Do urban ecosystems have standing? Attitudes of landscape architects toward urban ecosystems.

摘要

This research reports the results of a survey sent to randomly selected landscape architects practicing in Fort Worth, Texas and its Sister Cities: Trier, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Reggio Emilia, Italy; Nagaoka, Japan; and Bandung, Indonesia. The purpose of the research was to examine current attitudes and values of landscape architects in order to ascertain whether or not their environmental ethic was being carried out in their actual practice.; Isolated principles of ecological planning are employed by landscape architects, but do they design urban ecosystems holistically? A city's form and ultimate success depend on how well its design responds to the environmental constraints and opportunities of its urban ecosystem. The research advocates expanding traditional environmental values to include the entire ecosystem of an urban area and proposes granting it legal standing. Concern for urban ecosystem sustainability could indicate the emergence of a new aesthetic for urban form. Landscape aesthetics then, would be generated by environmental ethics.