9 Unmissable TED Talks for Landscape Architects

TED has certainly been an inspirational platform for anybody looking for insights into how do we things, live and develop the world around us, delving into psychology, scientific breakthroughs, pioneering thinking and much much more. With so many topics covered TED was bound to touch on landscape architecture related topics, such as cities, biodiversity, social integration and world of design. We’ve filtered through the impressive, stimulating and always intriguing world of TED to bring you 9 Unmissable TED talks for Landscape Architects; of course we don’t expect you to watch all of these TED talks at once, so take our LAN 9 Day TED Challenge and watch one a day for the next 9 days; easy, entertaining and you may even be inspired! 1. Ron Finley: A guerilla gardener in South Central LA “the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.” – Ron Finley Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. In this inspiring talk Ron gives us all a reality check and offers us a creative alternative to public interaction within the city landscape. Over 2 million views 2. Marla Spivak: Why Bees Are Disappearing Marla Spivak reveals four reasons for the colossal downturn of the world wide bee population, proposing it as a major problem that must be addressed for the health of us and the planet. Over 1,5 million views 3. The 4 commandments of cities The mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes shares four big ideas about leading Rio— and all cities — into the future, including daring infrastructure upgrades and how to turn the city into a “Smart City”. Over 640K views 4. Erik Schlangen: A “self-healing” asphalt In this short talk Erik gives us a brief yet effective experiment that can lead to a whole generation of self healing roads, with a little help from a heating apparatus. If successful pot holes could become a thing of the past and countless amounts of resources could be redirected for better use. If innovative roads are your thing make sure you check out our hit article Will These Solar Roadways Change The World? Over 800k views 5.  Mitchell Joachim: Don’t build your home, grow it! Vibrant speaker, TED Fellow and urban designer Mitchell Joachim shares his vision for sustainable, organic architecture: eco-friendly abodes grown from plants, change the way we think about design. Over 900k views 6. Candy Chang: Before I Die I Want to… This is an emotional video which is sure to pull at your heart strings and by the end of it, you’re going to want to start a similar initiative in your neighborhood. Artist and TED Fellow Candy Chang took abandoned house, created a giant chalkboard on the side of it and posed the thought “Before I die I want to ___.” Her neighbors’ answers — surprising, poignant, funny. This is without doubt a talk we insist that you watch! Over 3.4 million views 7. Kent Larson: Brilliant designs to fit more people in every city With city overcrowding becoming a global problem Kent Larson asks the question “How can we fit more people into cities without overcrowding?” Kent goes on to show off folding cars, quick-change apartments and other innovations that could make the city of the future work a lot like a small village of the past. Over 800k views 8. Edi Rama: Take back your city with paint Could making a city beautiful lessen the possibility of crime and corruption? Edi Rama took this deceptively simple path as mayor of Tirana, Albania, where he instilled pride in his citizens by transforming public spaces with colorful designs. With projects that put the people first, Rama decreased crime — and showed his citizens they could have faith in their leaders.  Over 500k views 9. Pam Warhurst: How we can eat our landscapes Pam is certainly an entertaining speaker, very easy to listen to which is important as she has a powerful message to communicate. Asking the question “What should a community do with its unused land?” The obvious answer is simply to plant food! Pam tells the story of how she and a growing team of volunteers came together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens, and to change how the community integrate food into their lives. Over 800k views That wraps up our 10 Unmissable TED talks for Landscape Architects, remember don’t try and watch them all at once, take our LAN 9 Day TED Challenge and watch one a day for the next 9 days. If you think there is a relevant TED talk that we’ve missed make sure to let us know! See also: 9 Unmissable Youtube Videos for Landscape Architects Article written by Scott D. Renwick