Emergence in Landscape Architecture

All landscapes are complex systems which are continually changing as a result of relatively simple interactions. This condition of adaptation and evolution is called emergence. Related to chaos theory and self-organising systems, emergence highlights the ever-changing and developing urban and natural world – and the need to work flexibly within this.

Just as an arborist must understand the development and functions of a tree in order to fully understand their actions in relation to it, so must a landscape architect understand the ecological functions of a specific terrain in order to appreciate how the landscape will respond to the conditions they establish. This bottom-up approach is essential when dealing with the natural environment – and, as Barnett argues, the urban environment.

Covering critically the theory behind emergence in landscape architecture, the author also uses practical examples from international landscapes as a key tool in his mission to explain the basis of emergence and how it is essential to our understanding of both urban and natural systems.

Ideal for students and educators in landscape architecture, landscape urbanism, and architectural theory, Emergence in Landscape Architecture provides a full discourse on the theory and practice behind emergence in landscape and features full colour images.