Landscape architects value sustainable landscapes and rethink the competences for sustainability

Abstract

LA is a discipline where sustainability goes without saying. The professional work addresses many aspects of sustainability ranging from the environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The competences of landscape education reflect the sustainable approach, but some aspects are still not very well developed and not made transparent within the curricula. The discourse of sustainability has evolved dramatically from the original definition of sustainable development by the Brundtland commission.Today we understand how immensely complex and deeply nuanced sustainability is. Yet to many it remains an abstraction. Landscape architect graduates often have difficulties making their contribution to enhancing sustainable landscapes explicit.