landscapesmakes

landscapesmakes is a term used in landscape studies and design to describe the process of making landscapes through collaborative, iterative, and interpretive practices. It treats landscape as something people actively shape rather than a static backdrop, integrating ecological, cultural, and technological dimensions.

Origins and usage: The term emerged in scholarly discussions of place-making and participatory design in the early 2010s, as researchers sought to foreground process, community engagement, and multiple scales of transformation in landscape work.

Core principles and methods: Landscapesmakes centers participation, temporality, materiality, and narrative. Practitioners employ co-design workshops, ecological restoration, adaptive management, public art, and digital simulations to align physical change with local memory and future needs.

Applications and contexts: It is applied to urban parks, river and coastal corridors, campus and regional planning, and even virtual environments where landscapes are experimented with before real-world deployment.

Reception and critique: Supporters argue landscapesmakes fosters inclusive decision making, resilience, and place attachment. Critics warn that the term can become vague if not linked to concrete evaluation criteria, and that power imbalances may shape whose perspectives dominate the making process.

Related concepts include landscape architecture, placemaking, ecological design, and participatory planning.