The Autumn 2020 Landscape Journal is now available to read. This edition will be online only. Commissioning editor Paul Lincoln gives an overview of what to expect in this edition on ‘Greener Recovery: Tackling Climate Emergency and COVID-19’
Read the Autumn 2020 Journal at our Issuu page
Do we turn on the light in the morning or is the light of daybreak sufficient for finding matching stockings?
This question, asked by Ugandan climate activist Hilda F Nakabuye, keynote speaker at the LI’s Climate Emergency CPD Day, highlights the balance between the professional and the personal, the global and the local, and was at the heart of this online event organised by the LI in September, now available to watch on LI Campus (read the article).
As COVID-19 rearranges our world, spaces that are normally managed by landowners and designed by landscape architects have become radically altered by the habits of their users. We asked six practitioners to watch their local spaces and report on the changes that have taken place, from Beirut to Bristol, and Roding Valley to a refugee camp in Ethiopia (article).
Hilda F Nakabuye also said, ‘my continent, Africa, barely emits 4% of global carbon emissions, but it is suffering the most’. The relationship between climate emergency, landscape justice and the way in which we recover from COVID-19 is addressed throughout the journal.
With only a few years remaining to turn the tide on global climate change and biodiversity loss, it is vital that our economic recovery from COVID-19 addresses this, by investing in green, nature-based infrastructure. This is the argument put forward in Greener Recovery, published by the LI in September (article).
A plea for equity in landscape is made by Graham Duxbury, who asks if we can we make both a green and a fair recovery (article). The notion of landscape justice is considered by Matthew Ling who highlights the effect of a lack of tree cover on deprived communities (article); the impact of increased access to cycling is explored by Anna Sieczak (article) and Steve McAdam and Gabrielle Appiah consider how we engage effectively with a diverse range of communities (article).
One of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic is the assumed flight from the city. If this is happening, it will be useful to consider the initiatives being taken by The Landscape Practice and Marks Barfield Architects, who describe some of their inner-city approaches (article) and by Urban Splash, which is building a new development in Cambridge (article). Carole Wright honours Mary Seacole with a brand new Lambeth Walk (article). We also look at a new book by Tom Armour and Andrew Tempany (article), and ask the author of the recently published New life in Public Squares to look at the impact of COVID-19 on public space (article).
In line with the LI’s Climate Emergency Declaration and the challenges of widespread remote working, the LI will be trialing online-only editions of the Autumn and Winter 2020 Landscape Journal. Moving to online-only means a significant reduction in the carbon footprint associated with the Journal, as well as opening up opportunities to include more interactive content such as video or links to relevant content.
Whilst I appreciate the benefits of online publications, overall I would prefer to continue receiving (and reading) a print version of the Journal. Are the carbon calculations for savings which might be achieved by going online only available to members.
I would also prefer a paper copy of the journal but do appreciate the value of a digital version being available as well. Perhaps consideration could be given to allowing members to chose and then to adopt an ‘off-setting’ policy that could be factored into the cost of the journal. It would be helpful to undertake an assessment of the carbon costs and savings but also to assess the wider benefits of having a printed version available for members.