Landscape Architecture Theory: An Evolving Body of Thought

Although we visualize the landscape as a place, it is best understood as a process. Landscape design thus becomes a tool for managing this process of change to create meaningful and compelling places. Landscape Architecture Theory provides an insightful introduction to the evolving body of knowledge that underpins the discipline and practice of landscape architecture. The author’s treatment emphasizes the interrelation-ships between the biophysical and human dimensions of the environment and the theories and decision-making processes that issue from these relationships. Students and practitioners alike will appreciate how this comprehensive text integrates knowledge from a wide variety of disciplines—including earth science, ecological science, behavioral science, design process, and aesthetics—with the theories that have been formulated to apply that knowledge to understanding and shaping the landscape. This understanding, it is hoped, will result in designs that improve both quality of life and quality of the environment.