Journal of Landscape Architecture - October 01, 2016

The issue features an interview with Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), where she answers questions on various areas of common interest and concern with the landscape profession about nature, environment and development.

The issue also includes the study of Agra presenting a perspective of looking at a city as part of a larger natural region. The feature on revival of Naubad Karez in Karnataka tries to integrate the traditional water system with the present day planning while Birkha Bawari in Rajasthan, celebrates the design vocabulary of traditional step well, using vernacular materials and traditional building techniques, in a contemporary social context of a group housing. A dilapidated quarry site located in the foothills of the mountain range of Aravalli, in the midst of an urban jungle is restored as a public park in an ecologically sensitive way – reviving the native flora. We need many such projects in urban realms, especially wastelands and dilapidated sites where along with the functional requirements, environ-mental and social parameters become an integral part of the design process. Another public park in the city adopts a completely different design expression – Nehru Park, celebrating five decades of its inception. The feature on the park researches its history, design ideas and development while mapping its documentation process.