Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Landscape and Urban Planning

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/landurbplan

Research Paper

Frontiers in urban ecological design and planning research

Frederick Steiner ∗
The University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture, 310 Inner Campus Drive Stop B7500, Goldsmith Hall, Austin, TX 78712-1160, United States

h i g h l i g h t s

• The application of ecosystem services.

• The adaptation of settlements for natural disasters.
• The ecological renewal of degraded urban places.
• The ability of people to link knowledge to action to affect positive change.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Four urban ecological design and planning research areas are identified: (1) application of ecosystem
Available online 25 March 2014 services, (2) adaptation of settlements for natural disasters, (3) ecological renewal of degraded urban
places, and (4) ability of people to link knowledge to action to affect positive change. Ecosystem ser-
Keywords: vices are the benefits humans derive from nature, which, until relatively recently, were not normally
Urban ecology valued by traditional economics or, when acknowledged, were regarded as externalities. Through the
Urban design
identification of economic and cultural benefits of ecosystems, higher standards for landscape perfor-
Urban planning
mance can be established. As our climate continues to change, the number of natural disasters increases,
Ecological design
Resilience
frequently with catastrophic consequences for human settlements. Designers and planners must learn
how to develop adaptive strategies to climate change and mitigation strategies for the consequences that
result. Most cities include underused, degraded places that are ripe for creative redevelopment. Urban
ecology provides a conceptual framework that recognizes the restorative potential of people. However,
although knowledge about our environments abounds, we seem limited in our ability to adopt measures
necessary to ensure a healthy planet for future generations. Each research area offers prospects for land-
scape and urban planning. Both planning perspectives are essential because the population continues to
grow and people are increasingly living in urban and suburban places.
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction never previously experienced on the planet. The shift from rural
to urban has been especially dramatic in China, where, since 2012,
In the early 21st century, three dramatic challenges hover over most of its population now lives in urban regions.
humankind. First, more people inhabit the Earth than any previous Third, as a result of population growth and urbanization, ecosys-
time, and the global population continues to grow. At the beginning tems are changing from the landscape to the global scales (Barnosky
of the 20th century, some 1.6 billion people inhabited the Earth – et al., 2012, p. 52). “Human activities are driving these changes and
now there are over 7 billion people. This number is expected to are threatening many of the ecological services that are essential
grow to 8.2 billion by 2025 and then up to around 9 billion by 2050. to society” (Chapin et al., 2011, p. 1). The most fundamental human
Second, more people live in urban regions. For the first time activities involve how we use land and shape our communities.
in history, over half of the world’s population is urban. That per- This trio of challenges requires that we fundamentally change
centage is expected to climb to 60 percent globally by 2030. The how we plan and design communities, landscapes, cities, and
number of people and the growth of urban areas are putting stress regions. Landscape architects and urban planners should be well-
equipped to assume this task. To realize this potential, we must
advance research in four interrelated fields: ecosystem services,
∗ Tel.: +1 5124711922. the impact of natural disasters and the role green infrastructure
E-mail address: fsteiner@austin.utexas.edu can play to mitigate the consequences, the renewal of degraded

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.023
0169-2046/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311 305

urban places, and the capacity of people to adapt to knowledge Both City of New York residents and people upstream benefit.
about their surroundings. These research areas both address the Costs were reduced for urban taxpayers, while the people who live
significant challenges facing humankind and build on the expertise in the watershed receive payments to protect their lands. Every-
of landscape architects and planners. one has good, clean water. Farmland has been preserved, habitat
The four research topics have the potential to advance sus- created, and recreational opportunities expanded.
tainable design and regenerative design. Sustainable design In China, Kongjian Yu and his Turenscape colleagues have
seeks to create futures that balance environmental, economic, applied ecosystem services metrics to their park designs (Saunders,
and equity concerns to leave better places for succeeding 2012). For example, Turenscape’s Qunli Storm Water Park is
generations. Regenerative design attempts to create futures designed around reinforcing ecosystem services, including the pro-
with an appreciation of uncertainty and flux so that subse- tection of native habitats and aquifer recharge combined with
quent generations are capable of adapting to change on their recreational use (Saunders, 2012, p. 152). Chinese planners are
own terms. According to Raymond Cole and his colleagues, experimenting with the application of ecosystem services in Bei-
“A key notion in regenerative design is the co-evolutionary, jing and in Shenzhen City (Saunders, 2012). As Chinese scholars
partnered relationship between socio-cultural and ecological continue their work in ecosystem services, researchers from other
systems, which requires an explicit engagement with the impli- nations can learn from their findings.
cations and consequences of future design decisions” (2013, p. In the meantime, the ecosystem services concept is being
237). applied to landscape design through the Sustainable Sites Initiative
(SITES) (Calkins, 2012; Steiner, 2011; Venhaus, 2012). The purpose
is to create a system to measure the sustainable attributes of a
2. Ecosystem services site beyond what was previously included within the certification
process for the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership
Values that transcend traditionally internalized and monetized in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Although
benefits are called ecosystem services. This is an emerging, and the LEED program has significantly advanced green building – and
still evolving, concept with critics and skeptics within the eco- deserves credit for some site-related strategies, such as promot-
logical, design, and planning communities. A principal criticism ing native plant species and water conservation – more could be
revolves around the fact that ecosystem services attempts, in part, accomplished in regard to the land itself as well as broader ecosys-
to monetize natural systems. In doing so, parts of the ecosystem tems.
that have no value to humans may be discounted. As a result, its The LEED certification process was initially launched in 2000 as
critics observe that ecosystem services may be an anthropogenic a standard for new building construction. Four levels of certifica-
approach. Thus, ecosystem services should not serve as the sole tion are available – certified, silver, gold, and platinum – depending
criterion for decision-making. on how many credits a project accrues from within six categories:
The ecosystem services concept can help us understand and sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, mate-
describe the benefits that people derive from our environments. rials and resources, indoor air quality, and innovations and the
Ecosystems provide direct services, including air, minerals, food, design process. The LEED program also includes an accreditation
water, and energy. Our environments supply regulating services, program “to develop and encourage green building expertise across
such as the purification of water, carbon sequestration, climate mit- the entire building industry” (www.usgbc.org).
igation, waste decomposition and detoxification, crop pollination, However, LEED has flaws, one of which is that it did not ade-
and pest and disease control. The environment furnishes support quately address areas outside of buildings. The SITES system was
services, including seed dissemination and nutrient dispersal and conceived to address this shortcoming and has accomplished this
cycling. The environment also produces cultural benefits, such as goal to a certain degree, as components of SITES have already been
intellectual inspiration, recreation, ecotourism, and scientific dis- incorporated into LEED. In addition, SITES applies the best avail-
covery. able science from ecology, soils, and hydrology, as well as the best
In 2005, the United Nations stressed the value of ecosystem practices from landscape architecture. Moreover, SITES considers
services in its Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. For instance, its concerns about human health and well-being.
authors noted the following: From its initial focus on new building construction, the LEED
program has expanded to address major renovation projects, green
The assessment focuses on the linkages between ecosystems
buildings that existed before LEED, commercial interiors, homes,
and human well-being and, in particular, on “ecosystem ser-
neighborhoods, campuses, schools, and retail spaces. The LEED
vices.” An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and
for Neighborhood Development (ND) Program provided a good
microorganism communities and the non-living environment
model for SITES because of the collaboration among the USGBC,
interacting as a functional unit. . . .Ecosystem services are the
the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Congress for the
benefits people obtain from ecosystems. . . .The human species,
New Urbanism. This rating system “integrates the principles of
while buffered against environmental changes by culture and
smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national
technology, is fundamentally dependent on the flow of ecosys-
standard for neighborhood design” (www.usgbc.org).
tem services (2005, vii).
The core leadership for SITES was furnished by the Lady Bird
New York City’s watershed protection efforts illustrate an appli- Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin,
cation of the ecosystem services. The watershed encompasses the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the U.S. Botanic
approximately 2000 square miles (5180 km2 ). Nineteen reservoirs Garden. Over thirty subject matter experts in vegetation, soils,
supply 1.2 billion gallons (45 billion liters) of drinking water daily hydrology, building materials, and human health and well-being
to 9 million New Yorkers. In the 1990s, faced with the challenge were engaged from throughout the United States. They represented
of spending U.S. $8 billion on a new water filtration plant that disciplines including landscape architecture, urban planning, ecol-
would cost U.S. $300 million annually to operate, the city instead ogy, engineering, horticulture, soil science, botany, and forestry.
decided to invest U.S. $1.2 billion over ten years to protect and This dynamic group of experts was drawn from universities, gov-
restore its watersheds. These funds were employed to purchase ernmental agencies, and private design and engineering firms that
land and promote environmentally sound economic development have been on the front lines in trying to improve landscape sus-
in the watershed (Appleton, 2002). tainability across the United States.
306 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311

SITES seeks to apply sustainability principles to any place, with Table 1

Ecosystem services research questions.
or without buildings, that will be protected, developed, or rede-
veloped for private or public purposes. A site was defined as an How do we account for ecosystem services which cannot be monetized or
entire project area that is experiencing development and manage- have little value to humans?
How are ecosystem services advanced through rating systems such as SITES
ment. SITES focuses on the landscape attributes of a place and the
and LEED?
integration of the buildings with the landscape. A roof could be con- How might case studies about SITES pilot projects, and eventually SITES
sidered, for example, as well as a parking lot built for a residence or certified projects, advance our understanding of ecosystem services?
a business. In addition, the initiative contributes relevance to sites – How can SITES be adapted in other nations?
such as parks, cemeteries, and botanic gardens – without significant What can be learned from Chinese work in ecosystem services such as that
being done by Turenscape as well as planners in Beijing and Shenzhen City?
buildings, which are not currently addressed by the existing LEED
How might the ecosystem services concept be applied across cultures?
standards. The principles of SITES also apply to integrated building
– landscape projects such as university campuses, business parks,
and urban plazas. are research challenges to realize these benefits. SITES is an unfin-
Just as the LEED program built on knowledge about building effi- ished project. As the tool continues to be refined, research questions
ciency that had evolved since the 1970s, SITES grew from the theory (Table 1) are emerging such as, how exactly are ecosystem services
– originally espoused by Ian McHarg (1969) - that landscapes, advanced through SITES and the projects of Turenscape (Saunders,
cities, and regions could be better designed through understand- 2012). For instance, Yu calls the water management system at the
ing ecological processes. SITES also grew from the regenerative Houtan Park, which is part of the 2009 Shanghai Expo, “a living
design ideas pioneered from the 1970s on by John Lyle (1994). system” (Saunders, 2012, p. 164). The pilot projects, and eventu-
Both McHarg and Lyle advocated that designed systems should ally SITES certified projects, present many opportunities to study
replicate the ecological performance of natural systems. A good and to advance best practices. In addition, researchers and practi-
example of this would be bioswales constructed to function like tioners in several other nations, including Australia, China, South
natural wetlands in order to detain, cleanse, and infiltrate runoff Korea, and Turkey, have expressed interest in SITES. How adapt-
– mimicking the performance of natural wetlands (France, 2002; able is the system to other cultures, and what might be learned by
Hogan, 2010). Bioswales contrast paved, impervious surfaces which ongoing Chinese work in Beijing and Shenzhen City? In a broader
increase runoff, prevent infiltration of runoff, and increase pollut- sense, how might the ecosystem services concept be applied across
ants in surface waters. cultures?
Drawing on this history, the SITES team adopted the ecosystem
services concept as a foundation for the rating system (Costanza, 3. Planning for natural disasters
2008; Farber, Costanza, & Wilson, 2002; Hirsch, 2008; Windhager,
Steiner, Simmons, & Heymann, 2010). The particular ecosys- As human settlements expand, they often grow into areas sus-
tem services incorporated into SITES guidelines and performance ceptible to natural disasters: hurricanes and cyclones, earthquakes,
benchmarks include local and global climate regulation, water and tsunami, floods, droughts, and wildfire. For instance, the Ninth
air cleansing, water supply and regulation, erosion and sediment Ward of New Orleans endured considerable damage and loss of
control, hazard mitigation, pollination, habitat functions, waste life from the catastrophic flooding resulting from Hurricane Kat-
decomposition and treatment, human health and well-being, food rina in 2005. In contrast, the historic French Quarter, which was
and renewable non-food products, and cultural benefits (American settled much earlier than the Ninth Ward, suffered far less. The
Society of Landscape Architects et al., 2009). These services are areas along the Mississippi River and the higher grounds were set-
linked to specific design, planning, and management actions that tled as far back as the early 18th century, originally by the French.
are considered as prerequisites and credits for SITES. The prereq- Most areas in the Ninth Ward were swamps and remained unde-
uisites and credits involve site selection, pre-design assessment veloped until the mid- to late- 20th century, when it was settled
and planning, site design, construction, and operations and mainte- mainly by African Americans (Campanella, 2010). The environmen-
nance. The system establishes uniform, consistent standards for the tal and cultural histories of places like the French Quarter and the
nation but also adjusts to the regional variations of climate, soils, Ninth Ward can contribute to our understanding of the pitfalls of
and plants. settling areas prone to natural disasters and the consequences for
“Final” standards and guidelines were published in December the people who live there, as well as the opportunities for settling
2009, with weights attached to each credit. From 2010 to 2014, appropriate places.
over 160 pilot projects registered to test the system. Eighty percent Meanwhile, climate change may be creating more extreme
of the pilot projects are located in greyfield and brownfield areas. weather events with deleterious consequences to human safety
Most pilot projects are situated throughout the United States with and property. For instance, in a normal year between 1980 and
Canada, Iceland, and Spain also represented. The standards, guide- 2010, the United States experienced around four one billion dol-
lines, and credit weighting system were adjusted as a result of the lar natural disasters annually, according to the National Climate
pilot projects. The review and certification of pilot projects repre- Data Center. In just one year – 2011 – there were fourteen natural
sents an effort to improve performance metrics. To date, 30 pilot disasters resulting in at least one billion dollars in damage in the
projects achieved SITES certification with another 60+ continuing United States (www.noaa.gov/extreme2011). This trend toward
to pursue certification using the 2009 rating system. The pilot pro- more costly natural disasters continues.
gram resulted in the 2014 revised prerequisite and credits system, The southern coastal region of China has been particularly
which will be the basis for ongoing certification and accreditation subject to flooding during the typhoon season. During recent
by the U.S. Green Building Certification Institute. As SITES contin- decades, coastal areas have undergone rapid urbanization, which
ues to evolve, research will be needed to probe its relationship to has resulted in the loss of wetlands and dunes. Such areas provide
ecosystem services. An important research question will be: Does natural barriers that have historically sheltered coastal commu-
SITES (and other rating systems like LEED) advance the ecosystem nities from storms, and the loss of these areas exacerbates the
services concept or not? impact of typhoons and other storm events. For example, Typhoon
The aspiration of SITES is grand: to create a landscape equiva- Matsa in 2005 caused 6.5 billion RMB in economic losses in Zhe-
lent to the LEED building standards. The potential benefits for the jiang Province, and in 2010, Severe Tropical Storm Meranti caused
planet, and the world in which we live, are equally grand. There three deaths and losses of 800 million RMB in Shishi City, Fujian
 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311 307

Province. On average, between 1983 and 2006, landfalling tropi- and sustainable solutions to infrastructure provision. However, this
cal cyclones caused 28.7 billion RMB in economic losses and 472 local and community-based knowledge is often overlooked, the
deaths in China every year (Zhang, Wu, & Liu, 2009). The deadliest principles and benefits of green infrastructure are poorly under-
event, Super Typhoon Fred, killed 1126 people in 1994. stood, and new (but usually not very environmentally sensitive)
Although extreme weather events cannot yet be directly infrastructure systems are often implemented without sufficient
linked to anthropogenic climate change, global climate change consideration of local knowledge and social context (Agrawal,
increases the likelihood of frequent and intense local extreme 1995; Fischer, 2000; Nygren, 1999; Tesh, 1999).
weather events. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The EPA explains green infrastructure as an approach “to
(EPA) has observed that the “changing climate impacts soci- maintain healthy waters, provide multiple benefits and support
ety and ecosystems in a broad variety of ways. For example, sustainable communities. Unlike single-purpose gray stormwater
climate change can increase or decrease rainfall, influence infrastructure, which uses pipes to dispose rainwater, green infra-
agricultural crop yields, cause changes to forests and other structure uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it
ecosystems, or even impact our energy supply” (www.epa.gov/ falls. By weaving natural processes into the built environment,
climatechange/impacts-adaptation/). green infrastructure provides not only stormwater management,
Furthermore, the EPA notes, “Human-induced climate change but also flood mitigation, air quality management, and much more”
has the potential to alter the prevalence and severity of extremes (www.epa.gov/greeninfrastructure/). The basic hypothesis is that
such as heat waves, cold waves, storms, floods and droughts. access to, the design of, and the performance of green infrastructure
Though predicting changes in these types of events under a is shaped by environmental conditions, social relations, economic
changing climate is difficult, understanding. . . such changes is incentives and constraints, and political and regulatory systems
a critical part of estimating vulnerabilities and future climate (Nunan & Satterthwaite, 2001; Pelling, 2002). Research is needed
change impacts on human health, society and the environ- to refine and advance green infrastructure. For instance, how might
ment” (www.epa.gov/ordntrnt/ORD/climatescience/climate- bioswales, green roofs, and living walls be adapted in different cli-
extremeeventsresearch.htm). matic regions and in diverse cultures?
Coastal communities around the world are especially at risk We tend to associate resilience with vulnerability and disas-
for extreme climate events including tropical cyclones and hur- ters. Resilience is derived from the Latin verb resilire. Resilience
ricanes, typhoons, tsunami, and flooding, all of which can lead to means to spring back or rebound. Resilience is a concept and a
damage to crops, salinization of water, risks of death by drowning theory with growing appeal in the disciplines of ecology, design,
and infectious disease, and disruption of settlements. Often, inter- and planning (see, for instance, Felson, Bradford, & Terway, 2013;
ventions designed to slow processes of erosion and sea-level rise Pickett, Cadenasso, & McGrath, 2013; Steiner, Simmons, Gallagher,
create additional problems by disrupting ecosystem functions. Ranganathan, & Robertson, 2013). According to the ecologist Gun-
Extreme weather events frequently disproportionately impact derson and his colleagues,
vulnerable populations which are less able to evacuate to safety
Resilience has been defined in two different ways in the eco-
and face significant challenges to recover during the aftermath.
logical literature, each reflecting different aspects of stability.
For example, “demographic characteristics, such as poverty and the
One definition focuses on efficiency, constancy and predictabil-
elderly, point to population groups that are especially vulnerable
ity – all attributes of engineers’ desire for fail-safe design. The
to hurricanes because of their compromised ability to react and
other focuses on persistence, change and unpredictability –
move to safety” (Dolan & Wallace, 2012, p. 77). Often, disadvan-
all attributes embraced and celebrated by evolutionary biolo-
taged groups live in the most hazardous places prone for natural
gists and by those who search for safe-fail designs (Gunderson,
disasters, as the Ninth Ward of New Orleans helps to illustrate. Thus,
Holling, Pritchard, & Peterson, 2002, p. 530).
susceptible populations are frequently the most at risk for extreme
weather events, while being less equipped to cope with the impacts. The first definition reflects traditional concepts in ecology and
This situation may be described as a form of ecosystem disservice. engineering that emphasized equilibrium and stability. The second
Green infrastructure systems offer the possibility to amelio- definition emerges from new ecology and physics and focuses on
rate the consequences of deleterious impacts of natural disasters non-equilibrium and the adaptability of ecological systems. (See,
(especially on vulnerable coastal populations) and foster signifi- for example, Botkin, 1990.) Pickett and Cadenasso indicate that the
cant improvement in the health of the environment, the economy, latter is appropriate “to urban ecosystems, because it suggests that
and the people living in powerless communities (Dunn, 2010; spatial heterogeneity is an important component of the persistence
Engel-Yan, Kennedy, Saiz, & Pressnail, 2005; Mell, 2009). When of adaptable metropolitan regions” (2003, p. 34).
well-designed green infrastructure systems are properly integrated Since the mid-1990s, knowledge about the ecological
into a community, they can lower costs by increasing the effi- resilience of urban places has moved forward through the
ciency of service provisions and reducing the burden on existing work of the National Science Foundation-funded long-term
infrastructure systems (Berkooz, 2011; Horwood, 2011; Schilling ecological research (LTER) projects in Phoenix and Baltimore
& Logan, 2008). In addition to cleaner air, water, and soil, green (http://www.caplter.asu.edu and http://www.beslter.org). The
infrastructural interventions can lead to lower utility bills as well National Science Foundation supports 24 LTERs. The majority
as more climate-change resilient and walkable urban environments of these LTERs are located far away from large cities, but the
(Coutts, 2010; Gill, Handley, Ennos, & Pauleit, 2007; Mell, 2009). For Phoenix and Baltimore LTERs focus on studying the ecology of
instance, Ian McHarg’s plan for The Woodlands, Texas, in the 1970s urban systems (Grimm, Grove, Pickett, & Redmond, 2000; Grimm
protected natural drainage ways, resulting in lower costs for more & Redman, 2004; Pickett & Cadenasso, 2003; Pickett, Cadenasso,
traditionally engineered storm sewers, while creating open space & Grove, 2004). Cities are anything but stable and predictable
amenities and wildlife corridors (McHarg, 1996; Yang & Li, 2011). systems. The urban LTERs reinforce our growing appreciation for
However, implementation of green infrastructure in vulnerable changing and adapting systems. The ideas generated by these
communities is fraught with challenges. Because of a deficiency of LTERs have been embraced, challenged, and expanded by a grow-
economic resources and political will, such communities often lack ing number of scholars (Alberti, 2008; Dooling, Graybill, & Greve,
the most basic infrastructure, including water, sewage, and solid 2007; Young & Wolf, 2006, 2007). Urban ecology can provide
waste management systems. To cope with these conditions, many insight into how communities adapt; that is, how resilient they
disadvantaged communities have developed informal, creative, are.
308 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311

The interest in resilience among a broad range of academic dis- Table 2

Planning for natural disasters research questions.
ciplines, including planning, began to emerge after September 11,
2001. Lawrence Vale of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- How do we ensure that plans to rebuild after natural disasters are equitable?
ogy and Thomas Campanella of Cornell University are among the What do cultural and environmental histories teach us about natural disasters?
How can concepts such as resilience and green infrastructure be advanced?
leaders in the academic planning community (Vale & Campanella,
How can we better adapt our settlements to extreme weather events?
2005a, 2005b). Although ecologists have speculated about the How can we design settlements to mitigate extreme weather events?
application of resilience to urban planning, until recently there How do we assure that the most vulnerable populations and habitats are
had been scant connection between the ecological and the plan- protected during natural disasters?
What lessons are transferable from one culture to another about natural
ning resilience research. This situation is rapidly changing, which
disaster planning?
presents a research opportunity to better connect resilience knowl-
edge from scientific and public policy perspectives (Pickett et al.,
2013).
Vale and Campanella, editors of the insightful The Resilient 4. The renewal of urban areas
City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster (2005a), investigated
how societies have recuperated after natural and human-made With the population of the planet now mostly living in urban
disasters, concluding, “Many disasters may follow a predictable regions, much potential exists within built up areas for renewal and
pattern of rescue, restoration, rebuilding, and remembrance, yet regeneration. But, what does it mean to live in this first urban cen-
we can only truly evaluate a recovery based on special circum- tury? This question presents a significant opportunity for landscape
stances” (2005a, B6). Vale and Campanella distinguish natural architects and planners, especially if we can build on ongoing work
disasters from those caused by people. Natural disasters include in urban ecology. The emerging field of landscape urbanism offers
those ensuing from fire, earthquake, flood, drought, volcano, a powerful, potential conceptual framework. The concept offers a
hurricane, cyclone, tsunami, and epidemic disease. Human dis- more organic alternative to the conservationism of New Urban-
asters result both from accidents and deliberate, place-targeted ism. Landscape urbanists suggest that landscape should replace
events (Vale & Campanella, 2005b; Vale, 2006). Vale and Cam- buildings and transportation systems as the principal organiz-
panella build their perspective on the considerable body of disaster ing structure in urban design. Whereas traditional urbanism and
research undertaken by planners in the United States. One of New Urbanism relegate green areas to places that are too expen-
the few times the American public turns to planners is in the sive to develop and/or as decoration, landscape urbanism theorists
wake of tragedy. Might not resilience also be a helpful con- advocate the integration of ecology in city design and planning.
cept for guiding metropolitan regions in times without disaster? Networks and complexity are emphasized in order to establish
Such regional resilience would be based on enhancing social cap- frameworks for urban change. As a result, this approach to urban
ital, creating knowledge capital, and protecting natural capital. design provides an example of what Joan Nassauer calls for in her
Resilience provides a research opportunity for designers, planners, advocacy of “landscape as a medium of synthesis and in a method
and environmental scientists, especially if these disciplines collab- that invites creative invention” (2012, p. 221).
orate. Landscape urbanism presents a relatively new the-
Knowledge of history supplements recent urban resilience ory with few constructed works. Freshkills Park provides
literature. When the French founded New Orleans in the an example of a project moving toward realization
early 18th century, they respected the Mississippi River (www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/freshkills-park/). A key
Delta’s ecological constraints as they settled on the highest breakthrough is that James Corner and his Field Operations team
ground behind the area’s natural levees (Barry, 1997; Birch embraced long-term change in their design, eschewing a set
& Wachter, 2006; Lewis, 2003). New Orleans prospered as a end state for a more dynamic, flexible framework of possibilities
result of wise planning decisions. Subsequently, settlement grounded in an initial “seeding.” Such seeding would permit the
decisions, often at odds with natural systems, altered the area to evolve more organically. Located in the New York City
developmental patterns of the region and the city (Lewis, borough of Staten Island, Freshkills Park covers approximately
2003). 2200 acres (890 ha) and formerly was the largest landfill in the
However, knowing where and where not to reconstruct after world. Much of the debris resulting from the September 11, 2001,
disaster is not enough. For instance, after Hurricane Katrina terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan
destroyed much of New Orleans in 2005, several plans were put was deposited there. The Field Operations plan lays out how
forth illustrating where not to rebuild. Most of these areas were in the landfill will be converted into a park three times larger than
low-income, African-American communities like the Ninth Ward. Central Park. The 30-year plan requires the restoration of a large
Many argued that these people were not treated fairly, and the landscape and encompasses reclaiming much of the toxic wetlands
plans were rejected. Thus, planners are faced with a dual chal- that surround and penetrate the former landfill. In addition to
lenge: on one hand they must ensure that plans are equitable; landscape architecture, the master plan required the expertise of
on the other, planners must assure that especially poor people architects, planners, ecologists, traffic engineers, hydrologists, and
are not put at further risk for their health, safety, and well- soil scientists. A significant challenge faced by the Field Operations
being. team was how this contaminated site could be made safe for people
Historical lessons could begin to illuminate the path toward to use. The number of such brownfield sites exist in urban regions
the creation of truly resilient and sustainable cities and regions. around the world, which presents many research opportunities
The linking of cultural and environmental histories is one research for designers, planners, and environmental scientists.
opportunity which emerges from planning for natural disasters The High Line Project in New York City provides another recent
(Table 2). In addition, much work is needed to refine concepts landscape urbanist example (David and Hammond, 2011; Field
such as resilience, strategies such as green infrastructure, and Operations et al., 2008; La Farge, 2012). The Friends of the High
phenomena such as extreme weather events. Globally, grow- Line and the Regional Plan Association urged that an abandoned
ing settlements intersect with natural hazards. In China, for rail line weaving through 22 blocks in Manhattan be converted into
instance, earthquakes and typhoons are especially problematic. a 6.7-acre (2.7-ha) park. They promoted the 1.45-mile (2.33-km)
What lessons are transferable from one culture to another about long corridor as a generator of economic development, a recre-
natural resource planning? ational amenity, and a tourist attraction. The Friends of the High
 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311 309

Line and the City of New York selected Field Operations and Diller Table 3
The renewal of urban areas research questions.
Scofidio + Renfro to design the project in 2004. The design team
proposed a linear walkway which blurred the boundaries between What does it mean to live in the first urban century?
paved and planted surfaces, while suggesting evolution in human How can contaminated urban areas be made safe for people to inhabit?
How might wildlife be attracted to restored urban plans and how might they
use plus plant and bird life. The High Line design provides a model
live with people?
for how abandoned urban territories can be converted into commu- How can we design landscapes, cities, and regions that conserve water and
nity assets and follows directly on the worldwide redevelopment of energy?
brownfields which began in the 1980s (David & Hammond, 2011; How do we make cities more esthetically pleasing and healthy?
Field Operations et al., 2008; La Farge, 2012). However, the High What are the equity and environmental justice implications of ecological
urban renewal?
Line has been criticized for its gentrifying impacts. How then might
How might landscape urbanism avoid being a generator of greater inequality
landscape urbanism avoid being a generator of greater inequality and dislocation?
and dislocation?
As projects like the High Line advance landscape urbanism
on the ground, other theorists and practitioners persist in refin- not-only-one-solution process, reiterating that urban design, like
ing the concept theoretically through competitions. For instance, other design and planning activities, not only permits – but
Chris Reed and his Stoss Landscape Urbanism colleagues presented demands – that different answers and a variety of solutions be
many provocative ideas in their proposal for the Lower Don Lands considered for a given problem. The design process should not be
invited design competition organized by the Toronto Waterfront organized to produce only one result. The NOOS process employs
Revitalization Corporation in 2007. The site comprises 300 acres a structure, a route strategy, which helps the designer to move
(121.4 ha) of mostly vacated, former port lands, just east of down- toward the target, but not necessarily to arrive there prematurely.
town Toronto. Stoss’ method considered flood protection, habitat The acronym for our approach, NOOS, is also an ancient Greek
restoration, and the naturalization of the Don River mouth. They word (vóo␨) that means reason, mind, intelligence, and wisdom,
also put forward new development areas and a merged transporta- but also project and plan, in the meaning of intention, and resolve,
tion system. Canadian ecological planner Nina-Marie Lister joined purpose, to have the mind directed to something. Reason, in urban
the Stoss team, and her contribution is evident in proposals for ecological design, helps to direct the designer’s approach to respond
restoring the fish ecology, part of a broader strategy to “re-ignite to the project’s complexities. Reason prompts us to take all the
dynamic ecologies” (Reed, 2007, p. 198). The design suggested steps to reach an ideal solution, in the platonic sense or, as Aris-
restoration and renewal strategies for both the Don River and Lake totle would have preferred, one that is phronetic, or practical, and
Ontario. The river marsh habitat was envisioned as a breeding in the interests of all sectors of the community.
ground for several species of fish. Stoss followed McHarg’s strat- The ubiquity of degraded urban places presents boundless
egy by including knowledgeable environmental scientists from opportunities for regeneration, restoration, and renewal research
the region. They incorporated current urban ecological knowledge (Table 3). These places also offer significant challenges to make
within the overall plan. them safe for human habitation. We have much to learn from how
The broader regional planning ideas of McHarg form the base to design urban places that conserve energy and water while also
of much of landscape urbanism, which suggests understanding providing aesthetically pleasing and healthy habitats for people
large-scale systems first. This knowledge informs and even struc- and other species. In addition, note that equity and environmental
tures proposals in order to develop schemes that capture and justice should be considered in such projects.
initiate ecological and social dynamics. However, landscape urban-
ism advances McHarg’s ideas in that its practitioners encourage 5. Linking knowledge to action
multiple functions to be hybridized or to occupy the same terri-
tory simultaneously. McHarg’s approaches brought people closer Perhaps the most vexing challenge we face is how to harness
to nature. the knowledge we have about our environments in order to realize
For example, as previously noted, McHarg’s plan for The positive changes. We have access to a wealth of information about
Woodlands in Texas successfully used storm drainage systems to the natural and cultural processes that affect our health, safety, and
structure the master plan making water an organizing principle general welfare. However, we have yet to fully put that knowledge
(McHarg, 1996; McHarg & Steiner, 1998; Steiner, 2006; Yang & to work. Many people fail to link their individual actions to larger
Li, 2011). Protected hydrologic corridors loop through the urban issues of environmental quality.
fabric of The Woodlands, forming a strong system of green infra- The possible reasons abound: the rise of religious fundamental-
structure. In contrast, landscape urbanists are interested in having ism in many parts of the world, misunderstandings and mistrust of
people and nature inhabit the same space – and in constructing new science, the failure of scientists to communicate the implications of
urban ecologies where social, cultural, and environmental dynam- their work, government policies that emphasize private gain over
ics play off one another. This resembles E. O. Wilson’s concept of public good, and the short decision making cycles of business and
‘consilience’ (1998), insofar as urban natural systems and human politics. Positive examples can help offset negative forces.
systems interact and alter one another, producing a co-evolving Landscape architects, urban planners, and architects have long
synthesis in the process. Research opportunities abound: How relied on precedents to inform their work. However, often these
might wildlife be attracted to urban places, and how might they precedents have been more like anecdotes or personal reflec-
co-exist with people? How might urban places be designed and tions than true, more rigorous case studies. Systematic case study
planned to conserve water and energy? How might urban ecolog- research can help improve how we learn from past projects. It
ical design contribute to human health and safety? How might we can help us understand how good ideas spread, as well as why
do this more aesthetically so that urban places are more pleasant some projects and plans fail. Case studies can enable the advance-
for people to live in? Answering these questions through landscape ment of best practices. Mark Francis (2001) developed a method
urbanism, or better, through ecological landscape urbanism, would for landscape architecture case study research which built on
update and refine McHarg’s original vision. past approaches, most notably that by Robert Yin (2009). Francis
Design and planning in such complex human systems requires illustrates how designs and plans can be used as data sources, a
flexibility. In our book Urban Ecological Design (2011), Danilo strategy which merits further study. His method has helped struc-
Palazzo and I suggested an approach we call NOOS, the ture landscape architecture research and also influenced planning
310 F. Steiner / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 304–311

Table 4 necessary. Likewise, when a planner makes a plan and it is adopted

Linking knowledge to action research questions.
by the appropriate authority, the work continues. The plan needs
If we know some places are more dangerous to settle, why do we continue to to be monitored, calibrated, and amended. In both the case of the
build there? design and the plan, they will be enhanced if environmental scien-
How do good ideas spread?
tists are involved from inception through adaptation.
Why do some projects and plans fail?
How can we improve case study methods?
A different approach to research is required as well. With the
How do we better communicate positive and negative lessons from case study first two phases of the High Line complete, we can apply Fran-
research? cis’ case study method to analyze the results. However, if we view
How can designs and plans be used as sources for data? the High Line as a complex, adaptive system, we should continue
case study analyses, say, every decade. This requires that we con-
Table 5 tinue to develop and refine sustainability, perhaps by moving from
Common and cross-cutting research questions. sustainable design to regenerative design. This can be defined as
a collaborative process that enhances life in complex, coevolv-
How do we undertake longer term research for urban ecological design and
planning? ing social and ecological systems through intentional action. Such
How can designers and planners learn to better collaborate with ecologists design may be an effective strategy to achieve sustainability goals
and other environmental scientists? for urban regions. As the opportunities for leadership are signif-
How do we transition from end-state designs and plans to ongoing designing icant, so are the potential consequences for the future of urban
and planning?
How do we design and plan for complex, adaptive systems?
places and, by extension, our planet.
How do we continue to develop and refine sustainability by moving from
sustainable design to regenerative design? Acknowledgments

I appreciate the helpful suggestions that Sarah Dooling, Mandy

and architecture. The SITES team, for example, adapted Francis’
Brown, Sarah Walker, and Shannon Harris provided on drafts of this
method for its case study analysis. These case studies informed the
paper. The two reviewers and guest editor also provided terrific
design of the SITES system.
recommendations which improved the paper.
Architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, and plan-
ning can benefit from the accumulation of wisdom from past
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Ian L. McHarg. Washington, DC: Island Press. Chair in Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin. He has worked with local,
Mell, I. C. (2009). Can green infrastructure promote urban sustainability? Engineering state, and federal agencies on diverse environmental plans and designs. Dean Steiner
Sustainability, 162(1), 23–34. was the president of the Hill Country Conservancy (a land trust) and past chair of
Nassauer, J. I. (2012). Landscape as medium and method for synthesis in urban Envision Central Texas (a non-governmental regional planning organization). As a
ecological design. Landscape and Urban Planning, 106, 221–229. Fulbright-Hays scholar in 1980, he conducted research on ecological planning at
Nunan, F., & Satterthwaite, D. (2001). The influence of governance on the provi- the Wageningen University, The Netherlands. In 1998, he was a Rome Prize Fellow
sion of urban environmental infrastructure and services for low-income groups. at the American Academy in Rome. A Fellow of the American Society of Landscape
International Planning Studies, 6(4), 409–426. Architects, Dean Steiner was a visiting professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing,
Nygren, A. (1999). Local knowledge in the environment-development discourse. China (2005–2007). He received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in city and regional
Critique of Anthropology, 19(3), 267–288. planning and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He
Palazzo, D., & Steiner, F. (2011). Urban ecological design: A process for regenerative earned a Master of Community Planning and a B.S. in Design from the University of
places. Washington, DC: Island Press. Cincinnati. Dean Steiner received an honorary M.Phil. in Human Ecology from the
Pelling, M. (2002). Assessing urban vulnerability and social adaptation to risk: Evi- College of the Atlantic. Dean Steiner has published numerous articles and books.
dence from Santo Domingo. International Development Planning Review, 24(1), His most recent books include Design for a Vulnerable Planet (2011), Urban Ecological
59–76. Design (with Danilo Palazzo, 2011), Planning and Urban Design Standards (Student
Pickett, S. T. A., & Cadenasso, M. L. (2003). Integrating the ecological, socioeconomic, Edition with Kent Butler, 2007), The Essential Ian McHarg: Writings on Design and
and planning realms: Insights from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. In L. Musac- Nature (2006), and Human Ecology: Following Nature’s Lead (2002).
chio, J. Wu, & T. Johnson (Eds.), Pattern, process, scale, and hierarchy: Advancing