Series

The Library of American Landscape History (LALH) is dedicated to expanding the general public’s understanding of North American landscape design history and those who have shaped it. In partnership with the University of Georgia Press, LALH has launched the Critical Perspectives in the History of Environmental Design series.

 

Books in the series might be about a place (or places), a designer (or designers), other historical figures important to the history of environmental design, a significant theme or movement revealed and understood by analyzing the design of places, or an assessment of historical literature on the subject. While the focus is on the United States, international linkages and the evolution and transference of ideas through time and space are considered important to the American story.

 

Books in the series also reveal tensions inherent in the subject matter. For example, many pioneers of nineteenth-century conservation indulged in entrepreneurial activities that ultimately destroyed the natural landscapes they wished to save. The concept of wilderness has been championed and also criticized from a postmodern perspective. The development of urban parks has been presented as the height of social responsibility and also, at times, as a diversion from the pressing social problems of the day.

 

Because of the absolute necessity of sustainable living in the future, this series is also timely. Books in the series will foster a cross-disciplinary dialogue about the human / nature relationship, influencing the decisions we make and the places we design today.