Integrating GeoDesign with Landscape Sustainability Science

Abstract

With an increasing world population and accelerated urbanization, the development of landscape sustainability remains a challenge for scientists, designers, and multiple stakeholders. Landscape sustainability science (LSS) studies dynamic relationships among landscape pattern, ecosystem services, and human well-being with spatially explicit methods. The design of a sustainable landscape needs both landscape sustainability–related disciplines and digital technologies that have been rapidly developing. GeoDesign is a new design method based on a new generation of information technology, especially spatial information technology, to design land systems. This paper discusses the suitability of GeoDesign for LSS to help design sustainable landscapes. Building on a review of LSS and GeoDesign, we conclude that LSS can utilize GeoDesign as a research method and the designed landscape as a research object to enrich and empower the spatially explicit methodology of LSS. To move forward, we suggest to integrate GeoDesign with LSS from six perspectives: strong/weak sustainability, multiple scales, ecosystem services, sustainability indicators, big data application, and the sense of place. Toward this end, we propose a LSS-based GeoDesign framework that links the six perspectives. We expect that this integration between GeoDesign and LSS will help advance the science and practice of sustainability and bring together many disciplines across natural, social, and design sciences.

Advancing landscape sustainability science: theoretical foundation and synergies with innovations in methodology, design, and application

“…In particular, combining design proposal creation and spatial analysis can lead to a revival of optimization in the planning process, which systematically searches throughout the space under different design considerations (Eikelboom et al 2015). If properly integrated with LSS perspectives and approaches, geo-design can greatly contribute to promoting the science and practice of landscape sustainability (Huang et al 2019;Wu 2019).…”

From Disaster to Sustainability: Breaking the Cycle of Floods in Houston, Texas

“…The questions at issue were comprehensively examined with the use of Geodesign processes, which allow for the integration of sustainable landscape design with multiple supporting disciplines and new-generation spatial information/digital technologies. [14] The proposed approach can be subdivided into five phases:…”

Landscape Design toward Urban Resilience: Bridging Science and Physical Design Coupling Sociohydrological Modeling and Design Process

“…Campagna et al [62] note that Geodesign and PSSs can be complementary to each other. Geodesign is a process that promotes a smooth collaboration with researchers to produce evidence-based designs by using geospatial technologies [34,64]. PSSs are advanced modeling systems that can add more scientific as well as communicative values to decision making.…”

“…Steinitz suggests that Geodesign can be an effective instrument that creates design proposals and simulates design impacts with geospatial technologies [30]. The concept of Geodesign has recently been expanded in the literature with noted applications to a variety of cases [29,[31][32][33][34][35]. Dangermond [36] notes that geodesign encompasses multiple disciplines and professions through a common set of geospatial technologies and design processes.…”