Publisher Description

Landscape architecture plays an important role in shaping the places in which we live and work. But what is it? Landscape architects are involved, amongst other things, in the layout of business parks, the reclamation of derelict industrial sites, the restoration of historic city parks, and the siting and design of major pieces of infrastructure such as motorways, dams, power stations, and flood defences, as well as the planning of parks and gardens. Taking ahistorical perspective, Ian Thompson looks at both the roots of landscape architecture and the people that established it. This Very Short Introduction explores some of themisconceptions about landscape architecture and considers the discipline's origins in landscape gardening. Thompson takes a look at a number of areas, including the influence of Modernism, the difference between landscape design and landscape planning, and the way that planning legislation has driven the growth of the discipline. He also explores contemporary environmentalism, the debate as to whether landscape architecture is an art or a science, landscape architecture in the community,post-industrial projects, and its relationship with ecological urbanism.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles inalmost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Notes

Explains what landscape architecture is and what it does.

Author Biography

Ian Thompson is a Chartered Landscape Architect and Reader in LandscapeArchitecture in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape atNewcastle University. He worked as a landscape architect from 1979 to1992, mostly on work related to environmental improvement, derelict landreclamation and urban renewal, before taking up a lecturing post atNewcastle University. He was the editor of Landscape Research for four years and is currently on the editorial board. He has written many papers, articles and books, including The Sun King's Garden (Bloomsbury, 2006) and The English Lakes: A History (Bloomsbury, 2010). He is also one ofthe editors of the Routledge Companion to Landscape Studies.

Table of Contents

1: Misconceptions and Origins2: Place-making and Improvement3: America and the Turn to Modernism4: The Invisible Hand versus the Grand Gesture5: Use and Beauty6: Professional Environmentalists7: Landscape Architecture as Art8: Social Workers in Green Wellingtons9: Under the Carpet10: Landscape and UrbanismFurther reading

Review

A great gift for the landscape architect to give to their in-laws who still call them a 'landscape designer' * Historic Garden Review, Aaron Suiter *

Promotional

A fascinating look into the origins and uses of landscape architecture.

Long Description

Landscape architecture plays an important role in shaping the places in which we live and work. But what is it? Landscape architects are involved, amongst other things, in the layout of business parks, the reclamation of derelict industrial sites, the restoration of historic city parks, and the siting and design of major pieces of infrastructure such as motorways, dams, power stations, and flood defences, as well as the planning of parks and gardens. Taking a
historical perspective, Ian Thompson looks at both the roots of landscape architecture and the people that established it. This Very Short Introduction explores some of the
misconceptions about landscape architecture and considers the discipline's origins in landscape gardening. Thompson takes a look at a number of areas, including the influence of Modernism, the difference between landscape design and landscape planning, and the way that planning legislation has driven the growth of the discipline. He also explores contemporary environmentalism, the debate as to whether landscape architecture is an art or a science, landscape architecture in the community,
post-industrial projects, and its relationship with ecological urbanism.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in
almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Review Quote

A great gift for the landscape architect to give to their in-laws who still call them a 'landscape designer'

Feature

Explains what landscape architecture is and what it doesExplores both its history and origins as well as modern developments in landscape urbanism and ecological urbanismConsiders the misconceptions about landscape architectureIncludes examples of landscape architecture from around the worldPart of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over six million copies sold worldwide

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