The editorial team asked Herbert Dreiseitl: How can the profession position itself more strongly in the public eye on the subject of climate change? Here is his answer. When I stepped outside our newly established office in Boston, USA earlier this year, the seawater was half a meter above the waterfront. But not only that: it was so cold, […]
The editorial team asked Herbert Dreiseitl: How can the profession position itself more strongly in the public eye on the subject of climate change? Here is his answer.
When I stepped outside our newly established office in Boston, USA, earlier this year, the seawater was half a meter above the shoreline. But that’s not all: it was so cold that stalled cars froze in the seawater. These pictures went around the world and the President of the USA tweeted polemically “Now we could use global warming”. Unfortunately, the heat became too much over the course of the year – new heat records, fires and droughts were reported in the press this time. And not just in California, but also here in Germany. Anyone who thinks these weather extremes were a one-off event is ignoring all the observations and research findings. But what are the areas of action for landscape architecture and how do we use them?
For four decades now, I have been working with international colleagues on sustainable and resilient urban landscape architecture. Water is the central key to all questions of climate compensation. Both on a supra-regional scale and in seemingly negligible small details. In our profession, we know how green and blue-green infrastructure works. And we know that it is necessary to integrate this very early on through multifunctional coordination processes in cities and in landscaping.
Is the green sector asleep?
Unfortunately, the reality is different. Especially now that the economy is running at full speed and the construction sector is booming – in housing construction, trade and in mobility and energy supply infrastructures – many opportunities to stabilize the water balance and introduce vegetation in new forms are being forgotten, wasted and not used. Is the green sector once again incompetent, too quiet, too late, too sleepy, despite a few active players? It is shameful when the topic is increasingly taken up by other professional groups such as civil engineers, structural architects, urban planners, sociologists or doctors and representatives from science, politics and the “gray professions” tend to speak out in public debates.
We would have the best arguments for change.
Landscape architects, ecologists and designers of green spaces would have the best arguments. If, yes, if, they emphasized the value gains and capital formation of more resilient and ecologically sustainable measures. It is about seeing an opportunity in the challenge. An opportunity for social gain. Hardly anyone knows that we can also promote people’s health, encourage more exercise and help prevent burnout and depression through measures such as forest bathing and biophilia effects. As landscape architects, however, we know this. If we communicated the regenerative added value of green projects better, we would be heard more and have a greater impact. This also applies to cost comparisons. Because costs will rise dramatically if we don’t act now.
We have to show our colors. That means speaking out publicly, but also being better positioned professionally and setting well-built examples that create trust and encourage people. This also includes training the next generations in creative adaptation to climate change and improving cooperation with other specialist disciplines. Ultimately, instead of bureaucracy and the administration of standards, the aim is to involve citizens and promote common sense again.
