MAKERERE

UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PHYSICAL PLANNING
LANDSCAPE DESIGN TUTOR: ARCH. NAMUGANYI LILLIAN

Question 17: Landscape projects, how are the following cities different(or similar) London Rome Stockholm Zanzibar Kampala Cape Town.

STUDENT: TINO WINNFRED OPIT

LANDSCAPE PROJECTS:
According to European Landscape Convention, Florence, 2000 "Landscape means an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors. " A landscape project is therefore a planned and organized unit of landscape (Microsoft Encarta 2009). Landscape projects should ideally be accessible, free and in the very worst case allows people visual access into it and in that light so many landscape projects chosen for study in the cities as listed are mainly public because in being so, it plays a bigger role in shaping and/or being shaped a city. Many differences and similarities exist between the landscape projects in the cities of London, Rome, Stockholm, Cape Town, Kampala and Zanzibar owing mainly to their geographical location, policies and cultural practices. Kevin Lynch in image of the city states as manipulators of the physical environment, city planners are primarily interested in the external agent in the interaction which produces the environmental image. Different environments resist or facilitate the process of image-making. The degree to which some cities landscape project have resisted or accepted an image could lie in the differences between these projects: Major comparisons have been made basing on key issues: Scale of landscape projects within these cities. Meaning, associated use and accessibility. Eco-sensitivity, climatic adaptations and role of statutory instruments Structure and nature of landscape projects.

Scale of landscape projects within these cities In the phenomenology of Architecture, Christian Norberg Schulz when talking about the structure of manmade place mentions that all manmade places begin their 'presencing' (being) from the boundaries and how a settlement is related to its environment and its silhouette put the matter of structure of place in concrete terms. The scale herein refers to the size (dominance) of the landscape project in relation to the size of the district it serves. Some landscape projects(especially public and royal parks) in some of these cities like Stockholm, London and Rome are very large distinct expansive parks compared to those parks and landscape districts existent in Kampala, Zanzibar or Cape town. It can also be argued that the former mentioned cities are larger, have heavy cityscapes and serve a greater population than the latter. However, cities like London, Rome and Stockholm owe the great size and scale of Landscape projects to prioritizing the landscape and design of open spaces in the city planning (comprehensive development plan). The large expansive parks of Stockholm, London and Rome also differ in the following ways:

Stockholm has the largest scale of green and open landscaped spaces (in comparison to city size) of the three cities . There are 12 large parks in Stockholm, each over 200 acres. These account among all these cities as it accounts for a third Stockholms total open space allowing a high ratio of Park acreage per 1000 residents: 27 acres (highly accessible). The city of Rome has one of the largest areas of green space amongst European capitals and the most notable part of this green space is represented by the Villa Borghese. Most of the landscape projects that are not of domestic scale are mainly for civic/religious commemoration, recreational and archaeological. London has large number of large parks and squares spread throughout the different districts of the very large city though the overall effect and scale is not so large due to the dominant cityscape and hardscape. The royal parks in Central London are however stand out in the surrounding district due to the dominant cityscape edge surrounding them. Other landscape projects that can be felt at the city level include the 2.5 square kilometre London 2012 Olympic park set to be one of the largest new urban parks in Europe . Kampala and Zanzibar have a smaller number of smaller scaled city lot types of landscape projects spanning small extents in key urban areas hence the landscape projects are surrounded by dominant cityscape. The scale is hence reduced by the dominant cityscape surrounding it. Cape town on the other hand has numerous average sized landscape projects throughout the city and a few large dominant projects like company gardens, city parks and other botanical gardens which creates a balance as the city is not so large. Decisions made by a wide variety of people affect landscape layout at a wide variety of scales. For example, an individual's decision to plant vegetation and landscape his surroundings has a one-scale spatial impact compared to the broad-scale impact of a comprehensive development plan made by city planners and politicians. Eco-sensitivity and role of statutory instruments In environmentalism in Landscape Architecture, Robert E. Cook states that a working landscape (a
landscape that works) is dynamic in ways that ideally express the designers intent to create not just a spatial object but a successfully designed system of processes. Mozingo further expresses in the Aesthetics of Ecological Design that the acceptance of change, of moving beyond the fixed vision of the landscape, is ecologically necessary.

The choice of comparing landscape projects in the above cities basing on their eco-sensitivity is crucial as there is a current global green movement that emphasizes a need for eco-friendly solutions and adaptations in every area of life including architecture and landscape. London, Rome, Stockholm and Cape Town have more eco-sensitive landscape projects compared to Zanzibar and Kampala. The role of the statutory instruments in the former cities is strong and plays a main role in planning to create and maintain such landscape projects as key historic, civic and recreation sites safe to the environment and open to the public. In most of

these projects there is a strong use of water, eco-gardens, recycled and eco-friendly materials in design, polices are put to emphasise rubbish disposal and non-motorized transport near these areas. The eco-sensitivity theme has been highlighted in the following different ways in the above cities: In London for instance, recycled building waste from sites including the new Wembley stadium were used to the mounds of Northala Fields and provided an impressive landmark and brand new park. The favour of large green open spaces within London also show their sensitivity towards the environment. In Rome, Landscape projects have since time in memorial been associated with water which has been said to improve air and other environmental qualities. This water was used in fountains, falls, pools and artificial lakes as seen in the famous fountains in piazza all over Rome, artificial lakes at Villa Borghese. Furthermore, many landscape projects in Rome unlike the other cities are also archaeological landscapes which have been preserved(conserved) for heritage. Conservation is a step toward the preservation of nature and the environments we live in. Stockholm which is one of the cleanest cities in Sweden and in the world known for its beauty, many unpolluted waterways. In Stockholm, planning begins from a framework that respects the need to preserve the natural environment, both for ecological and human health. Their landscape projects are hence regarded with most priority of the cities to be eco-sensitive and their recreational, natural, and cultural value upheld. There are various waterfront promenade like in Drugarden, Victoria Henriksson and use of water as an element in landscape projects, gardens that use abundant Swedish flora and Stockholms CityPlan 99 emphasizes revitalization to preserve the natural elements of the city and region. In Cape town, landscaping projects in and around key venues in the city prioritise indigenous species over exotics in indigenous biodiversity showcase gardens that demonstrates indigenous horticultural and gardening practices. The City of Cape Town has also recently embarked on an Non-motorised transport strategy which includes a comprehensive plan to guide the implementation of programmes and facilities that will respond to the needs of NMT users around public spaces including parks. While most landscape projects in Zanzibar are small, a majority are located near world heritage sites and hence issues like conservation and preservation of landscape is compulsory. There are strong regulations towards refuse materials, disposal and motorized transportation around these areas. In Kampala on the other hand, landscape projects are more concentrated on the practical function and issues of eco-sensitivity are usually catered for because eco-sensitive materials like grass and paving are cheaper that tarmac or other environmentally unfriendly materials. There is also a limited use of water in landscape projects due to poor maintenance especially in public open spaces.

Meaning, associated use and accessibility. In the book Space place identity, Arild Holt-Jensen 1999 is quoted defining place as Place is a portion of geographical space. Sometimes defined as territories of meaning It is further stated in the book that humanistic studies show that people alternately associated place with safety and security (feeling at home) but also to imprisonment and isolation. This implies then that the memory and experience a space(landscape project) is only created if the space evokes a deep meaning on the users of the space. The associated use and accessibility looks on the other hand at who accesses, how and for what these landscape projects are used. The definition of Landscape established by the European Landscape Convention, applying to their work the principle that there is no landscape without somebody there to see it, such that every form of landscape is designed according to the needs of people. Meaning, associated use and accessibility is the used as an apparatus for comparison of landscape projects in the different cities because it is key in the description of a landscape project. The cities of Rome, London, Stockholm and Cape Town have most of their public landscape projects acting as the living room of the city. From these areas, histories are learnt, memories are refreshed and new ones created. The landscape projects in these cities are open to the general public, contain monuments and landmark buildings containing a activities of rich cultural heritage like museums which make people attach to these projects the more. These projects have also been so designed as to create places of use: gathering, seating, jogging, picnics and as a result have a strong sense of place. The cities of Rome, London and Stockholm pride themselves in landscape projects that are dedicated to their monarchs and aristocrats(Villa Borghese-Rome, Drugarden Park- Stockholm, Hyde and Kensington Park-London) and those that are mainly for civil commemoration unlike those of Kanpala, Zanzibar and more similarly Cape Town. Even if these parks (in Rome, London and Stockholm) are accessible to the public and all sorts of activity is allowed to take place within these landscape, they are historical because of the national/regional events that take place there regularly and what they symbolized to the monarchy and history. They have well understood and symbolic monuments and elements within the site of the project. In these cities, most landscape projects and elements within them celebrate a particular theme which has meanings to a majority of the population. They however have significant ways and styles they have used over the years to show this: In Rome, monuments and symbolism are used so much in landscaping and Rome has become an unparalleled repository of monuments of all periods, from the Etruscan era to modern times. These monuments are usually pillared or of a great scale placed in landscapes as landmarks or areas of interest within paths.

In Stockholm, In addition to using the royal parks to perpetuate the Swedish monarch, a one G. E. Kidder Smith was quoted saying The parks in Stockholm are not merely a collection of extraordinary green fingers tying the outlying countryside to the very centre of town; they are part of the Swedish concept of lifea concept that demands contact with the freedom of nature in order to offset the indoor restrictions of man. The Stockholm parks...have no peers either in Europe or in the United States. In London, a lot of the cultures and practices in London that stem from the existence of the British monarch. Some of the oldest and most popular landscape projects in London are the Royal Parks of London which are lands originally owned by the monarchy were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public parks. Though most of these spaces are freely used many activities and elements put are to celebrate the monarchy. In Cape Town, the word landscape is synonymous with the word garden and so botanical landscapes and agrarian landscapes like Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Company garden are very popular in Cape town partly because of their historical background and natural plant heritage. Even the more civic related landscape projects like the Company garden have a gardening history and theme whilst commemorating apartheid. In Kampala however, the public landscape projects like parks and squares are a merely functional(resting and waiting) green areas used in times of convenience with very few people knowing what they symbolise or represent. This comes from not understanding monuments and landmarks placed within these parks hence the park starts to lose the character it represents e.g. The world war monuments at the constitutional square are understood or commemorated by a few. There is also no effective national policy concerning placement of monumental sculpture in landscapes. On the other hand, private landscape projects created with more meaning like the Serena Gardens are inaccessible to a majority of the public. The similarity between all the cities though is that parks and other landscape projects open to the public are often used in civil demonstrations and strikes as a meeting point. This could be because these landscape projects symbolize objects nationally owned to which everyone has a right hence inspire freedom of expression, behaviour and movement. Demonstrations have been carried out at the constitutional square(Kampala), Speakers corner in Hyde park(London), Trafalgar Square in London. Zanzibar mainly follows its Arab and Persian influence in selection of themes for landscaping projects. There is the use of Islamic features like jawabs as a landmark, and a fountain for experiential purposes in Forodhani Park reminds people of its history and creates an intersting experience. I conclude this note by agreeing with Kevin Lynch in image of the city states every citizen has had long associations with some part of his city, and his image is soaked in memories and meanings and that image development is a two-way process between observer and observed, it is

possible to strengthen the image either by symbolic devices, by the retraining of the perceiver, or by reshaping one's surroundings. Structure and nature of landscape projects. There is a general categorization that landscape projects in particular areas have because of common natural or borrowed patterns that have shaped that development like topography and climate. In Space place identity, it is stated that very often quite specific vistas turned are into typifications of a national landscape as a whole. These representative landscapes constitute visual encapsulations of a shared past that this conveys. The extension, behaviour and characteristic of a landscape project could exist form its natural landscape or fixed to be a symbolic representation of a natural landscape. In the book Genius loci, Christian Norberg Schulz states that the distinctive quality of any landscape is extension and its particular character and spatial properties are determined by how it extends. The structure of the landscape may be described in terms of elements which centralize space(nodes, path, domain), direct space(valleys, river) and elements which define and extended spatial pattern(relatively uniform cluster of fields) The comparison hence is on how different or similar the nature of landscape projects are as Kevin Lynch in image of the city states that the environment suggests distinctions and relations, and the observer with great adaptability and in the light of his own purposes selects, organizes, and endows with meaning what he sees. Rome, London and Stockholm are categorized in this comparison because they share a climatology and are key European cities that draw a lot of similarities in terms of their physical planning and cityscapes as being those influenced to a great extent Medieval Architecture. In respect to this therefore, the nature of landscape projects most dominant in these cities are those expansive more rural cultural based and natural looking green landscape districts that formerly belonged to aristocrats and royal families. The landscape projects located in the city have a dominant cityscape forming its edges. These ancient landscape projects have continued to draw pomp from their past exclusivity, containment and their maintenance as more natural landscapes in heavy cityscapes. These cities also have hardscape landscape projects within the cores of the city usually called squares that are mainly for civic commemorations/celebrations especially in the flat areas of the city. The green extensive landscapes mostly occur in the hilly areas of the city. On a more specific comparison on what types of landscapes they contain and possible influences: London contains the Thames Valley which is a flood plain surrounded by gently rolling hills including
Parliament Hill, Adding ton Hills, and Primrose Hill and the royal parks of London and these have ended up forming a collection of large open more rural types of landscape projects.

Rome has a mixture of hills, plains, and mountains on which the large green open spaces and archaeological landscapes (Appia Antica park) lay. This city more than Capetown, London and

Stockholm is blessed with city's squares which got their present shape during the Renaissance and Baroque. The principal ones are Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna and Campo de' Fiori, The city has had fountains for more than two thousand years, and they have provided drinking water and decorated the piazzas of Rome. The main landscape projects in Stockholm on the other hand are regional green wedges that connect from central city parks to the suburbs of Stockholm County wherever possible, residential courtyards, natural areas and Shoreline and neighbourhood parks spread among the islands that constitute Stockholm. Neighbourhood parks and community gardens account for nearly another third of Stockholms park system and unlike the above cities, Eighty-percent of Stockholms shoreline is publicly accessible, often featuring walking and bike trails. Kampala and Zanzibar have a similar climatology compared to the rest of the cities, and in both cities, landscaping as a practice is not one of the arts deeply engraved in the urban culture due to lax statutory enforcement in this matter and the existence of indigenous cultures to which a practice of landscaping is not so developed. These cities have the city lot and urban type of landscapes that exist in key areas in proximity with city centers and nodes. In both of these cities the largest landscape projects are rather small in scale and landscaping is seen as additions around buildings meant to introduce nature into the cityscape, to create interest and most the landscaping is carried around recreational and commercial centers. However, differences can still be derived between the general nature of landscape projects in Zanzibar and Kampala: Kampala is hilly and there is an abundance of swamps and marshlands within the city. These were designated for open landscaped areas though these areas have been built on leaving the only existent public landscape projects in close proximity to the CBD. In Zanzibar however, part of the laxity in the reinforcement of landscaping could be as a result of this abundance and extravagance of beaches and coastal vegetation. However, landscape projects along and near the coastline like the Forodhani Park used in this study are places of recreation in historic backgrounds defined by both locals and tourist alike as they are located at the edges of either's dwelling. These projects are targeted backdrops for tourists offering culture, views or /and proximity and serve to beautify entry points and areas surrounding hotels. This could also imply the possible restrictions implied on landscapes as the city contains numerous heritage sites. Unlike all the five cities, the main nature of landscape projects in Cape Town Therefore, the more dominant type of landscape projects that exist then are the more agrarian type with a twist or modification to the city lot types of landscapes. This could be attributed to their farming and horticultural history. This city lot type has been favoured by the flat sites at the foot of the Table mountain. In these urban agrarian inspired landscape projects, aspects of pattern in alignment of elements and districts is key. Owing to the fact that the area is generally flat and gardens offer minimal take up on volume, all elements set upon the base plane are of strong visual importance and usually buildings in the backdrop dominate the scene.

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