The New Landscape Declaration: A Call to Action for the Twenty-First Century

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On the eve of its 50th anniversary, the Landscape Architecture Foundation asked a diverse group of the world's leading landscape architects to reflect on the last half-century and present bold ideas for what the discipline should achieve in the future. Well beyond the public conception of the profession as "gardener" or "park designer," these landscape architects discussed their role in addressing weighty issues like climate change, urbanization, management of vital resources like water, and global inequities.

The New Landscape Declaration brings together their ideas and experiences in essays from thirty-three preeminent thinkers, including:

James Corner, designer of the High Line in New York City
Randy Hester, founder of the modern participatory design movement in landscape architecture
Kate Orff, researcher, innovator, and design activist
Martha Schwartz, acclaimed landscape architect and artist turned activist
Carl Steinitz, Geodesign pioneer
Richard Weller, prolific design researcher and author
Kongjian Yu, celebrated designer, dean, and author from the People's Republic of China

The New Landscape Declaration asserts the vital role of landscape architecture in solving the defining issues of our time. Relevant to designers across the globe, the ideas cross disciplinary boundaries and challenge current silos of thought and practice, underscoring the need to diversify, innovate, and create a bold culture of leadership, advocacy, and activism.

Author Bio

The mission of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) is to support the preservation, improvement and enhancement of the environment. LAF invests in research and scholarships to increase our collective capacity to achieve sustainability.

Founded nearly 50 years ago, LAF has been the nexus of inquiry and innovation for the landscape architecture profession. Today, the mission to support the preservation, improvement and enhancement of the environment has never been more resonant. As the world's population becomes increasingly urban and demands on natural resources more acute, landscape architects play an essential role in solving the complex, interrelated environmental, economic, and social problems we face today.

Through its leadership and philanthropic activities, LAF continues to advance the body of knowledge and support innovative projects and initiatives needed not only for the landscape architecture profession, but for the many professionals and advocates who share LAF's mission and are critical to its success.