Landscape and city building are inseparable. That may seem obvious, but we like to think of "nature" as something outside of humanity and specifically outside the city. Every street, every park, every building, every feral vacant lot, every bend in the bayous is a choice we make. We choose to shape. We choose to leave be. If we aren’t thinking deeply about our goals—diversity, equity, resilience, democracy—about what is right, then we risk deluding ourselves. We often get caught in rhetorical traps when talking nature in Houston. Design approaches that seem noble, like restoring native species, can be wishful thinking at best and alibis for perpetuating injustices at worst unless we keep our highest objectives in mind.
Andrew Albers; Ernesto Alfaro; Keiji Asakura; Katie Coyne; Stephen Fox; Bill Fulton; Guy Hagstette; Eric Leshinsky; Torie Ludwin; Raj Mankad; Falon Mihalic; Peter Molick; Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez; Peter Walker; and Allyn West.