A Multidisciplinary Approach to A Multidisciplinary Approach to Developing a Landscape Change Developing a Landscape Change

Research Agenda and Program Research Agenda and Program Through Research, Teaching, Through Research, Teaching,

and Outreachand Outreach

David TullochDavid TullochDepartment of Landscape ArchitectureDepartment of Landscape Architecture

Cook CollegeCook College

Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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Football Fields of Open Space

“New Jersey loses nearly 50 acres of land to development each day.  In the time it takes to watch a football game, the equivalent of six football fields of forest, open space or wetlands is lost forever.”

--  New Jersey Governor James McGreevey

Outline

Thinking Nationally

Rutgers’ Landscape Change Research Program

Challenges for CELA

It Is a Big ProblemIt Is a Big ProblemIt Requires Big SolutionsIt Requires Big Solutions

Looking at Change

• How is landscape change occurring in the landscape?

• What are the causes and consequences of that change?

• How is it perceived?• What can we do about?• What should we do about it?

Looking at Policies

• Do landscape and planning policies and practices have the impacts that many believe they do?

• Are they having unintended or unnoticed impacts?

• What policies are being used? Where?

Responses to Landscape Change

A national (or international ) dialog is necessary to advance this effortSignificant support is needed to coordinate and accelerate research

Landscape Change Workshop

An NSF-sponsored workshop was held on “Landscape Change” in Jan 2001The workshop sought to develop a research agenda promoting landscape change workThe workshop was multidisciplinary with representatives from geography, landscape architecture, ecology, sociology, and planning

Workshop Focus

• The workshop openly stated as a goal an interest in seeing a national center for landscape change research• Four distinct areas of emphasis emerged:– Information technology– Decision-making– Landscape perception and

assessment– Environmental and social science

Workshop Outcomes

• Final Report was published• Panels and papers have reflected the activities at the workshop• NSF has openly appealed for additional efforts• A White Paper has been written to promote these efforts– LAF White Paper on Landscape

Intervention– Treats NSF as a primary audience

It Is a Big ProblemIt Is a Big ProblemBut New Jersey Has a Corner on But New Jersey Has a Corner on the Marketthe Market

In New Jersey, the change we are most familiar with is land use change

Responses to Landscape Change

We have been leaders in measuring landscape change

MEASURING

We Live in a Changing Landscape

Every year New Jersey adds nearly 16,600 acres of new development while losing more than 9,600 acres of farmland, 4,200 acres of forest, and 2,600 acres of wetlands.

Recent Landscape

Changes in New Jersey

annual change in acres

daily change in acres

Urban 15,083 41.3Agriculture -9,654 -26.4Forest -4,249 -11.6Water 571 1.6Wetlands -2,642 -7.2Barren 889 2.4

Responses to Landscape Change

Making the decision makers and the public aware of issues is an important element in Rutgers’ landscape change research

COMMUNICATION

Buildout - 2050

• New Jersey will, in all likelihood be the first state to reach complete build-out• A recent study by Rutgers suggested it could happen around 2050

Responses to Landscape Change

New Jersey has made land use a statewide political issue

POLITICAL/REGULATORY

Developing a Research Program

There are many questions to answer:What is being done at Cook and Rutgers that should be included?What themes will be featured in such a research program?How should it be organized and housed?

Developing a Research Program

There are many questions to answer:What opportunities exist for advancing this research program?What audience(s) should be targeted?

Creating Our Own Agenda

Rutgers approach has included participants from a variety of departments including:Landscape Architecture Environmental ScienceHuman Ecology GeographyEcology, Evolution and Nat. Res.Ag., Food, and Resource Econ.Extension – NJAESUrban Policy and Planning

Creating Our Own Approach

Four major efforts:• Internal meetings and establishment of consensus on a research agenda• Meetings with stakeholders from throughout New Jersey• Visits from nationally-notable speakers to present their work and review ours• Regularly submitting proposals to NSF and elsewhere that seek funding explicitly under the umbrella of landscape change

Landscape Brochure

• How can you promote a research program without a brochure?

Putting Landscape Change on the Web

• New Jersey’s Landscape Change– Mapping and monitoring change in New

Jersey– http://www.crssa.rutgers.edu/projects/lc

/

• The Workshop on Landscape Change– More than a workshop, but not yet a

new movement– http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/landscape-2/

landscape.htm

It Is a Big ProblemIt Is a Big ProblemCELA Can HelpCELA Can Help

Do We Need This?

• The NSF workshop used McHarg’s work as a theme for discussing where we have gotten

• But how far have we advanced since that work?

• Could a research agenda really promote new advances in our understanding and practices?

• Is this just about money?

Challenges for CELA

• Can CELA promote a research agenda?– Who would they partner with?– What would it be about?– Could they really leave some research

out?• Is it an “agenda” if it includes everything?

“Watch Out! He’s Got an Agenda”

• We can (and should) bias this process• My Agenda:– I Want to Change the World

(Landscape Intervention)

– More/Better Information Will Have an Impact(GIS bias)

– Better Science and Information Get Us the Respect That We Need to Have an Impact

CELA Action Items?

• Actively seek, solicit, identify, and support research agendas advancing the cause of multi-institutional scholarly work in landscape architecture• Aggressively pursue (lobby) financial support for the agenda(s) • Create an annual forum (a panel perhaps) for the discussion of new agendas

Getting In Touch

David Tulloch, PhD Department of Landscape Architecture Cook College Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick, NJ 08901

732.932.3611 dtulloch@crssa.rutgers.edu www.crssa.rutgers.edu/davet