Summary: | This project introduces a way of operationalizing the idea of sustainability by applying its
principles to open space in the urban landscape. Landscape is defined as the land surface,
composed of a mosaic of ecosystems and land uses, that provides the setting for human activities.
The rationale for the project is that people are deeply influenced by and keenly interested in
landscape features, so landscape can serve as a medium for learning about sustainability because
our ways of using land form part of the broader picture of our relationship with the earth. The
landscape of urban areas deserves attention because urban dwellers experience it daily and
sometimes exclusively, and because of the global trend toward urbanization of natural landscapes.
Sustainability is conceptualized as a system characteristic that arises from three other
necessary conditions within the system: provision for ecological viability, provision of adequate
human life quality and consideration of equity. A landscape ecological model of sustainability
was operationalized by linking its variables to urban open space features via indicators constructed
from literature sources and based on visual assessment of observable landscape conditions. Use
of this landscape assessment tool (set of indicators) was demonstrated by assessing several test
sites in an urban district. The tool's usability was partially examined through trials with potential
users.
Three broad conclusions are drawn from the project. First, findings from the test sites
indicate that amenity functions in the urban landscape are only moderate and ecological functions
are unexpectedly high despite management for amenity. This suggests that urban ecosystems
could flourish and serve as repositories of ecological function if they were enhanced by planning
and management. Secondly, the urban open space assessment tool shows potential for usefully
operationalizing sustainability theory, though more testing of its educational value and accuracy is
needed. Finally, the sustainability model used in the project shows that sustainability requires the
achievement of human well-being through the satisfaction of social needs as well as material
sufficiency and ecological integrity. Satisfaction of these different needs can be complementary
and can be achieved within systems of human activity such as urban open space use. === Science, Faculty of === Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for === Graduate
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