M. Elen Deming – författare

A practical, single-source guide to successful strategies for landscape architecture research As the scope of landscape architecture expands to engage with other disciplines, and streams of information directing this field continue to grow and diversify, it becomes increasingly important for landscape architects to be able to implement a range of effective research strategies when seeking, creating, and validating knowledge. Landscape Architecture Research offers a framework for advancing better design thinking solutions by supplying readers with a system of inquiry tactics that open up a wider range of research possibilities. With a logical and innovative approach that favors legitimacy of knowledge based on collective, grounded practices, rather than strict adherence to protocols drawn only from scientific models, this comprehensive, illustrated guide produces a sound argument for establishing a new paradigm for legitimizing research quality. Landscape Architecture Research presents: Case studies that show how the range of presented research strategies have been successfully used in practiceNew perspective on the relationship between theory, research, practice, and critique, a relationship that is specific to landscape architectureDetailed coverage of the ways that new knowledge is produced through research activities and practical innovations in landscape architectureThe first and only book on this topic of growing importance in landscape architecture, Landscape Architecture Research keeps professionals and students in step with the latest developments in landscape architecture, and delivers a dynamic and flexible game plan for verifying the integrity of their work.

The successful realisation of diversity, resilience, usefulness, profitability, or beauty in landscape design requires a firm understanding of the stakeholders' values. This collection, which incorporates a wide variety of geographic locations and cultural perspectives, reinforces the necessity for clear and articulate comprehension of the many factors that guide the design process.As the contributors to this collection reveal, dominant and emerging social, political, philosophical, and economic concerns perpetually assert themselves in designed landscapes, from manifestations of class consciousness in Napa Valley vineyards to recurring themes and conflicts in American commemorative culture as seen in designs for national memorials. One essay demonstrates the lasting impact of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny on the culture and spaces of the Midwest, while another considers the shifting historical narratives that led to the de-domestication and subsequent re-wilding of the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands. These eleven essays help foster the ability to conduct a balanced analysis of various value systems and produce a lucid visualization of the necessary tradeoffs. Offering an array of case studies and theoretical arguments, Values in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design encourages professionals and educators to bring self-awareness, precision, and accountability to their consideration of landscape designs.

Empty Pedestals uses a design perspective to explore how monuments to the Confederacy speak to regionalism, racist political agendas, and residual collective pain. Many designers and artists working in the public realm have created innovative projects to replace Confederate memorials, contextualize those that still stand, and foster new conversations about history, race, and justice in America. By drawing lessons from these initiatives and considering the questions that remain, editors Kofi Boone and M. Elen Deming hope to assist educators and students in combating endemic prejudice and other forms of social division.For more than a century, the endurance of Confederate monuments, street names, and other memorials in the United States has permitted proponents to establish false and oppressive arguments in defense of so-called historic preservation. The continued presence of these objects maintains symbolic forms of systemic injustice, exclusionary policies and practices, and erasure of the stories, memories, and values of marginalized populations in the American South. While many of these monuments have been taken down since 2017, they account for only a small percentage of the overall number of Confederate relics on public display.Boone and Deming, along with the volume's fourteen contributors, strive to elevate novel frameworks and shared solutions for the issues that continue to trouble American cultural landscapes. Above all, Empty Pedestals lifts up the voices of people who have confronted hateful narratives and devised strategies that stand up to, and apart from, old mythologies. If and when oppressive symbols such as Confederate monuments are permanently eliminated, design alternatives such as those presented here may offer healing in shared spaces, healthier social discourse, and stronger community resilience.