Humans rely heavily on the services
that nature provides. The value of these services, such as food, water,
medicine, and other resources, was estimated to be in 2011. The
integrity of these systems is under threat from climate change and human
activity, particularly agriculture. Farming activities use , according
to National Geographic. That use is only expanding as the human population
increases.
The resultant biodiversity loss has a severe impact on these ecosystem services
and works to undermines long term resilience and general human well-being. Extinction rates vary widely, but
several scientists agree that human activity has induced an among wildlife and
plant life that threatens to undermine human survival. Maintaining biodiversity
in these systems is critical to their survival, as diversity is central to system resilience and function.
How Resilient Planning and Design Helps
Communities
must accommodate wildlife and native plants. Services that natural ecosystems
provide should be taken into account when planning new agriculture and
development. Agriculture should , as opposed to homogenized and destructive mono-cultures. Restorative tactics, such as the design of and habitat
restoration, can help reinvigorate ecosystems.
Co-benefits
Designing to sustain and increase
biodiversity enhances the quality and quantity of services that ecosystems
provide. This includes everything from medicine to food to recreation areas. Restoration
projects can also serve as a way to build communities.
Role of the Landscape Architect
Landscape architects can reconcile the
needs of communities and healthy ecosystems in order to serve both. Landscape
architects can design corridors that are not only public parks but also facilitate wildlife movement through human developments, allowing both wildlife and humans to coexist. Landscape architects can design plant communities and ecosystems that are not only beautiful but also increase ecosystem services. In addition, designers can adapt these designed ecosystems to the stresses of urban life, using the approaches of biophilic urbanism.
Banff Wildlife Crossing / Image Credit: HumansandNature.org
Relevant Projects
, Poverty Bay, New Zealand, NBWLA
, Alberta, Canada, Parks Canada and Tony Clevenger
, Cambridge, MA, MVVA
, Vancouver, Canada
, Edmonton, Canada
, New York, NY
, Toronto, Canada
, Toronto, Canada
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2010 Professional General Design Honor Award, Tianjin Qiaoyuan Park, Tianjin City, China, Turenscape
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2011 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award, Menomonee Valley Restoration, Mequon, WI, Landscapes of Place, LLC
, Virginia, NBWLA
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2013 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award, Ningbo Eco-Corridor - 3.3 km Living Filter, Ningbo, China, SWA Group
, San Francisco, CA
Resources
, The Dirt blog
, The Dirt blog
, The Dirt blog
, The Dirt blog
, ARC Solutions
Interview with Janine Benyus on Designing Like Nature, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Interview
with Nina-Marie Lister on Ecological Urbanism, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Interview
with Kristina Hill on Climate Change and Biodiversity, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Interview with Os Schmitz on Recovering Polluted Ecosystems, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Designing
Neighborhoods for People and Wildlife, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
, The Dirt blog
, Miami Conservancy
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