T here is a movement afoot called landscape urbanism, and it is quietly pulling the rug out from under the traditional design hierarchy. Proponents of the notion argue that principles of ecological landscape design, rather than architecture or urban planning, are more capable of organizing and enhancing the city.
“Landscape is usurping architecture’s historical role as the basic building block of city- making,” says Charles Waldheim, chairman of landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the coiner of “landscape urbanism.” As a result, cities are starting to hire landscape architects to lead the multidisciplinary team that shapes urban form, he adds.