Different Jargon, Same Goals: Collaborations between Landscape Architects and Ecologists to Maximize Biodiversity in Urban Lawn Conversions

A. Haven Kiers, Billy Krimmel, Caroline Larsen-Bircher, Kate Hayes, Ash Zemenick and Julia Michaels
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A. Haven Kiers: Department of Human Ecology–Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Billy Krimmel: Miridae Living Labs, West Sacramento, CA 95691, USA
Caroline Larsen-Bircher: Miridae Living Labs, West Sacramento, CA 95691, USA
Kate Hayes: Miridae Landscape Architecture and Construction, West Sacramento, CA 95691, USA
Ash Zemenick: Sagehen Creek Field Station, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Julia Michaels: Hedgerow Farms, Winters, CA 95694, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Landscape architects and ecologists alike are embracing the opportunities urban areas present for restoring biodiversity. Despite sharing this goal, their efforts are rarely coordinated. For landscape architects, aesthetics and programming are at the forefront of design and must be given substantial attention, while ecologists look to scientific research to guide their decision-making. However, the lack of scientific research aimed at developing best ecological practices for native landscaping—particularly at small urban scales—make this difficult at a time when many residents are converting their lawns to more sustainable landscapes (“lawn conversions”). We survey literature from the fields of design and ecology to synthesize relevant information about small-scale urban landscaping projects and to identify instances in which practitioners from both fields are already “speaking the same language,” only with slightly different vocabulary. To further promote transdisciplinary collaborations, we present a new glossary tool to highlight these parallel concepts across fields. We discuss specific situations in which design priorities can be aligned with ecological function and propose that more attention should be placed on traditional principles of garden design, including perception, complexity and repetition, rhythm and order, proportion and scale, and form and structure. Finally, we argue that each new urban lawn conversion presents an opportunity to test ecological theory at the site-scale, conduct much-needed research on the impacts of design principles on habitat potential, and promote a collaborative urban ecological design aesthetic.

Keywords: urban landscape transformation; constructed ecologies; lawn conversions; urban ecological design; transdisciplinary collaboration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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