The Land and Community Design Case Study Series has added another
new title with the publication of Biodiversity Planning and Design: Sustainable Practices
by Jack Ahern and co-authors Elisabeth Leduc and Mary Lee York. The publication shows how
an interdisciplinary approach led by planners and designers with conservation biologists,
restoration ecologists, and natural and social scientists can yield successful results and
sustainable practices and minimize habitat loss and degradation.
According to the authors, "The state of biodiversity is of increasing
concern around the world. There is considerable agreement among scientists that habitat loss
and degradation are among the leading causes of global biodiversity decline. Renowned entomologist
and champion of biodiversity awareness E.O. Wilson (1988) claims, 'Overall we are locked into a
race. We must hurry to acquire the knowledge on which a wise policy of conservation and development
can be based for centuries to come.'"
If habitat loss is the leading cause of biodiversity decline,
it follows that planning and design will be essential in any viable solution by directly
conserving, protecting, or managing landscapes and habitats.
As part of its case study series LAF sponsored this issue-based research
into how landscape architects and planners have addressed the issue of biodiversity in their work.
This case study was conducted to learn: how biodiversity fits with other goals in professional
planning and design work; the role(s) of landscape architects and planners in interdisciplinary
teams; and strategies for moving forward with biodiversity planning and design when faced with
uncertainty and incomplete knowledge.
The study includes five biodiversity planning and design projects arranged
into a comparative, issue-based case study representing a range of scales and geographic locations
across the United States. They include: the Woodland Park Zoo long-range plan by Jones & Jones,
Architects and Landscape Architects, Ltd. in Seattle, Washington; a wetland restoration project
by Carol R. Johnson and Associates in Devens, Massachusetts; the Crosswinds Marsh Wetland Mitigation
project in Wayne Country, Michigan, by the Smith Group/JJR from Ann Arbor Michigan; the Willamette
River Basin Study in Oregon by University of Oregon landscape architect David Hulse and colleagues
and the Florida Statewide Greenways System Planning Project by the University of Florida Department
of Landscape Architecture.
The results of this research found that biodiversity planning is most
successful when integrated with other goals, including environmental education, environmental
impact mitigation, and regulatory compliance. An interdisciplinary approach is essential to achieve
these multiple goals, and planners and designers are often effective in leading such teams.
Landscape architects and planners are valued by others for their abilities to synthesize and
visualize complex information, their familiarity with construction processes and public
participation facilitation skills, and their expertise in project implementation and management.
Additionally, the case study found that, while important, biodiversity is often a secondary or
minor project goal in planning and design projects. It rises in importance in broad scale,
public policy-related projects and when mandated by regulatory and permitting agencies.
The goal of the LAF series is to provide "a legacy of rigorous,
in-depth research and critical thinking that will advance enlightened planning and development
in the classroom, in practice, and in policy" and to support the following goals:
- To meet the public's
demand for more livable communities and improved environmental preservation and protection
- To inform public policy and support community and environmental advocates
- To enhance the skill and knowledge base of the planning and design professions.
Source: Jack Ahern, Professor and Head, Department of Landscape
Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst - Biodiversity
Planning and Design: Sustainable Practices / Landscape Architecture Foundation, published
in 2006 by Island Press: Jack Ahern, Elizabeth Leduc, and Mary Lee York
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