28 abril, 2010

let's celebrate public parks and gardens

Once, it’s April, the international month of landscape architecture, we cannot pass without remember one of the most famous in this art.

This week, was celebrated Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American Landscape architecture.

In his extensive listo f projects, are included the Central Park, Prospect Park, both in New York city, Esmeral Necklace in Boston and Landscape surronding the United State Capitol building in Washington.

He was very important in the development and concept of Public space, created one of the most famous public park in the world.

“The design of central park embodies Olmsted’s social conciousness and commitment to egalitarian ideals. Influenced by Downing and his own observations regardins social class in England, China and American South, Olmsted believed that the common green spaces must always be equally acessible to all citiziens.” (wikipedia.org)

22 abril, 2010

earth day


Earth day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach in held on April 22, 1970. It aims to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.

I think this day is especially important, this year, 2010, year of biodiversity. If we’ll can save, and reduce the number of danger species…is evidence, we can do it, and we are the cause of the real state of degradation all over the planet. Awareness this is the first step. Do something is the second, and gather result the third one.

I think that’s a gigantic step to greenish the earth. To render on earth, a better place to live!

Let’s celebrate Earth day, and everything beautiful it gives!

”40 years ago this week, I coordinated the first Earth Day celebration in New York City. The city had never seen anything like it. We were laying the groundwork for a new way of looking at the world—expanding the public’s thinking beyond the limited vision that characterized fields like industry, economics, science and politics to embrace a much larger view of the whole planet.

Earth Day transformed New York—literally. To draw attention to protecting the environment in cities, we turned Fifth Avenue into a “place” by eliminating traffic from 59th Street to Union Square. People poured out of offices and apartments to walk down the middle of the most important street in New York on a beautiful spring day.”

By fred Kent

“Today, 40 years after the first Earth Day, the desire for transformative change is once again intensifying. More than in the 1970s, people know where they want to end up and what it takes to get there. Change won’t happen with massive demonstrations or an outpouring of angst; what’s needed now is a broad, collective, deep-seated commitment to improve life for people everywhere.

A key element of this reenergized push for social change is a new movement dedicated to making great places in our communities.

Although still under the radar, the ideas of Placemaking are emerging as a key component of the Sustainability Movement (asthe cutting edge of the environmental movement is know today). Both the Sustainability and Placemaking movements urge us to live more lightly on the Earth.

Along with protecting air, water and land, people want places in their neighborhoods where they feel comfortable and connected to others.

Placemaking is a core value of sustainability. Maintaining livable urban environments is essential to protecting natural resources and the landscape from further destruction. While the Placemaking movement is new, the idea is as old as homo sapiens.People everywhere want to get back to a way of life that better connects them to their natural surroundings and to each other.”

(fonte: wikipedia e pps.org)


20 abril, 2010

APRIL - World Landscape Architecture Month

"Every April Canadian landscape architects join their colleagues around the world to celebrate our profession. April is the perfect month to share our profession and reach out to our communities, notable for Earth Day (April 22nd) and the birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted (April 27th), founder of the landscape architecture profession in North America.

The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) inaugurated the event in 2006. Since then, IFLA and its member associations around the world join annually in celebrating this month. Canadian landscape architects have been celebrating World Landscape Architecture Month since 2008, bringing local and national recognition to landscape architecture during the month of April." (in www.csla.ca)