Margaret Grose

Thinking backwards can inform concerns about ‘incomplete’ data

Ecologists often feel that they need complete data before they are able to advise or make decisions. Thinking backwards, an idea from mathematics, suggests that we need to focus on the desired outcome to tell us which way to go for practical solutions for our ecological ambitions.

Practice wisdom from planners, developers, environmentalists, and other players finding the ‘true debates’ in suburban development in south-western Australia

Abstract Key stakeholder or practitioner groups in suburban development, namely planners in both private consultancies and local government, developers, community leaders, and allied professions (hydrologists, environmental scientists, landscape architects, architects) were asked through semi-structured in-depth interviews about their beliefs regarding the problems relating to practice of new residential subdivisions in Western Australia. Forty people were interviewed, with interviews lasting between 1.5–2 hours, some within site visits to suburbs under construction. There was a general consensus on the lack of the translation of environmental concerns into outcomes, and frustration in the opportunities for more creative and less policy-constrained development. Priority areas for better suburban outcomes were identified as statutory change to land allocation (85% of planners), better retention of topography (73% across all practitioners), and environmental education of the disciplines (48% across all practitioners). The ‘true debate’ was leaving “lasting positive legacies” regarding the environment.

Perth's Stephenson‐Hepburn Plan of 1955

Gordon Stephenson and J Hepburn were engaged in 1953 by the Western Australian Government to provide a first metropolitan regional plan for Perth and its port Fremantle as the basis for a holistic scheme for controlling land use. The plan produced, known as the StephensonHepburn Plan (1955) established many planning standards, and became widely accepted as the definitive study of the factors influencing the future development of Perths metropolitan region (Carr 1979). The amount of land given as public open space (POS) in the StephensonHepburn Plan was based on density of persons in a given area, and a standard of 0.5 acres per 1,000 persons was established. The 0.5 acres per 1,000 persons was taken, and continues to be taken in practice, to represent 10% of POS of land released per development.

Landscape practice in the Middle East between local and global aspirations

Abstract In the Middle East today, there are strong tensions between global and local aspirations in landscape architectural projects. Modernism, introduced to major cities in the Middle East, led to design approaches that are detached from local context, some adopting a tabula rasa attitude to site or inspired by Western models with little adaptation. Ambitious designers who seek to celebrate local values through context-based designs face dilemmas between client-driven global aspirations and local contextual particularities. This perspective essay critically reviews landscape design approaches in the region against discourses of Modernism, regionalism and critical regionalism. Projects in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Muscat were examined to provide a spectrum of current trends in landscape practices. Insights gained show that valuing intangible cultural meanings attached to landscapes, acknowledging particular ecological processes and working within the profound connections between culture and ecology, are critical to inform future design strategies.

Small Decisions in Suburban Open Spaces: Ecological Perspectives from a Hotspot of Global Biodiversity Concerning Knowledge Flows between Disciplinary Territories

Abstract What are some of the ‘small decisions’ in the life of new suburbs and how can small decisions engage with up-to-date knowledge to obtain the best ecological outcomes? Topography and soils, plant species and species selection, safety, and light, were taken as cases of small decisions in suburban development and ecological knowledge related to them is discussed. For each example, the sites of decision-making and knowledge were mapped in the context of academic and workplace ‘knowledge tribes and territories’. Mapping revealed disconnections between where each small decision was made and where knowledge was held which, if addressed, could lead to better ecological outcomes. Ways of countering or moderating the tension between the disparity in the position of decision-making and the knowledge-sources are suggested for small decisions about landscapes.

Inverse problem-solving helps us to collect the needed data: a reply to Falcy.

Falcy [1] agrees about the importance of data, which was the topic of my paper on thinking backwards as a method to inform clarity in decision-making [2]. However, he does not address the problem worrying many scientists in the field of conservation, that of working with a sense of ‘incomplete data’, which is noted in the ecological literature as delaying decision-making and good conservation outcomes [3]. Such delays have been seen as contributing to species loss [4,5]; thus, this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed in as many ways as we can for the very reason that, within our ignorance of systems, we still have to make decisions.