3. My Approach to Sustainability
What do I mean when I use the word sustainability? I am tempted to go the academic route here and spend a few paragraphs on the definition of the word, with a quote from the dictionary or something. But I’m not trying to write a scholarly thesis here, and there are entire books written on this subject that I won't repeat. For me, the core meaning of sustainability has to do with human beings simply living in balance with the natural systems of the planet, helping to sustain and regenerate them.
In trying to describe sustainability at the most general level, here is how I see it: as a living being, I require inputs and have outputs. This means I consume resources and produce what we normally think of as “waste”. However, different resources have different capacities to renew themselves, and different “waste” products have different values as resources to other living things. Because of this we can make intelligent choices about the resources we use that will increase the sustainability of our existence. In a perfectly sustainable system, we have what is called a closed loop: one organism’s life process produces a waste product that feeds another organism, which in turn produces waste to feed another, and so on, until the last organism’s waste product feeds the first one. I think we should always be striving towards this kind of system, even if it may not seem possible to completely close the loop.
Landscape Sustainability
Let’s get more specific to landscape architecture and garden design: on the surface it seems like any garden is inherently sustainable (literally “green”) and just by having one, you are supporting natural systems and ecological functions. Certainly a garden is likely to do more to sustain natural systems than a strip mine. However, in the details there are many popular landscape types and features that are doing more harm than good.
For example, the typical suburban lawn is going to require a lot more water, chemical fertilizers and toxic herbicides when compared to a meadow of native grasses and wildflowers. Not to mention a lawn’s lack of habitat value and a host of other issues. Or look at parking lots – the typical sea of asphalt at a shopping center is bad for the environment in many ways, and the same parking capacity can be provided in a more sustainable way. Planting areas could be added that collect and filter the rainwater from the paving; large shade trees can be planted to keep the asphalt and cars from heating up, and a well-designed pedestrian path system can make it a pleasure to leave the car behind and walk from store to store.
These are just a few quick examples to get you thinking about what sustainability means in a real, physical way. If you want to look at a parking lot at a different level, we shouldn't even have them, we should be living in dense neighborhoods with all the basic services we need within walking distance. But we can’t just abolish cars overnight either…
Where to start?
There are so many levels of decisions to make, and potential techniques out there that it may seem too overwhelming to know where to begin to make a landscape more sustainable. Of course, any little step you can take is good, but it is important to take a look at the bigger picture and do some planning and design to make sure you’re on the right track. Over the last few years, words like “Sustainability,” “Green,” and “Environmentally Responsible” have become extremely common, with both good and bad consequences. I’m thrilled that sustainability is part of everyday discussions, but all too often now you see businesses and products claiming to be “green” or “sustainable” when in fact they may have more negative than positive sustainability aspects. As someone who has paid attention to sustainable issues since starting Architecture school in the late 80’s I think it is more important than ever to be very careful about claims of sustainability. Call me biased, but I think the best way to avoid the “green-washing” out there is to consult with a design professional. We can provide you with a sustainability framework, perhaps based on one of the common green rating systems, and even provide you with avenues of research and reading.
Sustainability and Style
There is another important aspect of sustainability for me – I don’t think it should be thought of as a certain design style or trend, but something that should be incorporated into all designs, regardless of the style. For example, I don’t think a garden of California native plants has to look naturalistic, it can also have a more formal look, with symmetries, rectilinear geometries and cut stone pathways just as easily as it can have lots of curvy lines and dirt paths. I think there are some interesting stylistic things that have come out of the culture of sustainable design, such as biomorphic forms and bio-mimicry, but I think that you can still have a functionally sustainable design without them. I’m not arguing against designs that are inspired by nature and seek to be visually similar, in fact I love that kind of thing, I just think that for sustainability to stay in and permeate the mainstream, it has to be separated from those stylistic aspects.
Well, I feel in some ways like this discussion has covered far too many subjects in only a superficial way, but this is only the first in many writings on the subject in this Blog. I hope I’ve stirred things up in your mind and motivated you think more about the big S word, Sustainability.
References:
(a very few of the classic books that have influenced me, of the many out there):
The Web of Life, by Fritjo Capra
Ecological Design, by Sim Van Der Ryn and Stuart Cowan
Our Ecological Footprint, by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees
The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken
Introduction to Permaculture, by Bill Mollison