BOOK / Operative Landscapes

In a systematic overview, following the workflow sequence of open space projects, this book explores the various types and levels of intervention: from masterplanning to guerilla gardening and from land reclamation to building in existing fabric. Case studies mostly from North America, Europe and Asia accompany the introductory essays. There are infinite ways to build a community, yet the defining feature of any community is characteristically the landscape. Whether it is a park, a river corridor, community gardens, a plaza or a streetscape, the public spaces where people interact provide a shared sense of ownership, and the qualities of these spaces influence how the communities evolve.
The emphasis is on strategies of interaction between landscape projects, building development and urban planning, resulting in neighborhoods and city quarters that offer a higher quality of life. Analytical drawings prepared specially for this book accompany all case studies.
Beyond trendy theories on landscape urbanism or landscape infrastructure, this book offers an unideological view on the pragmatic potentials of landscape design for enhancing the built environment.
• Alissa North. Operative Landscapes – Building Communities Through Public Space. BIRKHÄUSER 2013. ISBN: 978-3-0346-1085-8