Understanding Metropolitan Landscapes

by Andrew MacKenzie (Author)

Understanding Metropolitan Landscapes considers and reflects on the fundamental relationships between metropolitan regions and their landscapes. It investigates how planning and policy help to protect, manage and enhance the landscapes that sustain our urban settlements. As global populations become more metropolitan, landscapes evolve to become increasingly dynamic and entropic; and the distinction between urban and non-urban is further fragmented and yet these spaces play an increasingly important role in sustainable development.

This book opens a key critical discussion into the relational aspects of city and landscape and how each element shapes the boundaries of the other, covering topics such as material natures, governance systems, processes and policy. It presents a compendium of concepts and ideas that have emerged from landscape architecture, planning, and environmental policy and landscape management.

Using a range of illustrated case studies, it provokes discussions on the major themes driving the growth of cities by exploring the underlying tensions around notions of sustainable settlement, climate change adaption, urban migration, new modes of governance and the role of landscape in policy and decision making at national, provincial and municipal levels

Review
'Cities around the world, especially in Asia, are struggling to adapt to the immense pressures of urban migration, climate change, and pollution. Dr. MacKenzie's critical analysis of the role of landscapes in urban planning, management, and governance is an immensely valuable resource for students and professionals alike. I am pleased that this book has adopted a global approach to exploring how institutions, communities, and individuals negotiate the competing priorities between the 'urban' and 'nature' that make up cities of the 21st century.' - Associate Professor Wu Jing Wuhan University School of Urban Design.

About the Author
Andrew MacKenzie is a registered landscape architect and honorary senior lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia (ANU). Andrew has a Master of Public Policy (specialising in Environmental Law) and a Doctor of Philosophy from ANU. He is the co-chair of the National Advocacy Committee for the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.