No abstract

As landscape architects deal with the design of environments for children, the inclusion of children with disabilities in their peers should be one of the core goals in designing natural settings. They often times face problems while working in public playgrounds, parks and green landscapes mainly due to lack of adequate provisions to meet their special needs. The purpose of the present study is twofold: to investigate different kinds of problems and specific needs of disabled children in natural settings including parks and playgrounds in Ankara (Turkey), and also to offer solutions for solving these problems. This study that is of case study type consists of parents with disabled children aged between 8 and 12 years old. Parents were investigated and interviewed in the research to obtain their perspectives. The findings revealed that there was a necessary need to improve and construct equipped natural settings specialized for children with disabilities.

Universities have significant impacts on the environment because of their huge consumption of energy and materials. In the recent years, the universities have been considered as a role model of environmental responsibility. Over the last decades, some leading universities could perform significant sustainability projects in which sustainable landscaping of the campuses seems more effective. Istanbul Technical University (ITU) could also implement a list of renovations and green activities including rainwater harvesting (rain garden); bicycle usage program; forestry, irrigation system management, sustainable lighting, waste recycling, and green pesticide over its main green campus. This article with use of observational analyses makes attempt to survey the green projects operated in the open areas of Maslak campus as the main green campus of ITU. The article provides some suggestions for the campus admirations in order to increase the effect of the sustainable initiatives on the campus.

Political borders have been associated with various ecological issues such as biodiversity reduction and landscape fragmentation.

Assessment of the visual landscape quality is a core part of studies in landscape and urban projects. The landscape visual assessment has been carried out on the basis of two paradigms; objectivist and subjectivist paradigms. This research is a case of landscape evaluation based on the subjectivist or psychological paradigm. The purpose of the research is to understand the beholder's perception of the visual quality of landscape and to use it in the design of a war memorial garden. In this article, three main holistic concepts formed during the war (war between Iran and Iraq) are determined, and then seniors majoring landscape architecture were asked to define these concepts for each the landscape elements. Then three dominant views of the site were scored according to the students' perceptions and finally zoning of the site was proposed. This article emphasizes on the perception-based approaches in landscape studies and the opportunities that the current landscape of the site may have in order to imply the specific concepts. To design a symbolic or memorial place, the perceptions conveyed by the visual elements of the landscape have impressive role in making decision about the land uses and will lead to a more sustainable and dynamic memorial spaces.