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Envisioning Resilience in Volatile Los Angeles Landscapes

Resilient landscapes are those that adapt to volatile conditions while maintaining functional integrity (Holling, Gunderson, and Ludwig 2002). The need for resilience is apparent in the designed urban landscape, where land is frequently and unexpectedly released from intended irrigation and maintenance. Reasons for this release are varied and range from equipment malfunctions and budget cuts to large-scale events such as disinvestment and earthquakes. These occurrences underscore the challenges of maintaining desired function under variable circumstances; challenges are most vivid in semiarid and arid urban areas where many imported plants are dependent on irrigation for survival. After exploring patterns from thirty designed Los Angeles landscapes that were unintentionally released from irrigation and maintenance, strategies for shaping future resilient landscapes have been derived from investigating these sites’ persistence and novelty. This article summarizes strategies and presents a multi-scaled landscape plan addressing prioritized landscape treatments in a region of probable erratic maintenance. Plans and strategies all underscore the need to pursue further action research through planning and design activities.

KEYWORDS Los Angeles urban landscapes, resilience and design, feral landscapes, maintenance