Ecological approach in regenerative design: Landscape Urbanism as an opportunity to recover industrial abandoned sites in Liège

From the second half of the last century ecology has been recognized as one of the most important value in landscape design, together with aesthetics and social involvement (Ian H. Thompson).
After a period dominated by the prevalence of the aesthetical values in landscape/gardens conception a new perspective arose: the global growth and the effects of exploitation of natural resources have generated an increasing awareness about the impacts of human life on environment and a reflection on new possible way of living balancing the quality of life and the respect for nature in our territories.
The ecological approach has developed thanks to some landscape architects contributions,
based on their researches on: the displacement from a more anthropocentric to a more ecocentric view in landscape planning (Ian McHarg) and the introduction of the principles of balance, diversity, sustainability in order to learn to perceive and to design healty landscapes.
Working with nature, in landscape urbanism, means to activate processes involving plants, animals and people, with the aim of improving the quality of life in urban environment. Therefore ecology is strictly linked to aesthetical and social aspects: landscape design must relate spatial values, by reinterpreting and enhancing the characters of the places, with social values, by introducing activities to strengthen social interactions.
In contemporary landscape design, ecology is interpreted as a key approach, concerning mostly regenerative design (J.T Lyle). This innovative concept considers design as the cultural instrument accompanying and orienting ecological processes.
In fact landscape design deals with urban development strategies, interventions on urban fringes, reclamation of waste lands: in all cases arise the necessity to rethink the territories starting from the restoration of an interrupted balance between natural resources and anthropic actions. The ecological approach is based on the use of natural elements and dynamics as a means for transformation of the territories. One powerful effect of these interventions is the capacity to recover the relationship between people and the spirit of the places and sometimes, the possibility to build a new identity, especially in rejected areas, and this is a “catalyst act”, involving society in regenerative design programs.
New green structures enhancing environmental qualities and protecting biodiversity, agricultural technologies remediating soils and water are only few of the potentials of landscape ecology.
Another important consequence of this innovative approach is the rise of a new aesthetics, as “nature is perceived as a process, not as a scenary” (R.Smithson). Recognizing change and uncertainty as the basic dynamics of landscape (M.Antrop), designers methods and sensitivity appear more effective if based on predicting different and open scenarios.
But ecology is not a panacea itself: the risks in ecosystem service approach are several.
First, specially in public spaces design, there is the risk of confusing the primary values of the action of planting trees and greenery: some aesthetical choices could not represent the ecological efficiency. This happens very often because the client’s will is more oriented to achieve an immediate effect, where vegetation’s use is equated to a decorative device, instead of a new balance generator one. Similarly, choices based on low maintenance
perspective are not always synonymous of ecology.
Furthermore, in Urban Planning, prescriptions about greenery and trees plantation follow
some quantitative parameters instead of qualitative ones.
The contribution of landscape design to Urbanism is based on a multidisciplinary approach which tends to detect and enhance those hidden and overwritten features characterizing the “genius loci”. Thus, ecology represents a site specific aspect and its introduction in landscape urbanism supposes a deep knowledge of the process and its effects on environment and on
society.