Kate Johnston (1)

Turning Point.

Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts, food shortages, degraded soil quality, pollution, rising fuel prices, housing repossessions, riots, political upheaval and bankrupt countries. The new millennium has been epitomized by a multitude of landscape traumas, whether in the guise of economic, environmental, political, climatic or social crises, they all have detrimental impacts on our landscape, environment and ultimately quality of life, now and for future generations. One of the terms given to landscapes that have been affected by natural or human induced disasters is crisis landscapes.

Crisis landscapes are those that have reached a critical turning point due to their inability to cope with an event, expected or unexpected, of rapid or slow onset, environmental or non environmental. However out of crisis comes opportunity. How can landscape architecture help build resilience so that landscapes have the ability to absorb disturbances and work towards achieving increasingly sustainable economic, environmental and social futures?

"Landscape architects have the potential to take leadership in the theory and practice of urban sustainability and resilience because of their knowledge of; ecological systems and ecosystem services, human/cultural needs, and the technical means and practices through which urban environments are (re)built and managed over time – in the face of continuous change and in a climate of uncertainty." Ahern (2009)

crisislandscapes.blogspot.co.uk

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MMU Manchester School of Art Manchester School of Architecture