The War Over 'Landscape Urbanism'

Planetizen, here:

Andres Duany speaks openly about the threat he sees from the growing influence of Landscape Urbanism, which aims to prioritize the natural ecology of a site over the built environment.

"You claim that LU asks us to "prioritize the natural ecology of a site over the built environment."I'd question that characterization.

"These days no one in any group could rationally call for ignoring natural constraints or even lessening their importance. And I've never heard anyone in NU say anything like that. By now, I think that all rational people recognize that the earth is too big to argue with and that we have to look and listen very carefully before building.

"For what it's worth, I just wrote a review of the Duany/Speck <em>Smart Growth Manual</em> and (while Smart Growth is not New Urbanism, there is enormous nesting of ideas) the <em>Manual</em> puts enormous emphasis on respecting natural systems.

"And would that the issue be so simple. Part of the problem is that LU's claims are extremely unclear, almost impossible to follow and filled with big, fancy words. About the only thing one can be sure is that LUers — at least Prof. Charles Waldheim —  seem to have contempt for walkable urbanism and prefer suburban sprawl."

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