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2 publications listed under Landscape design

Human–Nature Interaction Pattern Design in Landscape Architecture

2025 / Landscape design, Urban

Figure 3. Quadrant Mapping Diagram, drawn by the authors. Landscape architecture has long engaged esthetics, ecological process, and cultural meaning, and contemporary practice increasingly embraces systemic and process-based approaches. Yet even within this richness, designers often lack systematic tools for addressing how embodied interaction shapes human–nature relationships. Granted, frameworks such as biophilic design and restorative environments emphasize the importance of contact with nature. Yet they often stop short of specifying the sensory and movement-based interactions through which agency, well-being, and meaning are cultivated. To address this gap, this paper introduces Interaction Pattern Design (IPD) as a theory-grounded and practice-oriented framework for landscape architecture. The first part of the paper outlines what interaction patterns are, how they scale along the continuum from highly domestic to relatively wild environments, and the empirical evidence that establishes their significance. The second half of this paper speaks to designers specifically and applies this IP approach to the design process. Two design tools are introduced. One is Quadrant Mapping, which visualizes intersections of environmental and behavioral wildness within a site. The second is Structuring Interaction Patterns, which organizes design elements through scale, sequence, and co-occurrence. Drawing from case studies, the paper demonstrates how these tools enrich process- and ecology-focused design methods, supporting deeper and more enduring forms of engagement with nature.

From Sanitary to Sustainable to Sacred: Metro Nature Experiences and Engagement

2021 / Built environment + Urban design, Landscape design, Urban

The expression of nature and ecology in cities is adaptive, as planners and managers address multiple urbanization challenges and pursue multiple goals. Human health and wellness are benefits of nearby nature experiences, elevating the importance of natural areas and urban ecology for health promotion. Engineered and gray infrastructure systems can address the sanitary needs of residents such as hygiene and disease prevention. More recent innovations that integrate built and natural systems for green infrastructure provide necessary services by relying more on ecological functions. While addressing practical needs, the reintroduction of nature in cities can also be planned to offer places that reduce human stress, provide solace, and promote community—the civic sacred. Sacred spaces are often socially constructed. They may be distinctive natural features that are culturally revered outdoor spaces, or are sites created and consecrated as secular memorials, or places that take on meaning through community engagement. The health benefits of such spaces extend from individuals to entire communities, and positive experiences can lead to place attachment and environmental stewardship commitments. Local government policies, programs, and research are needed to better understand and implement sacred spaces in cities, including attention to equity to assure that all residents have access.