Landscape Architecture in the developing world

Landscape Architecture is a broad field of profession. The skills we gain during our learning and working years as Landscape Architects have potential to improve not only the social and economic activities in areas of poverty, but also improve the well-being of lives.

Nonetheless, what we do to begin is we design by manipulating and adapting with our existing environment in ways that can benefit urban development as well as enhance people’s quality of life. We can create changes within the physical space we inhabit to have a subtle or dramatic effect on others. This is especially true in a developed part of the world, like ours, where our designing potentials are put into use to create just about anything- from public squares to gardens to even getting involved in the creation of the Olympic Stadium! So what is stopping us from being able to manipulate in a way that will secure the livelihoods of people? To revive nature that may be dying in places where it is not deemed as valuable? Regardless of economic status, people need space for free self-expression and landscape in this sense, can have a very strong importance.

What do we, as landscape architects (as designers, as creators), deem as a meaningful contribution to society? As a community of creators, what are our ideals for the future? How far can we push the limits to use our skills for the world that, on one side, is advancing in technology with continual globalization and on the other side is filled with poverty and personal struggles in creating a comfortable living space?

There are many areas in the world where the basic requirements to a happy living are non-existent. Here is an example:

Children gardening on bamboo platform

Platform of Hope

Amidst the capital of Bangladesh, in Dhaka, exists the slum of Korail. It exists as an unstable home to 120,000 lives, living under the threat of eviction everyday. In such a place, areas for the residents to gather or children to play are very rare. Yet this uncertainty and the worrying questions of when that lives in the minds of these slum dwellers are lessened by a simple creation proposed by the landscape architect Khondaker Hasibul Kabir.

Kabir began living with a family in Korail in 2007 and initiated changes within the community throughout his stay. As stated by Design with the Other 90%, where this project was featured, Platform of Hope is a 5.5 x 11 meter bamboo platform that extends over Gulshan Lake. It is connected to a bamboo bridge that leads to a community garden. This was all created within a period of three years from 2008 with the help of the family, a local carpenter, and a bamboo worker. The platform provides a place for adults and children of Korail alike to gather, creating a sense of community and providing life’s simple pleasures of fresh air and greenery. The joint efforts and its final results have had a far greater impact on these residents:

This example truly shows how just doing small things can create a big difference in impoverished areas that encourage hope and optimism to its residents, who are forever dealing with the daily struggles of living a decent life. The platform and the garden exist as a rare open space. Of course, a large population in Korail means not all will be able to fully enjoy this simple luxury. However, this idea can be repeated quite easily, in any slums and impoverished areas of the world. Large amounts of funding or investments are not needed, this project shows this. What these communities are waiting for is someone to lead them with an idea and the initiation. As Landscape Architects, we have the potential and the skills to be that someone to lend a hand and start making small differences. If we push the limits of what our profession can accomplish and expand our horizons, perhaps in the future, there will be many more healthy and happy communities in the developing areas of the world.

Article written by Win Phyo

Naar origineel / To original

Gedachte / Thought

Het creëren van ruimte om elkaar te ontmoeten gaat op voor alle  openbare ruimte in de stad of op het platte land. / Creating space to meet, applies to all public space in the city or on the countryside.