SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY

Abstract

The adaptability of human beings, with all their limits and their possibilities, shows in time that there are many limits of the resistance capacity of human species. Therefore, the technological development should be compatible with the human health, giving survival possibilities, enhancing the quality of life. As more communities experienced the effects of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, polluted rivers, streams and lakes, loss of forests and open space, local citizens became concerned about their quality of life and loss of community. These concerns led to an outburst of projects throughout the nation to stop uncontrolled growth and start planning for a more viable and liveable future. Efforts of sustainable development soon became a local issue more than a global or regional issue.
As a vanguard, in the 1960's, Ian McHarg defined what is called sustainable development in his book, Design with Nature. That time, he was far before his time when he wrote: "Where you find a people who believe that man and nature are indivisible, and that survival and health are contingent upon an understanding of nature and her processes, these societies will be very different from ours, as will be their towns, cities and landscapes.â€
Two landscape ecological approaches succeed to find judicious ways, through such research and studies wich have been conducted to find the best design, integrating man and nature. In order to create sustainable communities, these studies was conducted to find some alternative design to the traditional and conventional urban and teritorial design.