Understanding green urban landscape
Maria R. Jaakola

A phenomenological approach.

Understanding green urban landscape connects the philosophical realm of phenomenology with the field of landscape architecture, building bridges between disciplines. Green urban landscape is explored with case examples of well-known park systems in Boston and Helsinki. Different narratives illuminate the landscapes from different angles; performance and movie-making inform the research, and a map-based public survey provides the perspective of others. As a result, the visible and invisible aspects of landscape emerge, including personal experiences and the processes of becoming — how the landscapes have come into being.

The approach is theory-based but practice-oriented, emphasizing the multisensory experience and multidimensionality of green urban landscape. The research provides a tool for analyzing landscapes — an aide to understand them more profoundly and in a more empathetic way — towards both the landscapes themselves and the people living and using them.