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This autobiographical reflection traces my work in land suitability analysis and plan-making. The suitability practice has resulted in two rating systems: the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System and Green Business Certification Inc.’s SITES Rating System. Plans have been made for US counties, cities, and towns; Italian provinces; regions and watersheds; and university campuses. My practice is grounded in human ecology. I have attempted to address the issues people face with an especial focus on environmental quality and social equity. Examples of work from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, and Texas in the United States as well as Italy and Mexico are noted. I explore how reflection, often with collaborators and students, has informed my practice and how it can help advance the fields of planning and landscape architecture.

An illustrated chronology follows Ian McHarg’s life from Clydebank, Scotland, UK to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Key personal, professional, and academic events are noted.

Ian McHarg was a major ecological theorist and practitioner in the second half of the twentieth century. Bibliographic information about his work is presented.

The visual appearance of built environments reflects the values of their inhabitants. As a result, socio-ecological practice needs to consider aesthetics. Ecological aesthetics involve sensual connections to natural and cultural processes. The Sustainable SITES Initiative provides an example of the application of ecosystem services that may result in such an aesthetic. Entropy suggests everything moves from order to disorder. Negentropy reverses that tendency. Design and planning may be viewed as tools for negentropy and aesthetics as a visual manifestation of such interventions.

Most of humanity lives in urban regions. The number of people inhabiting cities is expected to continue to grow through this century. As our species becomes more urban and increases our effects on the planet, our relationships with natural systems will continue to change. We need wisdom to adapt to changes in this new era, called the Anthropocene. Overarching challenges and questions include: Will we continue to deplete ecosystem services as we expand our urban footprints? Or, will we learn how to enhance and create ecosystem services through city planning and urban design? The planning process can help humanity to adapt to these challenges. Ecological knowledge can help inform and guide the planning process. Such a process might even produce wisdom through application and reflection. An example of the Austin, Texas (USA) comprehensive planning process is provided to illustrate the prospects.

AbstractLand trusts have been widely recognized as a successful method for preserving agricultural land, historic buildings, scenic views, trails, wetlands, and wildlife areas of biological importance in the United States. In Mexico, such land trusts are practically unknown. In the Mexican‐U.S. border region, where landscapes are rapidly deteriorating and habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate, private conservation might prove an invaluable asset as a complement or alternative to slow‐developing intergovernmental conservation agreements. This paper examines the main issues for the application of land trust mechanisms in Mexico and concludes that, in spite of limitations, it is an alternative of great promise and potential.

Abstract: The protection of wetlands and riparian areas has emerged as an important environmental planning issue. In the United States, several federal and state laws have been enacted to protect wetlands and riparian areas. Specifically, the federal Clean Water Act includes protection requirements in Sections 301 and 303 for state water quality standards, Section 401 for state certification of federal actions (projects, permits, and licenses), and Section 404 for dredge and fill permits. The Section 401 water quality state certification element has been called the “sleeping giant” of wetlands protection because it empowers state officials to veto or condition federally permitted or licensed activities that do not comply with state water quality standards. State officials have used this power infrequently. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effectiveness of state wetland and riparian programs. Contacts were established with officials in each state and in the national and regional offices of key federal agencies. Based on interviews and on a review of federal and state laws, state program effectiveness was analyzed. From this analysis, several problems and opportunities facing state wetland protection efforts are presented.

Abstract: One of the major issues facing the world is the interrelated problem of deforestation and concurrent degradation of agricultural lands in tropical and subtropical nations. Agroforestry is one technique to help alleviate this problem. Implementation of newly developed agroforestry techniques in various places all over the world, has made it clear that:

A working method for landscape planning is proposed. There are 11 steps in this method. In step one, an issue (or set of related issues) is identified as posing a problem or an opportunity to people and/or the environment. In step two, a goal (or several goals) is established to address the problem. In steps three and four, ecological inventories and analyses are conducted at two scales, first at the regional level (drainage basins are suggested as an appropriate unit) and then at the landscape level (watersheds are recommended). These inventories and analyses consider human ecology as well as bio-physical processes. Step five involves detailed studies, such as suitability analyses, that link inventory and analysis information to the problem(s) and goal(s). In step six, concepts are developed that lead to a landscape (watershed) master plan in step seven. During step eight, the plan is explained through a systematic educational effort to the affected public. In step nine, detailed designs are developed. In step 10 the plan and designs are implemented. Step 11 involves administering and monitoring the plan. The method is explained through an example of soil conservation planning. The case study was undertaken in the Missouri Flat Creek watershed of the Palouse region in the Pacific Northwest (U.S.A.) to help achieve the goals for erosion control established by the federal Food Security Act of 1985 and state clean water legislation.

Abstract: This article is the third in a series prepared to explain the Teller County growth management planning process. Once it was determined by local decision-makers that Teller County, Colorado, would pursue a policy of directed growth, concepts based on this policy were developed. These concepts presented visions and options for the future. Landscape plans then were developed for Teller County and the City of Woodland Park planning area so that these options could be visualized by local leaders and the public. The landscape plans were used as part of the ongoing citizen involvement process to inform the public about the options for growth management. To provide even more information, detailed designs were developed for specific areas in the county. From the landscape plan, public involvement effort, and detailed designs, specific implementation measures were identified, discussed, and adopted. These measures included guidelines for administration, so that county and city goals could be linked to the actual day-to-day management of development proposals.

Abstract: This is the second of three articles prepared to explain the Teller County growth management process. As part of an ongoing growth management process in Teller County, Colorado, opportunities and constraints for development and conservation were identified. The scenic mountain county faces a number of issues because of growth. The recognition of those issues has resulted in the goal to direct future growth to the most appropriate and cost-effective places. To determine those places that are best for new development, thorough ecological inventories were conducted for the entire county as well as for the City of Woodland Park area. From these inventories, environmentally sensitive areas were identified. The environmentally sensitive areas were considered constraints in conducting suitability analyses for a variety of potential land uses. The suitability analyses resulted in the identification of opportunities for future growth in Teller County generally as well as the more specific Woodland Park planning area. This article, like the other two, is part of a reflective analysis by the planners who were involved.

Abstract: This article is the first in a series of three. These articles were prepared to document the growth management process undertaken in Teller County, Colorado, USA. In this article, an 11-step method for landscape planning is proposed. In step 1, an issue, or set of related issues, is identified as posing a problem and/or opportunity to people and/or the environment. In step 2, a goal, or several goals, is established to address the problem or opportunity. In steps 3 and 4, inventories and analyses of biophysical and sociocultural processes are conducted, first at the regional level and then at the local level. Step 5 involves detailed studies (such as suitability analyses) that link the inventory and analysis information to the problems or opportunities and goals. Detailed studies link regional and local information to specific sites. Thus, this method involves a regional-local-specific site hierarchy. In step 6, concepts are developed that lead to a landscape plan in step 7. During step 8, the plan is explained through a systematic educational and citizen involvement effort to the affected public. In step 9, detailed designs are developed that again are explained to the specific individuals who will be impacted by the designs. It is in step 10 when the plan and designs are implemented. Step 11 involves the administration of the plan. The method is illustrated through an example of growth management planning for Teller County and the city of Woodland Park, Colorado.

King County, Washington is a part of the rapidly growing Pacific Northwest region. This growth has placed pressure on stream corridors. Past studies about regional stream corridors provide a rich source of information for environmental planners and managers. This article draws on existing literature and case studies to provide guidelines for determining optimal stream corridor widths in a watershed located in King County, Washington.

King County, Washington is part of the rapidly growing Pacific Northwest region. Analysis of past and current federal, state, and county regulations and administation reveals how stream corridors have been protected to date. This article draws on scientific literature and a case study to suggest future management strategies and guidelines for controlling development in King County watersheds.

Whitman County, Washington, USA, one of the largest wheat producing counties in the country, developed a land evaluation and site assessment system for evaluating proposed conversions of agricultural land to heavy commercial uses. The system uses soil potential indices to determine a land evaluation score and a nine-factor site assessment system to weigh suitability for development. Details on each of these are provided along with results for four sample sites.

Soil conservation has been a matter of federal natural resource policy for over a half century in the United States. A variety of federal programs have been undertaken to encourage soil conservation. There are goals which are essential to these programs, and there are related ancillary programs with different goals which often have had an impact on the extent to which the central soil conservation objectives have been effectively implemented. This article analyzes four aspects of federal soil conservation goals and programs: the evolution of the constellation of soil conservation goals, the problems with goal implementation, implementation effectiveness, and the appropriateness of the implementation and administration of federal goals.

There is a growing need to develop methods for analyzing resource suitability that are both legally defensible and accurate. Three approaches to suitability analysis are reviewed: the US Soil Conservation Service capability classification and important farmlands mapping; the McHarg, or Pennsylvania, suitability analysis method; and Dutch approaches to suitability analysis. Computer applications and the carrying-capacity concept are briefly reviewed. Three applications of suitability analysis are discussed: examples from Medford Township, New Jersey; Whitman County, Washington; and Abuja, the new federal capital city of Nigeria.

Beginning with the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, the federal government of the United States has enacted numerous pieces of legislation intended to protect or conserve the environment. Other national governments have also enacted environmental legislation during the past two decades. State and local governments have also adopted policies concerned with environmental planning and management. Multiple laws and overlapping governmental agency responsibilities have confused development and resource management efforts. A comprehensive methodology that integrates the legal mandates and the agency missions into a common and unified framework is needed. Ecological planning offers such a method. Application of the method allows planners and resource managers to better understand the nature and character of the land and/or resource and therefore make better decisions about its appropriate use or management. The steps taken in an ecological planning process—1) goal setting, 2) inventory and analysis of data, 3) suitability analysis, 4) developing alternatives, 5) implementation, 6) administration, and 7) evaluation—are outlined and explained. Hand-drawn overlays and computer programs as techniques for handling ecological planning information are compared. Observations and suggestions for further research are offered.

The US Soil Conservation Service has developed an agricultural land evaluation and site assessment (LESA) system. The LESA system is being used by the US Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies to implement the Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981. The LESA system and three case studies from the Pacific North-west are introduced in this article.

The article Toward an ecological aesthetic, written by Frederick Steiner, was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 2 January 2019 with open access.

The article reports on the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, signed by U.S. President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The law will create and protect more than two million acres of wilderness and national parks, wild and scenic rivers, historic sites, scenic trails, and others. However, the authors say that the areas included in the law are limited only to areas administered by the Bureau of Land Management, which may not be beneficial to others states.

The article discusses the design and construction of a park in Beijing, China. The article describes how the Beijing Olympic Forest Park is being built in anticipation of the 2008 Summer Olympic games. Details are provided regarding the Olympic Green, the landscape architect firm Sasaki Associates, and primary landscape designer Jie Hu. The use of feng shui principles, ceremonial rocks, and water recycling systems is also discussed.

Presents the views of several architects based on questions posed by the magazine "Landscape Architecture" about landscape architecture. Michael Dennis; Merril Elam; Peter Eisenman; Margaret Helfand; Susan Maxman.

The article features the late Ian L. McHarg, reputedly the father of ecological planning. He was a British commando during World War II, entered Harvard University to study landscape architecture and thereafter went to Scotland to help rebuild it. He returned to the U.S. upon invitation and began the graduate department of landscape architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He devoted his advocacy on focusing human interests in decision making and including their concerns about man's relationship to nature.

The article describes the environmentally-friendly buildings of bureaucrats in the Netherlands. The author mentions that the Dutch have found that well-designed surroundings help organizations and businesses to attract and retain workers. He refers to the Alterra Institute in Wageningen which has a parking lot designed by landscape architect Thijs van Hees. He notes that the roof of the Alterra building has multilayered roof gardens that retain water, reducing on-site stormwater flows.

The article offers a look at the contributions of landscape architecture research James Palmer to the landscape design in the Netherlands. It explores the career of Palmer in landscape architecture. It provides an overview of the research conducted by Palmer, along with its significance to the landscape identity of the Netherlands. It also highlights the views of architects on Palmer's research.

In this article, the author challenges landscape architects to move beyond sustainability as a goal for landscape design. The author suggests that several criteria are necessary in order for this to occur including ecological literacy, a greater appreciation of how time affects landscape, and the need to design landscape projects that can adapt, amaze and seduce. In addition, it is argued that designed landscapes, such as New York City's Central Park, must be beautiful and must evoke emotions.

A 9-year-old girl with meningomyelocele, an ileal conduit and a living related kidney transplant presented with a progressive gait disturbance. Radiographic evaluation included a computerized tomography scan that disclosed a large right psoas muscle abscess. The abscess cavity was drained percutaneously and culture of its contents yielded Pasteurella multocida. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of a psoas muscle abscess caused by an uncommon organism that was diagnosed and treated by nonoperative methods.