URP 314 — Principles of Landscape Design: Lecture Note

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LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Course code: URP 314 Course title: Principles of Landscape Design Course credit load: 2 Units List of Series: • Series 1: Concepts, Definition and Scope of Landscape Planning • Series 2: Elements and Principles of Landscape Design • Series 3: Landscape Design Process and Influencing Factors • Series 4: Landscape Evaluation Techniques and Typologies • Series 5: Applications and Management of Landscape Design 1 Concepts, Definition and Scope of Landscape Planning Series outline • Part 1 (1.1): Concepts and Definition of Landscape o Sub-Part 1.1.1: Definition and meaning of landscape o Sub-Part 1.1.2: Types and classification of landscapes o Sub-Part 1.1.3: Landscape as a human and natural system • Part 2 (1.2): Definition and Scope of Landscape Planning o Sub-Part 1.2.1: Definition of landscape planning and design o Sub-Part 1.2.2: Scope and subject matter of landscape planning o Sub-Part 1.2.3: Distinguishing landscape planning from related fields • Part 3 (1.3): Historical Development of Landscape Planning o Sub-Part 1.3.1: Ancient and pre-modern landscape traditions o Sub-Part 1.3.2: Landscape design in the modern era o Sub-Part 1.3.3: Landscape planning in the African and Nigerian context • Part 4 (1.4): Landscape Planning as a Profession and Discipline o Sub-Part 1.4.1: Landscape planning as a professional field o Sub-Part 1.4.2: Relationship between landscape planning and urban planning o Sub-Part 1.4.3: Values and ethics in landscape planning practice Introduction Landscape is everywhere. Every outdoor space a street, a park, a farm, a riverbank, a school compound is a landscape of some kind, shaped by the interaction of natural processes and human activity. Yet landscape is more than scenery; it is the lived environment in which communities grow food, gather, play, and find rest. Understanding what landscape is, how it is planned and designed, and why it matters is therefore foundational knowledge for any built environment professional.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS The aim of this Series is to equip you with the knowledge and skills to define landscape and landscape planning, describe the scope and historical development of the discipline, and explain its professional and ethical dimensions. We shall commence this Series by exploring the concept and definition of landscape and its classification. Next, we will examine the definition and scope of landscape planning and how it relates to adjacent disciplines. Following that, we will trace the historical development of landscape design from ancient traditions to the modern era and the Nigerian context. Finally, we will wrap up by examining landscape planning as a profession and its relationship with urban planning and professional ethics. Series Learning Outcomes Upon completing this Series, you should be able to: • SLO 1.1 define landscape and describe its types and characteristics as a human and natural system, • SLO 1.2 define landscape planning and describe its scope and subject matter, • SLO 1.3 trace the historical development of landscape planning from ancient traditions to the Nigerian context, • SLO 1.4 explain landscape planning as a profession and describe its relationship with urban planning and professional ethics. 1.1 Concepts and Definition of Landscape 1.1.1 Definition and meaning of landscape The word landscape derives from the Dutch landschap, originally meaning a patch of farmed ground. In contemporary usage, landscape refers to any portion of land that can be perceived as a coherent visual and ecological unit combining natural features such as landform, vegetation, water, and climate with human-made elements such as settlements, fields, roads, and cultural associations. The European Landscape Convention (2000) defines landscape as an area as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and human factors. This definition is significant because it recognises that landscape is not merely a physical condition but a relationship between people, place, and perception. Fill in the blank: The European Landscape Convention defines landscape as an area as perceived by people, shaped by the action and interaction of natural and __________ factors.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Short description: Image showing a typical Nigerian urban landscape with a mix of buildings, trees, open ground, and streets illustrating the interaction of natural and human elements. Plate 1.1 A Nigerian urban landscape the interaction of natural and human elements 1.1.2 Types and classification of landscapes Landscapes are classified in several ways. By origin: natural landscapes are those shaped primarily by physical and ecological processes with minimal human intervention, such as forests, wetlands, and coastal dunes; cultural landscapes are those shaped primarily by human activity over time, such as agricultural fields, urban parks, and historic gardens. By character: urban, peri-urban, rural, and wilderness landscapes each have distinct spatial, ecological, and experiential qualities. By function: recreational, agricultural, ecological, and infrastructural landscapes serve different human and environmental purposes. Understanding landscape classification helps planners identify appropriate design responses and management strategies for different landscape types. Fill in the blank: Natural landscapes are shaped primarily by physical and ecological processes while cultural landscapes are shaped primarily by __________ activity over time. 1.1.3 Landscape as a human and natural system Landscape is best understood as a system an interconnected whole in which natural processes and human activities continuously interact and influence one another. The natural subsystem includes geology, soils, hydrology, climate, and vegetation. The human subsystem includes land use, settlement patterns, infrastructure, and cultural practices. Changes in one subsystem affect the other: deforestation alters hydrology and climate; urbanisation modifies drainage and biodiversity; planting trees reduces urban heat. Thinking of landscape as a system rather than a static backdrop directs planners towards understanding dynamic processes and cumulative change, rather than responding only to visible surface conditions.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Fill in the blank: Thinking of landscape as a __________ directs planners towards understanding dynamic processes rather than responding only to visible surface conditions. Pilot questions 1.1 1. Which of the following best defines landscape? 2. Which type of landscape is shaped primarily by human activity over time? 3. What are the two subsystems that interact within a landscape system? 4. Fill in the blank: The European Landscape Convention was adopted in the year __________. 1.2 Definition and Scope of Landscape Planning 1.2.1 Definition of landscape planning and design Landscape planning is the discipline concerned with the analysis, design, management, and stewardship of outdoor environments at scales ranging from a single garden to a regional catchment. Landscape design refers more specifically to the creation of outdoor spaces gardens, parks, plazas, streetscapes, and greenways through the deliberate arrangement of landform, vegetation, water, paving, and structures. The two terms are often used together because both involve understanding natural and human systems, applying aesthetic and ecological principles, and making decisions that shape people's experience of outdoor space. Landscape planning tends to operate at the larger, more strategic scale while landscape design focuses on the detailed composition of specific sites. Fill in the blank: Landscape planning tends to operate at the larger __________ scale while landscape design focuses on the detailed composition of specific sites.

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS Short description: Diagram showing the spectrum of landscape practice from small-scale garden design through urban park design to large-scale regional landscape planning. Figure 1.1 The spectrum of landscape practice from garden design to regional landscape planning 1.2.2 Scope and subject matter of landscape planning The scope of landscape planning is broad. Its subject matter includes: urban greenspaces parks, squares, street trees, and green infrastructure; rural landscapes agricultural land, forests, and river corridors; coastal and water landscapes shorelines, wetlands, and flood plains; post-industrial and degraded landscapes brownfield sites, quarries, and eroded land; and cultural and heritage landscapes historic gardens, sacred groves, and traditional settlement patterns. Landscape planning also addresses ecological connectivity the linking of natural areas to support biodiversity and climate adaptation the use of green infrastructure to manage heat, flooding, and drought in urban and rural areas. Fill in the blank: Ecological connectivity refers to the linking of natural areas to support __________ across the landscape. 1.2.3 Distinguishing landscape planning from related fields Landscape planning overlaps with several related disciplines but is distinct from each. Urban planning addresses land use, development control, and infrastructure at the city or regional scale; landscape planning contributes the ecological and aesthetic dimensions of outdoor space within this broader framework. Horticulture focuses on plant cultivation; landscape planning uses plants as design elements within a larger spatial strategy. Environmental management addresses the conservation and management of natural resources; landscape planning contributes spatial design and planning skills to environmental management. Architecture designs buildings; landscape architecture designs the spaces between and around them. The integrative,

LA-NET | ONLINE LEARNING VIDEO PLATFORM FOR POST-SECONDARY & HIGHER INSTITUTION STUDENTS multi-scale, and cross-disciplinary character of landscape planning is its defining professional quality. Fill in the blank: The integrative, multi-scale, and __________ character of landscape planning is its

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