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Research ArticlePeer-Reviewed Articles

Recent Trends in LA-Based Research: A Topic Analysis of CELA Abstract Content

Galen Newman, Dongying Li, Zhihan Tao and Rui Zhu
Landscape Journal, January 2021, 39 (2) 51-73; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.39.2.51
Galen Newman
Galen Newman is Associate Professor at Texas A&M University. He also serves as Coordinator of the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Program and he is Associate Department Head. His research interests include urban regeneration, community resilience, landscape performance, land use science, and spatial analytics.
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Dongying Li
Dongying Li is Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University. Her research interests include health systems design, ecosystem services, active living, and data modeling.
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Zhihan Tao
Zhihan Tao is a PhD student in the Urban and Regional Science Program at Texas A&M University. His research interests include spatial analysis, low-impact development, landscape performance, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
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Rui Zhu
Rui Zhu is a PhD student in the Urban and Regional Science Program at Texas A&M University. Her research interests include design for health, spatial analytics, landscape performance, and advanced digital representation.
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Abstract

With more than 120 institutions and more than 300 global members, the annual CELA conference has showcased the most relevant topics related to landscape architecture (LA) research for 100 years. CELA organizes its research by topic into content areas called tracks. Despite a series of overviews of LA-based research trends, systematic examinations of how well the conference tracks align to such topics have never been conducted. This study evaluates tendencies in CELA published abstracts in recent years to determine which topics are most relevant to current LA-based research and assesses how the CELA track system parallels these trends. We gathered CELA abstracts and analyzed them comprehensively and by individual research track. Despite its century-long legacy, thorough data exist only on CELA abstract submissions from 2013–2019, a total of 2,426 abstract entries over a seven-year period. We applied latent Dirichlet allocation models on abstracts to identify the top 20 topics. Trends show that communitybased approaches involving climate change, hydrology, land reuse, and social equity issues are at the core of most recent CELA research while research also continually seeks to embrace new technology and tools. The topics we identified as most relevant to LA research inform recommendations for CELA’s track system; these topics can also be used by other LA-based conference venues to help reshape their organizational structures. The methodology can be replicated and applied to different conference venues.

KEYWORDS
  • Latent Dirichlet allocation
  • landscape architecture
  • design research
  • topic analysis
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Landscape Journal: 39 (2)
Landscape Journal
Vol. 39, Issue 2
1 Jan 2021
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Recent Trends in LA-Based Research: A Topic Analysis of CELA Abstract Content
Galen Newman, Dongying Li, Zhihan Tao, Rui Zhu
Landscape Journal Jan 2021, 39 (2) 51-73; DOI: 10.3368/lj.39.2.51

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Recent Trends in LA-Based Research: A Topic Analysis of CELA Abstract Content
Galen Newman, Dongying Li, Zhihan Tao, Rui Zhu
Landscape Journal Jan 2021, 39 (2) 51-73; DOI: 10.3368/lj.39.2.51
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    • INTRODUCTION
    • A REVIEW OF LA RESEARCH TOPICS
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Keywords

  • Latent Dirichlet allocation
  • landscape architecture
  • design research
  • topic analysis
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