Landscape architecture

Article By:

Dawson, Kerry J. Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, California.

Last reviewed:December 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.370100

The art and profession of designing and planning landscapes. Landscape architects are concerned with improving the ways in which people interact with the landscape, as well as with reducing the negative impacts that human use has upon sensitive landscapes. The history of landscape architecture reaches from the gardens and outdoor environments of ancient civilizations to a broad base in environmental design in the twentieth century. Today, landscape architects are involved in such diverse areas as landscape and urban design, community and regional planning, interior and exterior garden design, appropriate and high technology, agricultural and rural land-use planning, parks and recreation, historic site and natural area preservation, landscape restoration and management, research and academic programs, energy and water conservation and environmental planning. Landscape architects find employment with private landscape architecture, engineering and planning firms; public agencies, including city, county and state design, planning, park and transportation department; federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service; and universities and colleges.

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