Multifunctional Landscapes as a Basis for Sustainable Landscape Development

In this article it is argued that creating multifunctional landscapes or allowing a landscape to serve multiple purposes is the key to sustainable landscape development. For a landscape to be sustainable, it needs to be well cared for and maintained. It also needs to have a built-in mechanism to absorb changes (disturbances and developments) toward increasing resiliency. Landscape ecological planning such as greenways, ecological networks, and ecological infrastructure is suited to address multifunctional landscapes. The strength of multifunctional landscapes is their ability to afford the needs of diverse users, thus appealing to diverse constituents with various recreational, cultural, and ecological needs/objectives. This leads to a lasting support from these user groups and this support is crucial for landscape sustainability. Multiple uses also facilitate efficient use of time and space, which is an especially attractive feature in urban landscapes where space is limited and a land mosaic is fine and heterogeneous. Time, space, and use conflicts necessarily arise when trying to accommodate multiple competing/conflicting uses. These conflicts can be dealt with strategies such as spatial and temporal separation of uses, stacking, limiting access, and the use of permit to control use.