The Department of Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona recognizes the serious challenges facing human kind in the 21st century: Rapidly expanding population pressures in the context of finite, non-renewable resources; and an increasingly multicultural society. We believe that these issues are fundamental, placing concepts of regeneration, livability, justice and sustainability at the forefront of the environmental design agenda.
In many respects, the Los Angeles region is a bellwether, an early indicator of issues, patterns and processes that will become prevalent in many parts of the world during this century. As such, the Department is uniquely situated to be a leader in "Re-Generating L.A.," and educating future landscape architectural professionals to meet these challenges. To this end, the Department strives to be a center of creative excellence in landscape architecture, internationally recognized for communicating values of ecological and social sustainability to students and the community.
The agenda of Re-Generating the Los Angeles region suggests a challenging of traditional issues confronted by landscape architects in teaching, research and service. It requires a keen awareness of issues in the region, on the part of faculty and students; it requires an educational approach which is based on student-driven inquiry and grounded in real case studies, in real communities; it requires a design process which emphasizes community engagement, field interpretation, multiple spatial and temporal scales; and it requires careful analysis and monitoring of results to inform and refine practices. Above all, it requires an adaptable and responsive faculty, student body, and curriculum in order to confront and resolve critical issues and concerns as they arise.
Within our undergraduate and graduate curriculum, you will notice a conscious effort to integrate this vision into design studios as well as support courses. Design problems actively engage issues facing the region and local communities, and carefully consider the repercussions of proposed design actions; the flexibility of topical studios and modules week allows for the exploration of contemporary issues; all courses instill essential technical skills, while at the same time fostering critical and principled thinking concerning the role and responsibilities of landscape architects in society.
The explicit integration of this vision into the Department curriculum is essential to accomplish our mission of preparing students to resolve the ecological and social challenges of the 21st century.
