ABSTRACT
Ecology should play a central role in planning landscapes. Landscape planning can help to address four contemporary challenges such as where to locate human settlement to minimize the consequences of natural disasters, how to maximize ecosystem services and expand green infrastructure, how to mend the wounds of urbanization, and how to manage large landscapes. Coordinated interventions can lead to multifunctional landscapes that include both built infrastructure and existing natural areas. The configuration of settlements across the landscape can either contribute to the death toll or save lives and homes. The ecosystem services idea can help enable the expansion of green infrastructure. Regional planning is especially important to efficiently connect transportation, water, energy, and ecological systems. Ecological infrastructure can serve as tissue in the urban fabric, weaving together the natural and built environments. Degraded urban spaces can be transformed into significant places for people through design.
