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Re: Landscape architecture
- To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: Re: Landscape architecture
- From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
- Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2000 13:34:37 -0600
- In-reply-to: <LYR101940-67827-2000.07.17-08.26.43--pci#permaculture-inst.org@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Newsgroups: permaculture
Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5
the appropriate answer unless stated otherwise.. 1 being the lowest grade
and 5 the highest grade you may give. If you do not know an ansear please
write " Do Not Know"
A: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND PERMACULTURE:
1. Is any member of your practice registered as a member of a
permaculture organisation? Please delete all the inappropriate
answears.
Yes
Comments:
2. As landscape architect practice, where have you come across the
permaculture concept?
Other. Please, specify.
My interest in landscape
architecture started after I took a PC Design course and became a
certified pc practitioner. The formal education is rather a tool for me
to be able to practice permaculture at the larger scale and hopefully
contribute to the positive change.
3. In your general opinion, do you recognise
that landscape architects are applying permaculture concepts under
another names such as regenerative studies, sustainable projects and so
on?
Answer
Yes, I do. And, at large I don';t think it is very important how you call
it, as long as it is truly regenerative or sustainable, or permanent, or
common sense. The problem is that all the above mentioned words have
gained a lot of sex appeal and are being used to suit clients desire to
be a "good" person, and not necessarily providing regenerative,
sustainable or permanent solutions. For my work I am more interested in
actual outcome, than in calling it permaculture per se.
4. Does your practice think that permaculture
could be suited to?
Landscape architecture
(5)
Agriculture
(5)
Urban
Design
(5) needs more research and
work
Architecture
(5)
Others. Please, specify - civil engineering ( drainage issues, highway
design and siting)
All the above mentioned. In last years we designed a large organic
medicinal herb farm (rotation crops, fertility strategies, biodynamic
compost operation, about 15 acres in wildlife habitats/ wetlands, cotton
wood forest restoration, etc), grassland restoration and erosion control
in overgrazed desert of NM, designed and built 5 underground passive
solar houses. Amazing thing in landscape architecture is that it allows
all these designs to happen under its roof, the same way as permaculture
does.
5. What would be needed for a landscape
architecture practices to become more aware of the benefits of planning
and practices using permaculture concept?
More
education 5
Stricter
legislation 5
More government
commitment 0
(what is that?)
More public and client
awareness don't
know
Efficient
implementation 5
Others. Please specify
I don't know. More education certainly helped here in Santa Fe, NM where
there are about 4000 pc graduates and uncounted students of various pc
workshops in a city of 80 000. Efficient implementation would not hurt
either, as in Santa Fe there are several pretty shameful projects that
either cost too much and did not produce anything, or that cost too much
and produced a belief that pc is for the rich guys only.
B: PERMACULTURE
6. A permaculture approach within the landscape could provide a range of
benefits. How important does your practice believe each benefit to
be?
Ecological/ environmental benefits:
. Increase wildlife
value 5
. Supply basic agriculture
needs 5
. Increase
biodiversity 5
. Increase environmental
quality 5
. Enhance microclimate 5
. Others. Please
specify: 5
Comments:
You use a traditional method of research, when a subject is
divided in components, and each one is studied or evaluated separatly.
Majority of the above mentioned benefits are interwoven, and do not need
to be listed separatly. Microclimate and environmental qulaity go hand in
hand, so does the diversity with env. quality and wildlife habitat.
Economic benefits:
. Improve image of the locality
. Encourage private sector investment
. Others. Please specify:
Comments:
I don't know if the landscape architecture use of
pc will actually provide these benefits. The befits that I see could be
such as:
- absence of erosion (soil, fertility, nutrient leach)
- no need for imported inputs
- etc
The general use of pc will certainly improve image of locality,
especially if local credit unions, buyers clubs are created.
Social benefits:
. Provide satisfying living/ working
area 5
. Provide educational
resource 5
. Provide good survey/
analysis ?
. Promote physical healthiness ? The first
Forest garden was created for a handicapped person in GB. What do you
mean?
. Promote good mental
health ?
. Encourage local participation/
Maintenance questionable
. Others. Please specify
Aesthetic benefits:
. Provide an innovative design 5
. Give a greater
creativity 5
. Provide a natural
beauty 5
. Relate function to aesthetic 5
. Others. Please specify
In general pc relies too much on "natural beauty", and
disrespects built environment ( at least in my experience), or aesthetic
considerations. I was told that "Beauty is not a function". I
don't know if many pc designers think of shape/ size/ color balance when
designing say a community garden. It just must be pretty because of the
use of natural material - plants. Is it always? Maybe that is what
makes some professionals to avoid permaculture - the funky appearance of
many sites?
7. Which of the following should
pay for a permaculture approach to be used within the landscape
projects?
Supra National bodies (e.g. European
Union)
National
Government can
only srew the thing
State/ regional
authorities
Local authorities
5
Other Public
bodies 5
Private business sector
Specialist Groups (e.g. Groundwork
trust) 5
Local amenity Group
Local residents ( Residents
association) 5
General public via taxation
Others. Please, specify
C: CONSTRAINTS:
8. In your practice experience, by how much do the following constraints
restrict the establishment of permaculture projects?
Financial (e.g. too expensive to be
installed) 0
Impractical (e.g. requires too much labour
attention) 0
Lack of
knowledge 0
Lack of
guidance 5
Inappropriate
locality 0
Traditional
method 0
Others. Please, specify
Comments: the pc sites do need maintanance and love. The responsibility
of a pc designer that is often too hard to bear is to educate your
client, or stay near the project untill it is stable and mature.
The last element makes the costs prohibitive, when first is met with
resintance by many clients. They just want a pretty landscape after all,
and preferably with no erosion. Working on it for 7 years - no
thanks. So people find different ways of solving this problem, but
neither is simple or time efficient.
9. By how much will landscape projects
containing a permaculture approach create negative effects?
Reduces profitability of
land 0
( how is that possible?)
Increases maintenance cost -
2
(only initially, but returns over time.)
Creates spaces vulnerable to
crime ? ( every public
space is vulnerable for that matter)
Reduces building/ indoor
activity 0
Increase demand for more land 0
Others. Please, specify
Comments:
10. Which of the following groups in your
practice opinion are more likely to be opposed to landscape permacultural
projects?
Local
residents 0
(unless uniformed)
Local Business
people 0
General
public 0
Land
owners 0
Developers/
Builders 5
(unless can get points out of it)
Local
authorities 3
(dislike innovative ideas, as it makes them have to think, example: straw
bale houses)
National
governments 5
(oppose anything
good)
Specialist Groups/
organisations 3
Others. Please,
specify civil
engineers
Could you please, refer me to any other useful
contacts I could interview or e-mail?
Yes No
If yes, please, specify
e-mail and phone number
<gilnel@earthlink.net>, Ann Nelson,
LA