Our June issue of LAM begins—because nobody knows the end—to look at the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Amid all the dread, the vital and often unheralded work of landscape architects, now and through history, has become a staple of social survival as people confined close to home, if not inside their homes, have reflexively turned to parks and public spaces for solace. People have always done this, hit the parks for a mental and physical break, but the yearning has concentrated incalculably as the only outlet from a fear like they’ve never experienced before.
We asked landscape architects and designers to reflect freely on what the emergencies of COVID-19 mean to them professionally. Several dozen weighed in with their hopes and their skepticism, between the upheaval in work life to the undeniable roles of landscapes in a changed human condition.
Also this month, we look at the acute and early shocks to the food supply with two landscape architects, Phoebe Lickwar, ASLA, and Roxi Thoren, ASLA, whose new book, Farmscape: The Design of Productive Landscapes (Routledge), argues from historical and contemporary positions that landscape architects have a singular role to play in rethinking the design and production of agriculture, and in bringing people closer to the sources of their nourishment.
The full table of contents for June can be found here.
As always, you can buy this issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine at more than 250 bookstores, including many university stores and independents, as well as at Barnes & Noble. You can also buy single digital issues for only $5.25 at Zinio or order single copies of the print issue from ASLA. Annual subscriptions for LAM are a thrifty $59 for print and $44.25 for digital. Our subscription page has more information on subscription options.
Keep an eye out here on the blog, on the LAM Facebook page, and on our Twitter feed (@landarchmag), as we’ll be posting June articles as the month rolls out.
Credits: “What’s Next?” Annalisa Aldana; “A Spring of Surprises,” Courtesy J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.