%0 Journal Article
%T Design-with-Nature for Multifunctional Landscapes: Environmental Benefits and Social Barriers in Community Development
%A Bo Yang
%A Ming-Han Li
%A Shujuan Li
%J International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/ijerph10115433
%X Since the early 1970s, Ian McHarg¡¯s design-with-nature concept has been inspiring landscape architects, community and regional planners, and liked-minded professionals to create designs that take advantage of ecosystem services and promote environmental and public health. This study bridges the gap in the literature that has resulted from a lack of empirical examinations on the multiple performance benefits derived through design-with-nature and the under-investigated social aspect emanated from McHarg¡¯s Ecological Determinism design approach. The Woodlands, TX, USA, an ecologically designed community development under McHarg¡¯s approach, is compared with two adjacent communities that follow the conventional design approach. Using national environmental databases and multiple-year residents¡¯ survey information, this study assesses three landscape performance metrics of McHarg¡¯s approach: stormwater runoff, urban heat island effect, and social acceptance. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to assess the development extent and land surface temperature distribution. Results show that McHarg¡¯s approach demonstrates benefits in reducing runoff and urban heat island effect, whereas it confronts challenges with the general acceptance of manicured landscapes and thus results in a low safety perception level when residents interact with naturally designed landscapes. The authors argue that design-with-nature warrants multifunctionality because of its intrinsic interdisciplinary approach. Moreover, education and dissemination of successful examples can achieve a greater level of awareness among the public and further promote multifunctional design for landscape sustainability.
%K environmental planning
%K stormwater management
%K interdisciplinary design
%K landscape performance
%K landscape preference
%K GIS
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/5433