Book Review of Designing Wildlife Habitats by John Beardsley, editor. Reviewed by Beth Morris

Beth Morris

Humanities Commons

Copyright © 2013 ARLIS/NA   Designing Wildlife Habitats, ed. by John Beardsley. (Dumbarton Oaks colloquium on the history of landscape architecture). Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, dist. by Harvard University Press, May 2013. 304 p. ill. ISBN 9780884023852 (pbk.), $50.00.   Rooted in the history of landscape architecture, the thirty-fourth Dumbarton Oaks colloquium has extended its normal purview to reassess the working methods and processes for the field of landscape architecture. With one exception, Environmentalism in Landscape Architecture, previous volumes in this series have examined the fundamental human-nature relationship often reflected in garden histories and landscape design; however Designing Wildlife Habitats takes the first step towards examining the relationship between wildlife, humans, and nature, and the environs in which they coexist. This collection of papers strongly illustrates the dire need for polydisciplinary approaches and collaborations that are increasingly significant to the field of landscape design.   Divided into two main sections, “Frameworks” and “Sites, Scales, Systems,” the first five essays provide an essential context for understanding the remaining eight essays. These final papers provide case studies of successfully designed  and sustainable wildlife habitats, such as Pilanesberg National Park, as well as examinations of sustainable, ecologically-friendly urban environments, such as Shanghai Houtan Park; of these, “Orongo Station Master Plan” and ”ARC Wildlife Crossing Competition: ‘hypar-nature’” are photo essays with minimal text, captioned images, and site plans that provide visual comprehension for prototypes, tools, and necessary information required to plan, design, and manage newly created sustainable habitats.   Two superbly written essays in particular form the heart of this text: “Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and the Design of Landscapes” by Shahid Naeem, and ”The Role of Designers in Creating Wildlife Habitat in the Built Environment” by Alexander J. Felson. Papers by Ritvo, Ginsberg, Krech, and Handel consider more philosophical issues associated with restoring, conserving, creating, and managing wildlife habitats that are grounded with current predicaments posed by ecosystems, land ownership, active cultures and ways of living, as well as the political, social and economic factors at play.    Richly illustrated throughout, Designing Wildlife Habitats provides diagramed aerial perspectives, site plans and sections, topographical maps, and numerous photographs of various species and countless environments. This text reaches beyond the normal range of literature found within landscape architecture to focus on conservation, biodiversity, ecology, and environmental planning and management for developing and designing habitats. The scholarly nature of this work is geared toward more experienced researchers and professionals in the fields of landscape architecture, ecology, wildlife conservation, and the emerging field of biogeochemistry, so it is recommended for research libraries supporting multiple disciplines that include landscape architecture and the sciences.   Beth Morris, Assistant Librarian, Reference Library and Archives, Yale Center for British Art, elizabeth.morris@yale.edu   

Designing Wildlife Habitats

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Designing Wildlife Habitats

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