RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Landscape Architecture and Societal Values: Evidence from the Literature JF Landscape Journal FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 149 OP 155 DO 10.3368/lj.19.1-2.149 VO 19 IS 1-2 A1 Kapper, Thomas A1 Chenoweth, Richard YR 2000 UL http://lj.uwpress.org/content/19/1-2/149.abstract AB Through a literature search, this paper critically assesses the field of landscape architecture by evaluating its societal value as demonstrated by the promotion of health, safety, and the general welfare. The resulting evidence suggests that the activities of landscape architects do indeed have a value to society. However, it is not evident that landscape architects are unique in their ability to carry out these activities. We posit a two-fold response: (1) adopt landscape aesthetics as a foundational bedrock to distinguish landscape architecture from allied disciplines; and (2) rigorously show the contribution of landscape architects to social value via post-occupancy evaluations. The vast majority of the evidence uncovered was not created by landscape architects conducting original, empirical research. We conclude that scholarship in landscape architecture entails more than the traditional “research” recognized within the academy. Adopting Ernest Boyer's framework from Scholarship Reconsidered (1991) can help establish more useful criteria for evaluating work in the discipline and aid in organizing the literature.