
1
Urban Oasis

This world tour is a master class in urban interventions that enhance quality of life — and will prove vital as we grapple with the climate crisis. Organized geographically, the book showcases standout projects while posing questions of broader sustainability to the designers behind them in accompanying Q and As. Historic landscapes like Park Güell and Jardin du Luxembourg feature alongside modern marvels such as New York City’s Little Island and Milan’s Bosco Verticale. Author Jessica Jungbauer also highlights lesser- known, citizen-led initiatives like the Ron Finley Project — a grassroots movement that enables L.A. residents to grow food on the city’s streets. On the other hand, Jungbauer acknowledges the rise of green gentrification through a study of the soaring property values — and subsequent displacement — caused by Manhattan’s High Line.
2
The Shape of the Land

“We shape the land; thereafter, it shapes how we live upon it,” writes editor Marc Treib in his preface. Based on a symposium held at the University of California, Berkeley in March 2020, this collection of
essays places topographic design within a broader social and environmental context. Standouts include Elissa Rosenberg’s essay “Trash Topography,” which investigates how to shape post-industrial sites, plus a discussion by José Miguel Lameiras about how new tools such as VR will drive the future of landscape design.
3
Innate Terrain

Written by a diverse roster of scholars and practitioners and edited by Alissa North, associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Toronto, the chapters of this book dig into different corners of Canadian geography — from the prairies of Calgary’s Nose Hill Park to the East Coast’s Fogo Island — while also considering the ties between the country’s national identity and its wilderness. Looking to the future, the authors consider how climate change has and will continue to rapidly alter our Northern climate — and by extension, the terrain.
3 Reads to Cultivate Fresh Thinking About Landscape Design
Three books featuring legendary landscapes from around the world.