5 Countries Where Landscape Architecture is Booming

The worldwide economic crisis has clobbered the labor forces of all professions quite harshly. And in the frame of a squeezing budget, funding tends to center on basic needs, such as education, health care, and food industries (and undoubtedly wars, but let us not go there). Meanwhile, the land development market — unfortunately considered to be a secondary necessity — tends to be among the fields suffering the most. Since 2008, many landscape architects have been let go worldwide, especially in the United States having a huge impact on landscape architecture . However, while “booming” might be to some extent exaggerated, there seems to be a great demand for professionals in the landscape construction and sustainable energy domains in several countries. So if you are a landscape architect searching for a job in a country other than your own and feel like a mislaid needle in the hay, you might want to start looking here: 5. India

While this might not be the ideal place for individual financial growth, India is a great target for passionate landscape activists. Jo Guldi, a historian of infrastructure at the Harvard Society of Fellows, writes that India is the world’s most experienced nation with rainwater harvesting, participatory mapping, and other community-governed sustainable solutions. Indeed, with many institutions there working on rural development, participatory planning, and youth-and gender-based projects, India provides a unique and adventurous opportunity to get the experience of a lifetime.  4. Australia The “unknown land of the south” is not only home to a wide variety of landscapes (including the world’s largest coral reef, subtropical rainforests, mountains, and deserts), but also one of the world’s most developed economies. According to the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ employment statement in 2012, there is a high demand for landscape architects due to the increase in people’s awareness of the planning and development of their landscapes, as well as alarming issues such as climate change. Moreover, the profession of landscape architecture has succeeded in maintaining a position on the listings for immigration published by the Commonwealth even during times of tight employment opportunities. 3. Denmark Despite the failure of the Copenhagen Climate Summit, the capital of Denmark was chosen for the conduction of this accord for a reason. The city aims to become the world’s first CO2 neutral capital by 2025. Accordingly, Copenhagen has been investing a great deal in the landscape architecture, green and sustainable design and energy sectors. Research from October 2011 shows that the latter have experienced a 55 percent increase in turnover within five years, 12 percent annual growth rates in exports, and an increase in productivity four times higher than the regional average. (Architecture and Urban Design Excellence [a.ude]) 2. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) In a span of about 40 years, the landscapes of the Emirates were transformed from bare deserts to urban jungles of massive towers. With this rapid makeover came the need for a sustainable solution to, first, make living in these new cities desirable in their extreme climate conditions and, second, to create lush gardens that match the Emirati utopias. So can you guess who is extensively hired to make this happen? 1. China It is no surprise that the Asian economic giant ranks number one in landscape job opportunities. Over the past decade, China — especially Shanghai and Beijing — has gone through an immensely fast land development that is still ongoing. Adding to that, the Chinese government canceled the landscape architecture profession from its university programs for a few years, labeling it as unessential. With that, the Chinese estate is not only facing a huge need for landscape architects, but also paying them quite well! This comprehensive list is not based on quantitative statistics and disregards the employment probability variance among applicants from different cultures and educational backgrounds. It does, however, give a realistic estimate based on trusted sources from professionals and landscape organizations working or originating from the listed countries. Article written by Dalia Zein Feature image: vvoe / shutterstock.com

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