descriptions (e.g. concrete with fine finish, red stain, etc.), horizontal or vertical (walls) surfaces, light source intensity, material reflectivity (reflected light intensity), reflectance ratio (divide the reflectivity of the material by the source intensity,) photos of material, location descriptions, and other notes. Materials data included such detailed description as, concrete: fine finish, red stain, etc. Color temperature of the lights were not considered for the study.

Lighting types of the study were mixed since we were dealing with a large college campus. Generally lamps for short pole lights were high pressure sodium lights (warm yellow) and taller lights were metal halide (cool white) lights.

A Licor Li-1000 data logger with the light meter attachment was used to take the light readings.The readings were taken in daylight because artificial illumination at night would produce similar results. To take a reading of the light source intensity, light meter was pointed 180° away from the surface Figure 5 and Figure 6. Then the meter was turned to face the surface at the same location, 6” away, and the reflectivity reading was taken. It was particularly important that the meter be held perpendicular to the surface, as slight differences could produce variations in intensity readings, especially in direct light. The light meter used is sensitive enough that any movement or deflection of angle from 90° caused fluctuations in the readings, especially in strong light. A remedy to the problem of stability and consistency would be to fabricate a tripod to hold the meter at a consistent angle and distance. Thin wire could be used so as not to create shadows (Figure 7). However, for this study, this remedial method was not used.

505

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 5:Taking a source intensity reading (the sun) with the Licor Li-1000 Data Logger on a vertical surface (left).The meter is being held against the surface for stability. Sculpture podium at west entrance to CALA building, Material #:9, Map code: H4

Figure 6:Taking a reading on a horizontal surface (right.) Asphalt pavement Olive Ave. west of Photography Center. Material #: 8, Map code: G4

506

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 7: Diagram of the light meter reading surface reflectivity with the proposed wire tripod in place.

MAPPING In addition to collecting reflectance data, the project’s aim was to understand the spatial variation by creating a map of the ground conditions, designating all horizontal surfaces. An AutoCad map and an aerial photograph of the university were used. The aerial photograph, with a 3” resolution was used as a reference to delineate the boundaries of the different material surfaces. After some initial field observations and verifications, the high-resolution aerial image could be used almost exclusively.

Since the aerial photograph is a very large file, it was divided into smaller sections to make them easier to work with.

These were then overlayed on the AutoCad map file and the surface material boundaries were transferred to the AutoCad map file. As the aerial image had been stitched together it didn’t match exactly with the map.

To facilitate locating data, the map was divided into a grid using numerals 1 to12 for the columns and letters A to P for the rows. Each square is approximately one block. Each material reading location could be easily referenced from the data sheet with a letter-numeral code (Figure 8) The complete map contains boundary lines delineating the areas of different surfaces, material code numbers within each boundary, and the location where the light intensity reading was taken, using the

symbol.

507

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Grid code

Material code

Light reading location Figure 8: Sample section of map, at south end of Mountain Ave. near the Student Union, grid code I6

Results and Discussions of Part 1 In total, 86 materials were collected from the University of Arizona campus, 40 of which were horizontal and 46 of which were vertical. (Figure 9) The most reflective surface, 61.92%, is white stucco on the Holsclaw Music Hall (#19.) and the lowest, 2.31%, is corten steel screen on the east side of The Eller Dance Theater building (#74.) The most extensive surfaces are asphalt, concrete walks, paving bricks, and turf. The reflectance for asphalt ranges from 5.79% for new asphalt (#60,) to 14.44% for old, worn asphalt (#8.) The most common asphalt, in parking lots and streets, has a 13.51% reflectance.

There are many different concrete finishes and tints but the reflectance for most of them is in the 20 to 29% range.

The most common, the typical sidewalk (#21), has a 20% reflectance. A very fine, very light finish on an area of concrete at the west entrance of The CALA building (#1) has a high reflectance of 49.04%. Paving bricks (15) used for walks and bicycle paths had a reflectance of 21.13%, but some that were old and dirty had a much lower percentage of 3.62 (#10.) Two areas of turf had consistent reflectance percentages of 9.7 (#37) and 9.83 (#25.)

508

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 9: In total, 86 materials data were collected. 15 materials are shown with other factors.

It was found that the most important factor in the reflectance is unsurprisingly, the color value, the darker the surface color the lower the reflectance. The limited scope and time frame of this study didn’t allow us to gather enough data to evaluate the role of texture. For the purpose of light pollution mitigation the simple solution would be to use darker colored surfaces. The problem with this is that darker materials absorb more heat and therefore contribute to the heat island effect. Screens having low reflectance, cor-ten steel (#74) and perforated copper (#82,83) are used on some of the newer campus buildings but these would not be feasible for large areas. Trees and vegetation would be a good possibility of mitigating both problems. Our findings show that trees have very low reflectance. Although the reflectance would vary from tree to tree our data showed a reflectance of 8.33% for a mesquite tree, Prosopis velutina (#11) and 3.62% for Texas red oak, Quercus buckleyi (#38.) In addition to green roofs, more trees in pots could be planted on the tops of multilevel parking garages and parking lots, to mitigate light pollution as well as many other urban problems. Also greenwalls could be erected to reduce reflectance and light trespass.

The lesson learned through Part 1 research was that material reflectance in a designed setting is a significant factor to consider if light pollution is to be reduced.

PART 2 MODELING LIGHTS IN DESIGNED ENVIRONMENT With the understanding learned from the Part 1 research, an experiment was conducted to measure the intensity of reflected light for different simulated environmental conditions and materials. The results were plotted on a graph to understand how the introduction of new materials in a simulated environment influenced the intensity of reflected lights.

A 3/8” = 1’-0” model was created the environment with various materials. (Figure 10 and Figure 11) The initial setting was a black non-reflective surface with non-reflective walls and surroundings. Reflected light was recorded for adding and subtracting artificial materials such as roads, footpaths, walls, and white roofs. Then, lawns, water and trees were added or subtracted to see the effects of natural materials. Readings were recorded for each condition.

509

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 10: Simulation model design. Light meter measure the amount of light reflected off the materials in a designed environment.

Figure 11: Physical model built for the simulation

Licor1000 Photometric light meter was mounted on a tripod and a sensor arm so that the tripod and the arm would not influence the readings. 100W light bulb with table lamp and stand was used as a source of light.

Results and Discussions of Part 2 The result is shown in Figure 12. Generally, adding artificial materials to the environment increased the reflectance. On the other hand, when natural elements were added to the model the reflectance was reduced.

510

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Figure 12: Materials and Intensity of Light Reflectance.

The maximum light intensity was observed when the walls, and roofs especially, were added. Lawns and water helped in reducing the upward light intensity as predicted. However, they did not reduce the light intensity as much as we expected. Upon the introduction of trees, the light intensity was further reduced.

The experiment demonstrated that the introduction of walls and roofs increased the reflectance by around 125%. It also demonstrated that a reduction of reflected light of up to 30% can be achieved by manipulating certain aspects of the built environment.

CONCLUSIONS Materials used in the built environment are important factors contributing to the intensity of light reflectance (light pollution). However, research on light pollution has been primarily restricted to lighting fixtures and lighting design.

There is very limited information on the effects buildings and landscape elements have on light pollution. This paper explored the relationship between materials used in designed spaces and lighting. It demonstrates, through two phases of experimentation, that sustainable lighting design (light pollution reduction design) should consider the entire built environment, not just employing cut-off light fixtures, from which no light is emitted directly from the fixtures into the sky using shielding lamps. The light source is usually contained within a solid, non-transparent housing. Full cut-off fixtures come in all shapes and sizes. If materials used in design are highly reflective, such as concrete or brightly painted surface, light would reflect more even when cut-off light fixtures are used. Less light could be used to achieve the same desired lighting effects.

While the results from Part 1 suggest passively selecting less reflective materials, the results from Part 2 suggest that landscape designers can more proactively reduce light pollution by carefully employing plant materials and water features. In addition to traditional planting design around light-pollution sources, green roofs and green walls could be used to reduce light pollution that includes light trespass and glare. Green walls could be particularly useful in reducing light trespass and glare. They can be used against wall materials that are highly reflective.

This study suggests that the entire environment should be considered if light pollution is to be reduced. Consideration of using cut-off light fixtures is not enough. Further studies could produce guidelines on the optimum level of lights for various surface materials with different reflectivity. In addition, the effects of trees, a vertical natural element, can be further examined. Unfortunately, due to the complex shape of trees, it is difficult to quantify the effectiveness of trees in reducing light pollution.

REFERENCES Brandi, Ulrike. 2002. Light for Cities. Birkhäuser Architecture Borg, V. (1996) Death of night. Geographical Magazine 68: 56.

Knez, I (2001). “Effects of colour of light on nonvisual psychological processes”. Journal of Environmental Psychology 21(2): 201.

Fonken, L K; Finy, M S; Walton, James C.; Weil, Zachary M.; Workman, Joanna L.; Ross, Jessica; Nelson, Randy J. (28 December). “Influence of light at night on murine anxiety- and depressive-like responses”. Behavioural Brain Research 205(2): 349–354.

Hansen, J (2001). “Increased breast cancer risk among women who work predominantly at night”. Epidemiology

511

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION (Cambridge, Mass.) 12 (1): 74–7.

Kristen, J.; Navara, R. J. N. 2007. “The dark side of light at night: physiological, epidemiological, and ecological consequences.”

Journal of Pineal Research Longcore, T. and Rich, C. (2004). “Ecological light pollution”. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2 (4): 191-198.

Perry, G.; Buchanan, B. W.; Fisher, R. N.; Salmon, M.; Wise, S. E. (2008). “Effects of artificial night lighting on amphibians and reptiles in urban environments.”. In Mitchell, J. C.. Urban Herpetology. 3. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. pp.

239–256.

Rich, C. and Longcore, T. (2006). Ecological consequences of artificial night lighting. Island Press.

Rowan, William (1938). “Light and seasonal reproduction in animals”. Biological Reviews 13 (4): 374.

Shaflik, C. (1997). Environmental effects of roadway lighting. Technical paper prepared at University of British Columbia, Dept. of Civil Engineering, pp. 9.

60. DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR REGIONAL IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: A CASE OF THE INVITED ENTRIES OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR MASTER PLAN OF THE YONGSAN PARK, KOREA, 2012 Seo Y, Pae J Seoul National University, Dept. of Landscape Arhcitecture ABSTRACT Regional identity constitutes one of the major issues in both theory and design of contemporary landscape architecture.The International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park, Korea, 2012, has profound significance for discussing such issues.This paper aims to interpret diverse aspects of design concepts and strategies for regional identity embodied in eight entries of the Competition.The Yongsan Park is a large park to be constructed on a 2,430,000m² site at the center of Seoul.

Yongsan has long been noted for scenic beauty which typifies the Korean landscape, and it served as a hub of modernization.

However, Japan stationed their troops in Yongsan in the early 20th century, and, in 1945, the U.S. Army built its military base.

As Korea and the U.S. recently reached an agreement concerning the transfer of the military base, this massive land area could seize the chance to be utilised as a public park. The Yongsan Park is to create a national urban park where nature, culture, and history are in harmony.The authors’ analysis of the Competition entries can be summarized as follows: recovery of landscape by symbolic topography, contemporary reinterpretation of Korean perspective of place, and maximization of the site’s potential. Although those entries employ diverse design strategies, they have in common with one another an understanding of Korea’s unique landscape, discovery of regional distinction, and active utilization of such regional feature for design. It presents enormous implications for regionalism which is a universal issue of contemporary landscape architecture.

INTRODUCTION It is a recent trend of landscape design “to explore and rediscover regional potentiality and site characteristics in pursuit of identity development” [Reed, 2005]. In the age of globalization, contemporary landscape architecture cannot be free from market. As David Harvey remarked, “globalization accelerates the circulation of goods and capital, brings change in traditional industries and intensifies competition”[Harvey, 1989]. Accordingly, many global cities have strengthened their characteristics and established their own identity. The regional competitiveness has been improved by marketing the regions and cities. Therefore, regional identity is an emerging important issue of the contemporary landscape architectural theory and design.

‘The International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park, Korea, 2012’ has profound significance for discussing such an issue. Yongsan Park is a large park to be constructed in the site of 2,430,000m² at the center of Seoul, the capital city of Korea. Yongsan was nested in a typical Korean beautiful landscape surrounded by mountains, field, river, and lakes. It was the center of modernization as a hub of transportation, residence and commerce since the opening of Korean ports to the outside world. Nevertheless, since the turn of the 20th century when the Yongsan area became the military base for the Japanese troops and subsequently in 1945 became a US military base, it has been isolated from the rapid transformation of surrounding environments. Recently, the Korean and US governments agreed on relocation of Yongsan U.S. military base and, as a result, it could be appropriated for a park site.

This paper aims to interpret diverse aspects of design concepts and strategies for regional identity embodied in eight entries of the ‘International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park.’ This competition is the by-product of design undertaken in the specific locality of Yongsan, Seoul, but it may present enormous implications for regionalism

512

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION - a universal issue of contemporary landscape architecture.

THE YONGSAN COMPETITION: A BRIEF HISTORY ‘The International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park’ is a conclusive idea of twenty years long controversial debate and discussion on its development.Towards June, 1990, when agreement is made on relocation of Yongsan U.S. military base, various suggestions and ideas started to bloom as to how this military area can be used after relocation. At this time, residential development was the ruling opinion on the park development idea. In May, 2003, a final agreement on the relocation of Yongsan U.S. military base was signed at the summit meeting of Korea and U.S. and afterwards, park development idea took sudden momentum. In 2004, Yongsan Park project task force team was established as a government organization giving rise to various studies on directions and ideas for park development.

In the process of public discussion on the park development, residential development concept naturally started to concede and public sentiment favored park development plan in support of the key concept of nationalistic, historic, ecological and cultural context. At least, the Korean’s made a national consensus on the plan to transform the Yongsan military base into a public park.

‘Conceptual Park Plan of the Yongsan Camp’ announced in 2005 is the main forum to assay public deliberation in terms of spatial analysis on the park development discourse [The Office for Government Policy Coordination, 2005]. At that time, it also introduced a philosophical conceptualization of park in perspective of a dynamic relation with the city transcending the ruling narrative perception of park on either nationalistic, historical, emotional, ecological sentiment.

In particular, this plan unfolded a new vision for Yongsan Park as ‘future oriented park,’ ‘park in dialogue with urban life,’ and ‘growing park.’ The phasing of this plan has given significant impact on subsequent plans and polices as well.

In 2009, ‘Ideas Competition for Yongsan Park’ was held. In this competition, the visions for Yongsan Park were proclaimed as follows: “Yongsan Park pursues constant evolution and growth, restoration of nature and ecological healthiness, expansion of new cultural horizon for urban park and regional identity, and openness to the public for participation in park development”[Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Marine Affairs, 2009]. Many of the proposals submitted shared design concepts on phasing, urban organization, site’s historic specificity, and flexible programming.

‘Basic Plan for the Creation and Zoning of the Yongsan Park’ announced in 2011 is an official legal plan enacted under the Yongsan Park Development Special Law, Article 13 [Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Marine Affairs, 2011].

This Basic Plan will serve as the framework for basic design and development pland for future progress. Also, it was the design guideline for the ‘International Design Competition for Yongsan Park’ (2012). In this plan, “an open national park where nature, culture, history and the future stay in harmony” was declared as the vision for Yongsan Park. The three objectives of park were presented as follows: “a park that sublimates historicity and placeness, a healthy park that restores ecological values, and a park that leads the production of the future urban culture.” To achieve such vision and objectives, planning strategies were categorized in the perspectives of park-structuring, park-programming, and park-operating (Fig. 1).

‘International Design Competition for Yongsan Park’ (2012) was intended to choose a creative and rational master plan to achieve the vision and objectives of Yongsan Park as presented in the ‘Basic Plan for the Creation and Zoning of the Yongsan Park’ (2011). The future design to build the park will be determined in conformity with the winning proposal selected at the competition. Consequently, this competition will be the significant culmination of the 20 years long discussion to conceive the Yongsan Park.

513

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig.1:Vision, Aims, and Strategies of the Yongsan Park, in Basic Plan for the Creation and Zoning of the Yongsan Park, 2011

In view of historicity, urban structural characteristics, super-large scale and location, ecological value and KRW 4.5 billion worth design right, this competition drew keen interest from architects and landscape architects of world renowned competence. Over the period of November–December, 2011, 48 domestic and foreign teams submitted RFQ application to participate in this competition and 8 nominated teams were screened in a severe competition for invitation to the competition. The eight nominated teams and the submitted works are listed in Table 1. The main evaluation session was held from April 20-22, 2012 to review the submitted proposals. The jury committee selected by majority decision the first prize winning proposal, “Healing: The Future Park” submitted by West8+Iroje. The basic guideline scheme for the long process to return the forbidden, secret military base to Yongsan Park is finally determined.

Invited Designers

Submitted Works

West8+Iroje

Healing: The Future Park

1st prize

Synwha Consulting+Seoahn R&D Design

Yongsan Park for New Public Relevance

2nd prize

James Corner Field Operations+Samsung Everland

“Openings” Seoul’s New Central Park

3rd prize

Seoahn Total Landscape+M.A.R.U

Yongsan Park Towards Park Society

3rd prize

C-Topos+SWA

Multipli-City

Donsimwon+Oikos Design

Sacred Presence

Group Han Associates+Turenscape

Yongsan MADANGs

CA Landscape Architects+Weiss/Manfredi

Connecting Tapestries

Table 1: Invited designers and submitted works, International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park

514

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig.2: Eight mater plans of the invited designers of International Competition of Master Plan of the Yongsan Park(“Healing,” “Yongsan Park for New Public Relevance,” “Multipli-city,” “Sacred Presence,” “Connecting Tapestries,” “Yongsan MADANGs,” “Yongsan Park Towards Park Society,” and “Openings,” clockwise direction from top-left)

REPRESENTING THE REGIONAL IDENTITY: ANALYSIS OF EIGHT INVITED WORKS The structure of Yongsan Park is specifically prescribed in ‘Basic Plan for the Creation and Zoning of the Yongsan Park’ and ‘Design Guideline’ of the competition as follows: “Yongsan Park is a national urban park conserving Korean unique landscape rather than simple replica of foreign pastoral landscape. In particular, it also should represent Korean landscape value through the five typical categories of Korean landscape elements consisting of forest, field, lake, stream, and wetland.”

Also, as for the other details of landscape plan, it also specified that Yongsan Park shall contain typical landscape as the national symbol and restore the regional identity. Detailed guidelines are given to connect the Namsan Mountain and Han River bearing a new axis of ecology and landscape.The most significant value of Yongsan Park as the representative symbol of Korean urban park is, as manifested in the guideline, “to represent the regional identity by designing Korean landscapes.”

As emphasized in the Basic Plan, the most typical Korean landscape element is mountains and rivers. In Korean ethology, mountains are regarded as the idol for worship. Since ancient times, mountains have been a sacred place to the Korean people where the idealistic conceptions nestle. Whereas the Western utopian conception are nestled in the islands or urban environment, the Korean utopia nestles in the mountains as a phenomenal matter of reputable mountain culture inherent in mountainous terrain of Korean peninsula.The subordinate space lower in rank to the mountains is the river basin. Small river valleys are developed as small basins are derived from the large basins. The rivers and basins as well as the mountains provide dwelling place of greater significance than landscape in its value. The view of mountains and rivers is the unique Korean landscape very familiar to Koreans and full of Korean identity. Traditionally, Koreans could afford to the elegant art of living in the midst of the beautiful natural landscape of Korean mountains and rivers that Korean people could enjoy in various ways. Homer B. Hulbert who visited Korea in the early 20th Century described in his book, The Passing of Korea, about the attitudes of Koreans to park and nature as follows: “The Koreans have no notion of public parks or other places of public ornament or recreation, and yet they are passionately fond of wandering about the hills finding picturesque nooks and enjoying the beauties of nature ”[Hulbert, 1906: 249].

It is very meaningful to look into each work submitted to ‘International Design Competition for Yongsan Park’ to examine how the landscape representation of regional identity is pursued and expressed. In the following, the authors analyze each work’s attitudes and views on the regional identity of landscape, which is a difficult abstract subject.

RESTORATION OF ICONIC LANDFORM The first type is the representation of Korean typical superior landscape of mountains and Korean culture

515

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig. 3. Linking Namsan to Yongsan Park, in “Connecting Tapestries” by CA+Weiss/Manfredi

Fig. 4. New landform from existing topography, in “Healing” by West8+Iroje

of mountains and rivers through the restoration of iconic landform.This concept is mentioned in most of the submitted works in line with the Basic Plan and the Design Guideline. Nevertheless, the following two works seek to restore the landform and create new landscape in a positive way.

In “Connecting Tapestries” (by CA Landscape Architects+Weiss/Manfredi), Mountain Taebaek is modeled to represent its landscape as the most pervasive model in the Korean peninsula as much as the mountains are the strongest landscape elements to express Korean cultural and ecological identity. This work expresses a new landscape, in an aggressive and strong way, connecting Namsan Mountain and Han River as the superior landscape of the site (Fig. 3).

The winning proposal, “Healing: The Future Park” (by West8+Iroje) is to restore Korean natural landscape and instill it into the park site, that is admired for 3,000 Korean mile peninsula of panoramic landscape resembling silk embroidery of rich mountains and rivers (Fig. 4).

The representation method of the above two proposals expresses the theme in a conspicuous manner of very stark impression as compared with the other proposals. The method to conceive the big framework as these cases is very convenient to respond to the changes of design at the detail level. Nevertheless, since these two proposals put high emphasis on the landforms of mountains and rivers, excessive transformation of landform is detected to a certain extent. This will be conceptually in conflict with the Korean landscape tradition that adheres to the nature and minimizes artificial manipulation, and furthermore, will increase excessively the cost burden of park maintenance and management.

Re-interpretation of Traditional Concepts or Elements The second type are such works that seek to perceive the common view of Korean people on place and develop the design on the basis of this common perception or embody the design program adopting the traditional elements of space as the principal concept. For instance, in “Sacred Presence” (by Dongsimwon+Oikos Design), the basic theme of Yongsan is perceived as a field. Furthermore, it points out that regional identity can be restored at the field where experiences are shared in a mutually complementary manner on the basis of media such as democracy, ecology and urban culture (Fig. 5). This proposal work cares about Korean feung-shui and tradition of mountains and rivers. It is also inspired with Korean emotion to chant poetry admiring landscape.

516

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig. 5: Diagram of ‘field’ concept, in “Sacred Presence”

by Dongsimwon+Oikos

Fig. 6 : “Madang” coding system and design guideline, in “Yongsan MADANDs” by Group Han+Turenscape

In “Yongsan MADANGs” (by Group Han Associates+Turenscape), madang, which means empty field, are perceived as the Korean traditional element of space and the park site is developed into a place where cultural variety blooms and grows. This proposal is to provide madangs of various scales and functions to mingle with each other or work independently, in which case they will be no longer a simple space and will start to roll a program to utilize the park as a field to accommodate social demand (Fig. 6).

While these two works share similar methodology, they show considerable difference in the design approach and output. “Sacred Presence” develops certain logic based on a traditional view of space and sets only the principles to build park refusing to present the completed form. This approach to set up clear principle and philosophy of design may be very effective in Yongsan Park requiring long process of design and construction. But in case that various interest groups exert influence in the detail process of design embodiment, such principle and philosophy cannot be easily maintained consistently. Rather, it has some risk for failure ending with infertile experiment.

On the other hand, “Yongsan MADANGs” presents very precise program at detailed level such as activity programs applying the concept of madangs to the actual spaces. Nonetheless, it may constrain flexible adjustment to the changes of the conditions, since such detail suggestions are specifically tailored to the madangs of Korean style space that are highly volatile to modify or change.

Concentration of the Site Potentials The third type is the design focusing on the physical potentiality of the site. “Openings: Seoul’s New Central Park”(by James Corner Field Operations and Samsung Everland) reconstructs the structure of landscape by setting up the framework of major observation points overlooking river, mountain, and city, and modify or delete the details to reveal the topographic elements of existing site (Fig. 7). This approach is characterized as one of peculiar Korean landscape making styles in the sense that neither excessive transformation of terrain nor man-made programs was adopted so that materiality of land can be directly revealed.This method intends to explore the potentials inherent and amplify the potentiality rather than introducing new elements from outside.

“Yongsan Park for New Public Relevance” (by Synwha Consulting and Seoahn R&D Design) discusses and develops the issue aiming at the fact that original terrain of Namsan Mountain consists of five basins. This approach intends to encompass five basins, two networks, and two bands in pursuit of collective expansion (Fig. 8). It represents Korean landscape and space in the detail space design stage. It is also intended to express Korean traditional landscape introducing mountain and river park and wind garden consisting of traditional village garden, village forest, and orchard.

517

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig. 7. Interpreting three primary topograghic elements, in “Opening” by JCFO+Samsung Everland

Fig. 8. Concepts based on site’s original context, in “Yongsan Park for New Public Relevance” by Synwha+Seoahn R&D

Understanding the Relationship between Seoul(City) and Yongsan(Park) As the fourth type, the following two proposals conceptually share the common characteristics to understand the context of Yongsan in the relationship with metropolis Seoul. The clue of design is not sought in the restoration or representation of landscape but the designer is to struggle with the issue to identify the conceptual direction and role of park that the site will realize in the future city. “Multipli-City” (by C-Topos+SWA) comprehends that Yongsan as well as Seoul is also a multiplicity of metropolis character. The design concept takes root in the characteristics of urban intensity and ecological diversity that Yongsan apparently possesses in a similar fashion to Seoul (Fig. 9). Yongsan is a park. Nonetheless, they argue that it operates as another multiplicity in Seoul. Caring less for program or zoning issues, this design proposal is pursued in line with the basic framework set on urban intensity, ecological environment, and restoration of landform.

“Yongsan Park Towards Park Society” (by Seoahn Total Landscape+M.A.R.U.) intends to perceive and reveal the social aspiration in the design concept on the premise that park is a significant constitution of society. This concept reuses not only landform, water network and existing buildings but also infrastructure without any excessive transformation or changes to conceive park as a social product. Consequently, functionality of park matters as an important factor and high attention is given to the process of park development(Fig. 10). To suggest multi-layered social programs, design focus is rather given to the function and role of park than to the completed form of park.

518

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION

Fig. 9: Urban intensity and ecological diversity, in “Multiplicity” by C-Topos+SWA

Fig. 10: Park program for social function, in “Yongsan Park Towards Park Society” by Seoahn Landscpe+M.A.R.U

These two proposals are quite different in design methods and solutions. Yet they have common characteristics in the sense that designs are aimed at regional features and local values rather than at visual aspect of Korean landscape that is taken into types of proposals. As a starting point, the concept of Yongsan in Seoul metropolis is instilled in the role of site invoking the role of park as an urban infrastructure.

CONCLUSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGNING REGIONAL IDENTITY The characteristics of the design concepts which are discussed above in four categories can be summarized as follows: recovery of landscape by symbolic topography, contemporary reinterpretation of Korean perspective of place, maximization of the site’s potential, and relationship with urban fabrics. Although those proposals employ diverse design strategies, they have in common with one another understanding of Korea’s unique landscape, discovery of regional distinction, and active utilization of such regional feature for design. Especially, in terms of topography, most design teams use a very positive method in respect of relational connection with Namsan Mountain.

All designers who are invited to the competition interpreted Yongsan in various aspects. Each proposal had a unique attitude toward the Yongsan site: for instance, a painful object to be healed (“Healing: The Future Park”), the link between culture and ecology (“Connecting Tapestries”), a field for dynamic activities (“Yongsan MADANGs”), a poetic and democratic urban space (“Sacred Presence”), and, furthermore, a place of hope to accommodate social demands (“Yongsan Park Towards Park Society”). In an attempt to use space in Korean way, empting (“Openings”) and multiutilizing (“Yongsan MADANGs”) were suggested, and traditional garden was introduced to represent Korean garden style (“Yongsan Park for New Public Relevance”), and Ojak bridge, a traditional fantasia, was reinterpreted as an element to communicate with urban culture (“Healing:The Future Park”).

The invited designers evidently struggled with the challenging issue of regional identity and Korean landscape in the process ranging widely from grand narratives to space layout in the micro level. Nonetheless, the proposed solutions were normative and typical rather than innovative surpassing the ‘Basic Plan.’ Moreover, they have no clear connection link with definite program to interpret and enjoy Korean landscape. Representation of Korean landscape does not merely mean reproduction of visual appearance of mountains and rivers but means cultural tradition pursuing the art of living to enjoy and view the mountains and rivers. In particular, we have to turn our ears attentively to the argument that operating program is as much important as the compositional elements as the strategy to identify the Koreanity.

We are challenged with a fundamental question of how we can transform regional identity into that of a Korean landscape. As Jung-Min Choi [2008] says, in contemporary Korean landscape architecture, “Koreanity” is an interpreting frame and logical basis of design to read realities of land and regionality. Koreanity as micro practical strategy, which is different from the context of grand narratives, means the unique placeness that can be conceived in the peculiar situation of a certain region. As Arjun Appadurai [1996] argues, “globalization contains the process of localization.” The design philosophies of the invited entries of the International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park take root in regional peculiarity and localization. We can conclude in summary that this is the fruitful achievement of the Yongsan Park Competition. “In “Healing: the Future Park,” the winning proposal, landscapes of Korean mountains, river, forest, field, rice paddy, and garden are perceived in the perspective of Korean DNA” [Zoh, 2012]. As Zoh’s comment, we attained new value at the competition enlightening us the possibility to conceive the regional differentiation when the Korean peculiar leisure culture of enjoying mountains and valleys is harmoniously combined with the urban park culture

519

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION inherited from the West.

Regional identity can be reinterpreted as a medium which can overcome dichotomous opposition and integrate nature, culture, and city. Modern landscape has not properly handled urban problems because of the antagonistic relationships such as city-nature, ecology-culture, science-art, and etc. Landscape has emerged as a solution to these problems. Landscape is a matter of land and local value which contains time and spatial continuity.The basis to eliminate the dichotomous opposition and reduce urban problems is found in regional identity. Moreover, regional identity is not just enjoying the given object but reanalyzing and recreating a new one by a designer.The cultural and spatial memories such as local history, tradition, and customs become the basis for regional identity.

The creation and representation of landscape is a cultural activity based on human life over the long time span. The International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park has given very significant momentum to open public debates on the issue to clarify what the Korean landscape and regional identity is. Even if the competition was held in a specific region, it presents enormous implications for regionalism which is a universal issue of contemporary landscape architecture.This is why landscape architects of the world will pay attention to how the dramatic changes in the identity of Yongsan will evolve through its future as a new park.

REFERENCES Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimension of Globalization, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Choi, J.-M. (2008). A Study on the Koreanity in Contemporary Landscape Architecture, Ph.D Dissertation, The University of Seoul.

Harvey, D. (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

Hulbert, H. B. (1906). The Passing of Korea, London, reprinted in 1969 by Yonsei University Press.

Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Marine Affairs (2009). Ideas Competition for Yongsan Park.

Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Marine Affairs (2011). Basic Plan for the Creation and Zoning of the Yongsan Park.

Ministry of Land, Transportation, and Marine Affairs (2012). Design Guidelines: International Competition for Master Plan of the Yongsan Park, Korea.

Reed, P. (2005). Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape, New York: MOMA. The Office for Government Policy Coordination (2005). Conceptual Park Plan of the Yongsan Camp.

Zoh, K.-J. (2012). “Beyond the International Competition for Master Plan of the Yonsan Park, Korea, Proceedings of the International Symposium for Future Yongsan Park, held at Seoul.

520

POSTER ABSTRACTS

LOCAL LANDSCAPE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TOWARD SUCCESSFUL SUSTAINABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF ZEYTINLIKOY ECOLOGIC PARK, GOKCEADA, TURKEY Ozcan B, Nuhoglu A, Ozerk B Arzu Nuhoglu Landscape Design Zeytinlikoy Ecologic Park (ZEP) was established in 2011 as a semi-public park in an Aegean-island village. The primary design concept is to demonstrate ecological values with traditional and recent landscape practices. Although the primary design concept and development alternatives were based on ecological considerations, cultural factors (social and economic) were also an important part of planning and design process to complete three P’s of a successful sustainability endeavour: plant + people + prosperity. During the recent years, the island and the village have observed rapid and unchecked constructions, fires, mining excavations and tourism developments. These changes created unmitigated impacts and jeopardized the island’s unique nature despite objections of the local community groups and national environmental action groups.

In order to assist local communities to achieve ecologic balance, ZEP project has expanded its mission to become Zeytinlikoy Ecologic Hub (ZEH). It has become a laboratory to practice sustainable ecological practices and disseminate the gained knowledge, skills and abilities (K.S.A.). A vibrant public participation process was employed with a series workshops in order not only to generate a strong community support and ownership but also disseminate the K.S.A..

RSVP Cycle has been utilized as a methodology to conduct five-workshop planning and design charatte (Halprin 1970).

The RSVP Cycle relies on capitalizing experience, interaction and communication among the workshop participants on site.

This presentation will discuss benefit of public participation in planning, design and development of an ecological park.

We will share lessons learned, successes and shortcomings of both public participation process and the implementation of the ZEP.

LOCAL LANDSCAPES. FOR WHOM AND WHAT FOR? Salmistu S, Nutt N Tallinn University of Technology,Tartu College. Department of Landscape Architecture Estonian people and culture are very closely connected to the land and landscapes. Though, they have been the real owners of the land for a short period (1924-1940 and from 1991). Still, the Estonians have always treated the land as their own and with great respect. Before the Christianization in the 13th century the belief of Estonians was related to the nature, land and forest.

Local landscapes should be preserved as the memory of the place. Landscape acts as a medium, presenting the history of the place, layers from different times, which are readable nowadays. Since the Re-Independence of Estonia in 1991 the local landscapes has been given a lot of attention. As a result, “valuable landscapes” have been selected and treated with care, as well as a notable percentage of the territory is under the protection, eg 131 nature parks, 150 landscape reserve areas, 5 national parks. Protected areas cover about 1/ 5 of the whole territory of Estonia (45 227 km²). In the same time it is ironic that Estonia has not joined with the European Landscape Convention and there is also an accelerating trend of internationalization which has started to affect the local landscapes.

Current paper presents the characteristics and image of the landscapes that has been under the occupation for 47 years, how these landscapes are valued and protected; how do local landscapes change after being the property of the government for a long time and then becoming private property that is an object of sale?

522

LOCAL LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND STRATEGIES FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL GREENING IN THE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING RENOVATION: A CASE STUDY IN SHENZHEN, CHINA Tang S, Liu W, He S College of Architecture, Hunan University Old industrial buildings have high potential roof and podium gardens, as well as the vertical greening space. This study attempts to answer how to establish greening strategies in the industrial building to achieve long-term sustainability.

It evaluates the plant configuration and development potential of three-dimensional greening in industrial building renovation, their underlying locations, effectives and building factors based on the ecological renewal method. Take Shenzhen Longhua District urban planning and land resources information building as a research case, this study firstly analyzes the potential areas of green roofs, podium gardens and vertical greening space of the industrial building and the factors that influence their presence. Secondly, this paper explores the challenges of three-dimensional greening faced in the renovation around the renewal of external form, thermal properties and micro-climate of industrial building, and then accesses the effectives and functions of the three-dimensional greening in the renovation of the research building. According to the characteristics of the industrial building renovation, the potential area and functions of three-dimensional greening, this study provides suggestions and approaches for systematic three-dimensional greening strategies for the renovation of industrial buildings.

PROTECTION AND UTILIZATION OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPE BASED ON ‘VILLAGE PATHS’ THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE SENSE OF PLACE AT RELOCATED SETTLEMENTS. Tokunaga S 1,Tanabe Y 2 1 STEP Inc., 2 IFLA Japan For landscape architects, opportunities to propose plans for regional development in agricultural mountainous areas by protection and utilization of cultural landscape have been increasing. Cultural landscape presents a rich environment unique to a place due to the co-dependency between humans and nature (greenery - water - landforms, etc), alongside a ‘Sense of Place’ based on that relationship. This study’s subject site is a relocated mountain village settlement which was a site planned for submergence by a dam construction project (the Itsuki Village Touji substitute land). Creating a landscape that reflects the nature and lifestyle of the residents as well as modern comforts would be essential: the newly established settlement would not be ‘just substituted land’ but ‘an animated settlement’. It was then suggested to revise plans from the original grid-shaped land formation to landscaping and land uses closer to the original topography, and to take ideas from the network of small footpaths called ‘Village Paths’ enjoyed by residents in the settlement before relocation. The local authorities accepted this plan after exchanging opinions with residents. In that understanding and decision-making, the ‘sustainability of the position and meaning of the unique place’, or ‘Sense of Place’ in the village was a strong influence. This study identifies environmental elements that relate to cultural landscape values, and sets considerations for planning specifically for improving village environments based on the idea of sustainability of place.

523

RURAL LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF METHOD TO EVALUATE TRANQUILITY OF A PLACE Kim K 1, Han G 2, Kim M 3 1 Research Institute for Gangwon, Korea, 2 Gangneung-Wonjoo National University, 3 Virginia Tech Chaotic urban environment deprives its citizens’ tranquillity. Tranquillity is defined as the quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; serenity. They are exposed to noise pollution and to excessive visual ques. In response, the citizens seek tranquil places in parks and other open spaces. This study defines tranquil places as places where people can seek natural tranquillity and get peace of minds away from urban stimuli.

Studies examined tranquillity as a research topic. Particularly, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has produced tranquillity maps to protect the tranquillity of rural areas. However, the method to evaluate tranquillity of places has not been well developed. This study developed methods to evaluate tranquillity of a place and implemented the methods to 135 scenic valleys in a South Korean region. Expert groups, such as foresters and landscape architects, selected 22 factors that increase or decrease tranquillity. Visual observation, noise level and other physical characteristics of the valleys were examined to measure the tranquillity.

The length of examined valleys ranged from 120 m to 17 Km. 95% of the valleys were under 10 Km. They are covered with forests of various ages and streams of various depth and clarity.

The results showed that 50.4% of the valleys (68 valleys) had high tranquillity. The significance of the study is the development of method to evaluate tranquillity of a place and its application. The results found in this study can be used in targeting and improving valleys with a particular level of tranquillity.

524

INDIGENOUS WISDOM THE “TRADITIONAL ECO-REGION” AND THE LANDSCAPE FORM IN CHINA: A CASE STUDY ON TRADITIONAL HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND NATURE IN CHENGDU PLAIN Lin Y School of Architecture,Tsinghua University The practice of China’s traditional human settlements contains a wealth of ecological wisdom which can still provide inspiration and ideas for today’s by rediscovered and re-understand. In China, people begin to utilize and remold the land in a large scale long before. They establish harmonious order between human and land within a region when they develop their human settlements. The order contains both physical aspects such as artificial natural infrastructure and spiritual aspects such as landscape aesthetics. The process of human settlements development in ancient China is to transform a natural ecological region into a humanized one, which can be called a “traditional eco-region”. This paper takes the traditional Dujiangyan irrigation area in Chengdu Plain as a “traditional eco-region”, and studies the holistic organic form of its traditional landscape which combines the artificial rivers, cities, villages and mountains together.

This traditional holistic organic form contains: (1) a fine artificial basin form; (2) a “Xing Sheng” pattern between cities, mountains and rivers; (3) a “Lin Pan” living unit model which integrates small rivers, single settlement and intensive cultivation. It is significant to re-understand the organic form and the ecology of the landscape in China’s “traditional ecoregion” integrally. It can play an important role in formulating the urbanization pattern and the ecological conservation in the region in nowadays.

REMOTENESS AS CRUCIBLE: LANDSCAPE PRACTICE IN THE TORRES STRAIT Nash J 1, Madill B 2 1 QUT University Brisbane, 2 University of Melbourne The indigenous communities of Torres Strait have a rich designed landscape history. This relationship was of key importance for the Mabo decision, and subsequent changes to the Australian constitution. As a land and seascape based culture, the Torres Strait community of Kiriri (Hammond Island) express this interface with a unique vernacular landscape design language that incorporates multiple elements of aesthetics, utility, familial distinctiveness, and a continuing connection to the spiritual story of seas, wild landscapes and ever present winds- each with their own story. This vernacular landscape practice survives amidst the difficulties of legal rights to land ownership and housing, historical and continuing complexities of colonisation, religious monumentalising, and a lack of collaborative planning.

Remoteness, harsh climatic conditions, and climate change compound the difficulties of these challenges, but they are also the “meteoro-structure”- the unalterable climatic infrastructure.

In 2010, a group of six students travelled under supervision to work on designing in a context that was both geographically and culturally remote. The context of designing required a sensitivity, attentiveness and appreciation of the vernacular that revealed itself artfully through repeated and sustained emersion and analysis of qualities of the existing cultural landscape.The design was subsequently pursued under supervision by two of the original visiting students and conveys a process of peeling back elements of ad- hoc development and encouraging the vernacular landscape heritage of the island to come fourth and flourish. Importantly, the design may have important implications for the community based on health, heritage and sustainability outcomes in a context of climate change.

525

URBAN LANDSCAPE PLAZA FORMATION AND EXPRESSION: MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY Woodbury M, LeBleu C Auburn University The capital city of Montevideo, Uruguay, though small, is packed with history, conflict, and culture, and its stories are expressed in the urban design. For this study, four Montevidean plazas have been observed, documented, and researched for the first time from a North American perspective. Our purpose is to share the gems of this relatively unknown city with the international design community, while instigating dialogue about urban public space formation.

For each plaza, historical maps and photos reveal changes in design and use. Additionally, unique existing features have been highlighted. These include relics and monuments, surprising combinations of structural elements, and plantings and topographical design choices. Finally, contemporary uses of each plaza have been observed for their relationship to design.

Each square has its own story: Plaza Zabala, originally a military fort, was controlled sequentially by a string of foreign forces. The Uruguayans, when they gained power, removed the stronghold and created a public space benefitting the neighborhood. In the same era, the original plaza mayor of the Spanish citadel, Plaza Constitucion, was uprooted as the governmental seat. Instead of assuming the space, as occurred elsewhere, a new plaza was created. This square, Plaza Independencia, also highlights the power of botanical memorials, and contradictorily, the harsh modernism of the midcentury military dictatorship. Created in the 1970s, Plaza Fabini is formal in its location, yet retains informal functionality.

These accounts introduce the dynamic public spaces of Montevideo to the international community, a body of knowledge missing from the urban landscape canon.

526

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE LIFE ON THE EDGE OF THE BOOM Coates F Curvo Design Group My first boom was in New Zealand: the property boom of the early 90’s. I was based in Queenstown NZ and working for the Gordon Gecko of Landscape Architects. I assured myself resort development was to be my future.

Ten years later I had moved to Western Australia, spent a few years putting street trees in subdivisions and without much prompting, threw in the towel on the whole idea of Landscape Architecture.

Now, I am bang in the middle of an energy boom. One, which threatens the whole existence of an indigenous culture.

And yet, will potentially be the catalyst for major regional development and growth in a very remote part of Australia.

Despite trying to shed my skin, I still maintain the responsibility of a Landscape Architect and find myself astride the fence of change. This abstract will present my observations from living and working in the Kimberley of Western Australia; and use them to gain an understanding of how best to live with the change, whilst working as a Landscape Architect.

URBAN FARMING IN MALAYSIA: A PARADIGM OR PARADOX Mohd Hussain N, Byrd H The University of Auckland,The University of Auckland Malaysia is a developing country that has experienced a rapid growth in economic, society lifestyles and cities development within the last 50 years. It is globalization combined with Malaysia resources of oil and gas has shifted this agriculture based society into manufactured goods dependent. The rural subsistence farmers have left the land with houses untended to live within a new housing scheme in the cities.

However, the issues of peak oil, South China Sea conflict and competition from neighbouring countries have built the infrastructure to peak. The future of industrialization in Malaysia is changing, impacted in a sudden decrease in supply of manufactured products. The concern is whether the new urban society will survive living in the cities or should there be better opportunity for them to become resilient?

This paper investigates the alternative solutions and possibilities in producing subsistence resources in Malaysia. It provides a comparison data between green area in housing area with kampong houses in rural through case study. The aim is to measure the land capacity that will remain available in future.

This paper will analyze the potential of urban farming in Malaysia. It will discuss the ideas and challenges to produce food production within the cities. In particular, it will also look into the capability that the urban society has to once again live from the land; rather from the industry.

Keywords: Urban farming, de-industrialization, land capacity, kampong, Malaysia

RESPONSIVE COAL MINES: A VISION IN CHINA Pattullo J Victoria University of Wellington Abandoned coal mines leave enormous scars upon the landscape once the minerals have been removed and the thriving populace has moved onward. These scars upon the landscape encourage further erosion and further destruction. The Chinese government is dedicating US$7 million to attempt to rejuvenate one such site, the abandoned Haizhou Opencast Coal Mine in Fuxin, China. Currently this site represents the largest abandoned man-made mine in China – the largest “hole” in Asia. It is 20m lower than the lowest land point in China. The Chinese government is seeking a means by which a thriving populace can be encouraged to repopulate the damaged site, as China needs to support a predicted migration of 200 million rural persons into Chinas already teeming cities. China expects to spend NZ$9.7 trillion over the coming 20 years to fund housing, social welfare and infrastructure projects related to this migration.

This thesis argues that the reclamation of the Haizhou Coal Mine rests in the ability to integrate agrarian and urban programs in ways that are responsive to the natural conditions of a site, approaches that argue against the traditional applied orthogonal urban grid, in favour of site-specific frameworks that fundamentally acknowledge natural landscape systems. The development of viable mix-used ‘minescapes’ presents opportunities to redeem these globally occurring sites with new opportunities for economic and urban development. This thesis critically engages contemporary theories of Responsive Cities, Disenchanted Utopias, and Systems Thinking with respect to transforming the toxicity of abandoned mines as a global problem into viable new infrastructures.

527

RADICAL CHANGE AND RESILIENCE DRAWING LANDSCAPE SCENARIOS FOR URBAN WATER BALANCE Wenningsted-Torgard R, Braae E, Bergen Jensen M Copenhagen University Science - Forest & Landscape What knowledge of urban landscape can be explored when imagining introducing a concept of total water balance into an existing city?

The welfare landscape in a suburban area of Brøndby Municipality in the western region of Copenhagen Denmark is the site for a single case study. A landscape architecture PhD-project researches the spaciousness of an existing urban landscape, to ensure storage of sufficient volumes of sources for local water supply.

The project is based on the assumption, that adaptation of existing urban areas to a changing climate, holds a potential for simultaneous improvement of the local water balance, by means of integrating storm water management with water supply systems.

Through an explorative design-process performed by proposing and evaluating retrofitting scenarios, the knowledge regarding the role, language and spaciousness of the specific urban landscape case is generated. The proposals are evaluated by addressing spatial experience as well as eco-system functionality. Besides assurance of good water quality and a flexible distribution system, the approach is that qualitative spatial evaluation of the specific urban landscape is crucial to the choice of location and appearance of the storage facilities.

In the process of developing prescriptive proposals, knowledge and experiences within the concept of total water balance are transferred between different geographical situations. Knowledge from natural science is integrated in the proposal and through the practical work of the explorative design-process the landscape architectural knowledge can be generated and expressed.

528

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION RECONSTRUCTION AID FOR EAST JAPAN GREAT EARTHQUAKE Hayashi M University of Hyoto The East Japan Great Earthquake on March 11, 2011 caused immense damage. The professors and students of our school, the Graduate School of University of Hyogo Landscape Design and Management, have been continuously helping them to recover from the disaster.

I will explain about a case we handled in Miyagi Miyatojima Higashi-Matsushima city. This area is surrounded by many beautiful islands that are designated as ascenic spot of Japan. However, many houses have been swept away by Tsunami.

We first investigated the actual damage in the area and continuously offer support through a variety of activities including green planting drive, and administering a program of flower arrangement as a “horticulture therapy� to reduce stress for the evacuees living in temporary housing.

In the course of these activities, while we held workshops of urban development as the local authority requested us, we have already began park planning to make a good use of now vacant land. In this area, several projects by the national and local governments such as stimulating fishing villages and implementing city planning will be going to start soon.

Therefore, negotiation with them may become our next issue. It is certainly important to hear what the local people actually want and then to realize it in urban planning through continuous discussion with the locals and suggesting ideas.

And also we have conducted tree planting activities at the place which will be a park in future. In this study I report how these programs and activities have progressed until now.

CREATIVE DESIGN STUDIOS: THE CHALLENGES BETWEEN TEACHING AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT Marques B, Nurme S, Salmistu S Tartu College of Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, Design studios play an important role in training future designers, representing simultaneously a key space for experimentation and creative practices in education for landscape architecture. Different to other courses in design curricula, studios offer students the practical aspects of designing, together with the experience of the design process and at the same time introducing them to the concept of creativity and creative design processes.

The schools of spatial planning and design mostly prepare students based on curricula where few or little cross matching of various disciplines happen. Due to that, students have difficulties to see practical relationships among different matters in the development of a design project and the majority of the instructors cannot explain very well what is creativity or they do it from their restricted universe of knowledge.

Though, design studios currently are under explored, from research to teaching. This paper explores the creative processes in landscape architectural design studios and the involvement of the community in public activities. It examines how this interaction can result in a way of researching for academia as well as sharing knowledge between several layers of society and raising awareness of the profession.

Throughout this paper, we will explore how the creative design studio in our curricula can be used as a tool for research for instructors and a link between several creative arts, aiming to improve the profile of the students, increase awareness of the public and other external stakeholders, as well as, benefiting the students and instructor.

529

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AROUND GLOBALISATION ECOLOGICAL STRATEGY OF URBAN LANDSCAPE PLANNING AT THE TIME OF DESERTIFICATION SURVIVAL Zhang L, Hu J Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Planning And Design Institute Nowadays, the deserts proportion (including those deserts and gobi do not suitable for human surviving) and the proportion of desertification area (whose development and expanding tendency seriously affected by sand and dust conditions) in China have proved that China is already entered into the “time of desertification survival�. Consequently, Chinese government and Chinese people have to meet the challenge of desertification survival. Shihezi, as a garden city created by Chinese soldiers in north-west border area, is a green miracle in terms of its desert management, oasis creation and ecological environment restoration. However, as the rapid development of urbanization, some problems such as water and soil erosion, environment pollution, soil re-desertification and bio-diversity decline come out while people acquiring huge material wealth, which seriously threaten the survival and development of urban areas. The article is focus on urban ecological environment characteristics in Shihezi area, attempting to manage urban desertification in border areas and sustaining urban safety through sustainable ecological strategies, while integrating multi-disciplines (e.g. water and soil conservation and prevention and cure of desertification) and taking landscape planning as the guidance for overall urban spatial control.

Key words: Landscape architecture, desertification, ecological strategy, sustainable development, Shihezi

530

In assciation with

531

In assciation with

532