A Study of Landscape Performance: Do Social, Economic and Environmental Benefits Always Complement Each Other?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) to introduce background of landscape performance and the Cast Study Investigation program of Landscape Architecture Foundation; and 2) to explore whether landscape’s environmental, economic and social benefits are conflicting or converging for sustainability. Landscape performance, as defined by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, is “the measure of efficiency with which landscape solutions fulfill their intended purpose and contribute toward sustainability.” Landscape Architecture Foundation based on the concept of sustainability to establish the research framework for investigating landscape performance by quantifying environmental, economic and social benefits. The current common sustainable development concept often discusses the benefits in the three environmental, economic and social aspects whereas their interrelationship is hardly addressed. Considering the large body of literature supporting the fact that human activities have significant influences on the natural environment, it seems that certain benefits would impede other benefits, and therefore result in tradeoffs in landscape performance. Understanding the interrelationship between the environmental, economic and social benefits, allows designers to enhance the compatible relationships, mitigate the conflicting relationships and create high-performing landscapes in the future. In this study, we used the 39 landscape performance case studies published by the Landscape Architecture Foundation in its 2011 Case Study Investigation (CSI) program to test four hypotheses.

Keywords

Sustainability / Conflict / Tradeoff / Landscape Architecture Foundation / High-Performing Landscape

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press