Visions of nature: conflict and compatibility in urban park restoration

Gobster, P.H., 2001, Visions of nature: conflict and compatibility in urban park restoration, in: Landscape and Urban Planning, 56,

  • Author : Gobster, P.H.
  • Year : 2001
  • Journal/Series : Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Volume Number (CONSECUTIVE: Counting all Volumes of this Journal ever published) : 56
  • Pages : 35-51
  • Abstract in English : Although various disciplines have developed “objective” principles and practices for landscape restoration in recent decades. The concept of restoration itself often rests on subjective questions of cultural value. Issues related to restoring the naturalness of urban open spaces were explored in a planning effort for an area of parkland along Chicago’s lakefront. Four different “visions of nature” emerged through dialogue with stakeholders, each emphasizing a different set of characteristics related to the landscape’s perceived structure and function as well as its human values and uses. For some individuals the vision of nature had an iconic status. Trying to maintain these icons in accommodating the various visions of nature did give rise to some conflicts, but stakeholders negotiations also showed how the visions where compatible and how iconic feature might “nest” within each other as a result of different scales and locations of concern. Implications for landscape design and management are discussed.
  • Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: parks, urban parks, recreation, nature, restoration, use, quality, nature experience, participation, stakeholder negotiations, assessment. UTILITY: lecturers/teachers, academic research, students of universities of professional education.