ECOLOGY and URBANISM

We recognize new kinds of interdisciplinary urban planning, design and landscape architecture practices emerging at the interface between landscape ecology and urbanism – between the rural ‘green’ area and the urban ‘build’ environment – blurring the edge between the notion of a “natural” ecosystem and the “cultivated” urban space. The city depends on its surroundings and vice versa. The urbane sphere relies on its locality – its genius loci – and its social flows. Ecology and urbanism are not separated themes, fields nor distinct terms - sites, spaces nor scopes - but two characteristics of the same fragmented entity – the complex ’image of the city’. Ecology is often interpreted as the basic element or system of the ‘natural’ environment, and its potential is to act as a driver for ‘sustainable’ urban planning and design solutions. However, that fact that urban planning, design, and landscape architecture practices are changing in the light of the increased focus on ecology and sustainability in relation to the city, is a crucial aspect to this matter.

What new methods and tools are needed in order to analyze and interpret urban-landscape ecosystem(s) at multiple scales, spans, and scopes? Can new kinds of morphological methods and tools integrated within the survey- and design process itself help to clarify the existing eco-urban flows? And to what extent can the ‘natural’ landscape act as a structuring basis – a natural platform, a model and a tool – for new types of coherent eco-urban design and planning solutions? Several experts in the field of urban planning and landscape design argues that ecology can turn out to be an informing and generating resource in urban planning and design practices. The main question is: What if limits and processes derived from the ‘natural’ landscape could act as catalysts in developing new organizational structures in the spatial, tectonic and social territories of the city and the expanded urban field?

And what if careful readings – mappings and surveys – of the ‘natural’ landscape could accommodate new types of ‘landscape-urbanism’ that connects to the site, the locality, and environment at large? These reflections look into how the natural environment and landscape can become active forces in urban design strategies and practices, and what implications such approaches might have for contemporary urbanism. The entire blog is the essence of the conference Ecology and Urbanism organized by the Center for Urbanism at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen and the Ph.D. seminar Suburban is Urban (24-26 November 2010) hosted by the Refolana Research School, Faculty of Life Sciences and organized by the Centre for Forest & Landscape, Dpt. of Urban Planning in collaboration with the Dpt. of Landscape Architecture, University of Copenhagen.