Bridging the gap between planning process in municipalities and landscape architecture studies and research in Latvia

• Main Authors: Natalija Ņitavska, Daiga Zigmunde, Madara Markova, Una Īle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 2016-12-01
• Series: Journal of Architecture and Urbanism
• Subjects: service learning; planning process; work-based studies; territorial development; Institutional University
• Online Access: https://journals.vgtu.lt/index.php/JAU/article/view/2380
• ISSN: 2029-7955; 2029-7947

This article deals with the implementation stages and approaches of the trilateral cooperation “university – student – local government” as well as the benefits and limiting aspects in a real territory planning context. The research summarises the evaluation of the Latvia University of Agriculture (LUA) landscape architecture studies experience in cooperation with 41 municipal and national organisations and 4 unions from Latvia since 2013. Key findings point to the following benefits: the university as a provider of study process obtains a better insight into the topical problems and issues regarding the territorial/territory planning, it has an opportunity to promote the study programmes and the work quality of the future specialists; the greatest benefit for the students is that they can be better prepared for a real work in their chosen profession and they gain experience in real project work which later will be reflected in their CVs; the gain for the local governments is that they have a scientific substantiation for making more appropriate decisions with regard to the further development of the territory, and they have more variants of ideas for a specific territorial development. Restricting factor is time which is determined by the study courses.