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 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
To order or learn more about the book please
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
Back to Case Studies
