In the context of the Anthropocene, Ian McHarg’s “design with nature,” seems more relevant than ever.

Landscape architects have a critical role to play in shaping the evolution of an urbanizing planet to promote thriving ecosystems and avoid destructive practices. We have the capacity to heal degraded places, to address issues of social and environmental equity. We create experiences that bring people closer to the rivers, oceans, forests, animals, and microorganisms upon which our lives depend, thereby facilitating awareness, concern, and stewardship of our environments.  

The challenge to “design with nature” is not one of capacity or intent. It is one of agency and impact. Our small profession has yet to become a ubiquitous player in the transformation of the built environment. Our built work, though visionary and essential, constitutes but a fraction of the physical world. We have yet to connect the local to the global scale, and to create a market for landscape architects to contribute to the development of large-scale strategies. More in the realm of the demonstration garden than a pervasive and typical practice, landscape architecture has yet to be consistently valued as a necessity by politicians, clients, developers, and communities.  

If we are to build upon McHarg’s legacy, we must work to expand the ambitions of landscape architecture. We must increase the power of the discipline to effect real change at a scale that is meaningful. This means developing publics, through advocacy and education. There must be no mystery in what a landscape architect does, or in the necessity for landscape architects to lead. We need to form inter-professional / interdisciplinary alliances, working with our academic institutions to chart new territory. We need more landscape architects working in government and business, influencing policy and development. Above all, we need to leave behind the tired debates about science vs. art and research vs. creative practice and instead embrace the complex multiplicity that is the beauty of the discipline.