Editor’s Introduction

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This issue is one of transitions—a transition from one editorial team to a new editorial team. First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to David Pitt, University of Minnesota, and Daniel Nadenicek, University of Georgia, for their work as Co-Editors of Landscape Journal. They have both been very supportive of me and the transition of editorial responsibilities to the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Kentucky. I could not have hoped for more support and interest in success than Dave and Dan have provided. I also would like to recognize the work of Ashley Steffens at the University of Georgia as Managing Editor. Ashley was extremely giving of her expertise, time, and insight in getting me up to speed as the new Editor. I would also like to thank Liat Margolis of the University of Toronto as she ends her many years of service as Book Review Editor. Liat has taken on new responsibilities at her institution and needed to focus on those responsibilities. The editorial review process and decisions concerning articles in this issue are largely the work of Dave, Dan, and Ashley, while the post acceptance process is the work of the new office. It was very clear to me during the entire transition process that everyone was focused on making the transition as smooth and seamless as possible. Thank you.

One of the areas we have focused on is revising the submission guidelines for authors. There are a number of enhancements we have made to capitalize on changes in technologies as well as people at the University of Wisconsin Press–Journal Division. The changes are all in the service of being able to improve how a submission moves through the peer review and post-review production process and on to publication. The new guidelines can be found at the UW Press website https://uwpress.wisc.edu/journals/pdfs/LJ_Guidelines.pdf.

There will be some new sections coming and I will describe them in future issue introductions, so stay tuned. Our first year has been spent learning about opportunities and constraints and making behind the scenes changes to increase the timeliness and accuracy of our operations while maintaining the double blind peer review process. I will have more to write in upcoming issues about additional changes coming to Landscape Journal in terms of content. I can assure you that themes written about in previous issues during the Co-Editorial leadership of Dave and Dan are still relevant to me as the new Editor. I would like to see an expansion in the number of book reviews as well as articles being published on the pedagogical approaches we use in our teaching. In general, I encourage all submissions to make explicit and strong points for the academic and/or the practice professional readers of Landscape Journal. An essential question to be addressed is what should Landscape Journal readers be doing or thinking differently because of your work. We look forward to your submission.

In closing, I encourage you to be reflective and prospective in your travel and/or every day routines, to think critically about what we do and how we live in a way that builds on the work of others or challenges the status quo. You could think about how you might create a photo image essay to tell a story, comment on the profession and remind us why we are in this field, or call the profession to action. You might consider writing a short essay or critique of a built work to capture your thoughts on how the work contributes to advancing the landscape architectural profession similar as what was done in Inspiration High Line published by the Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München) in conjunction with recognizing James Corner with an honorary doctorate degree. Perhaps you will be visiting the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama or re/visiting places such as Tanner Fountain, Gas Works Park, or anywhere from around the globe. I encourage you to capture your thoughts in words or images that capture the essence of what landscape architecture is, could be, or should be to move the field forward.