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- Info
Planning and designing for the multiple use role of habitats in urban/suburban landscapes in the Great Basin
| Author: |
Johnson, C.W. |
| Date: |
1995 |
| Periodical: |
Landscape and Urban Planning |
| Abstract: |
Most researchers agree that preserving, creating, and restoring urban wildlife habitats has to be an interdisciplinary undertaking if it is to succeed. Ecologists and wildlife biologists must be key participants. The culturally modified context of most urban habitats suggests that landscape architects also have a primary role to play. Open space in the urban/suburban environment is a scarce and valuable resource. Private and public sector pressure to convert these spaces to commercial or intensive recreational uses are immediate and intense. Presenting arguments to preserve or restore urban open space solely as habitat for wildlife is seldom successful. Decision makers are more likely to support urban wildlife habitat programs if other uses are also accommodated. There is a growing body of research data that suggests that wildlife are being adversely impacted by multiple uses of urban habitats. The challenge for planners and designers is to minimize adverse impacts and capitalize on those attributes of other uses that enhance habitat value. Planning for the temporal as well as spatial dimensions of site uses is required if the needs of wildlife are to be met. The paper presents three general areas in which landscape architects have traditionally contributed to an interdisciplinary approach to urban wildlife habitat planning: contextual perspective, problem solving process, and design/ technical execution. Reflecting back on his past 10 years of experience as a landscape architect planning urban wildlife habitats, the author presents several case study projects in which: (A) accommodation of multiple use objectives, including wildlife habitat, was required; (B) interdisciplinary teams participated in the planning and design process; (C) key principles from the fields of landscape ecology, conservation biology and wildlife biology were applied to facility and activity location, habitat configuration, and management. Plans of completed projects are used to illustrate how habitat values were preserved or enhanced and multiple uses accommodated in public open spaces. The paper concludes with a brief summary of keys to success common to each project. |
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