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Thanks for getting in on the discussion Steve. I t would appear I have much to learn regarding urbanism, but I’m an eager student.

I don’t want to backtrack on what I stated, but I made a few comments, such as Duany ‘hating LA’s’ in order to attempt to ruffle some feathers so to speak, though I did read a statement by someone else ( I think on…[Read more]

I think Chad is correct Practice Act game over, not really an argument. What you need to find out is what allowances there are for landscape designers in your practice act if any exist. I’ve seen some practice acts allow certain allied professionals to do landscape architecture work under certain circumstances. Why should we protect it and why do…[Read more]

Trace One, you’ve GOTTA be kidding!!! Go to Portland, which has the most famous urban growth boundaries, and look at the new development within those boundaries. I’ve driven there for many miles, and never found a single place amongst the new (post-UGB) developments that wasn’t built according to the same crappy standards as sprawl. NU, OTOH,…[Read more]

Nick, there are many NU infill projects… they just don’t get the press the greenfields do because infill projects have to address so many existing conditions that they’re necessarily less iconic in almost all cases. But if you count the total number of NU projects, a shockingly high number are infill.

Today is a makeshift solution. Tomorrow is better. Here’s what I mean by that: today (or at least until the meltdown) there was gonna be development on the perimeter no matter what. It’s far better, IMO, to do it in a way that sets the stage for a lower-energy future where you can’t drive everywhere than to do it in standard sprawl pattern so you…[Read more]

Celebration is a mistake NU had to make to realize how bad it was. We try lots of stuff. Things that work, we incorporate. Things that don’t, we discard. But you gotta try it to find out for sure. Celebration got stuff famously wrong in well-executed fashion. Stapleton had good intentions, but bad execution. There’s far better stuff than either of…[Read more]

See below. Not true. Not only is his own brother a landscape architect, but his Charlotte office is putting out some really cool stuff in their Light Imprint initiative that every LA needs to take a look at, IMO: http://bit.ly/8XFflP

Part of the problem of affordability is the lack of real diversity of unit types and sizes. I laid out the principles of Katrina Cottages on the Saturday after the hurricane with Duany, and the biggest impediment we’ve had to date has been based purely on their square footage. I live in a 747 square foot condo on South Beach. A house that size…[Read more]

Several responses:

“I think the planning priciples of NU are generally good ideas as ONE answer to suburban sprawl”

What other answers are there that have moved beyond theory to having been proven in practice? Not saying there aren’t any; I’m just not aware of them.

“As far as people driving to shop and dine in a nu community- I dont think that…[Read more]

Hmm. Is it that LAs are catching on to the fact that if more land is developed along New Urbanist dictum then there will be less land to design “landscaping” for? Really, most of them don’t have extensive planted areas, the space in front of homes is narrow, backyards are small. That makes for less work for the LA, so one position to take is that…[Read more]

First, you oughta ask IF we hate New Urbanism, not WHY. And your news on Duany is erroneous. His brother Douglas is a landscape architect, and they get along quite famously. It was Douglas, as a matter of fact, that sparked Andrés’ conception of the Transect. His objection isn’t landscape architecture in general, but rather the attempt to turn…[Read more]

Hilarious! Food AND landform – what could be better?!

That’s great! Love it when ordindary objects have a sense of humor.

Excellent link – thanks for sharing!

I enjoyed and appreciate the cynicism…

That’s a great letter. Thanks.

I think issues of liability become the greatest reason, not to mention specific expertise and training that LA’s have that quite frankly most LD’s don’t. As a LD I have actually done a few planting and irrigation plans for commercial projects, but for the GC/LG responsible for the project. I’ve had to turn down work because a few communities…[Read more]

Yes, we do have a practice act.
Your points echo my thinking, but your statement is much more succinct than my thoughts. Thanks for the input.

Chad,
I’m assuming (I know, bad to do), that you are in a state that has a practice law. The main advantage is that a landscape architect is a licensed professional, with the education/training and liability that goes with licensure. I don’t know if there are requirements in the location in question for being a “landscape designer”. If LA’s are…[Read more]

Brent,
Thanks for sharing the article. It was a very interesting read.

Thanks,
David