| In landscape architecture, regional designing is a form of large scale spatial design that develops visions and long-term perspectives for regions in which the existing spatial form and function are under pressure and need to be adapted. Such spatial situations are often ill defined and call for structural change. Regional designing envisions the possible and desirable future arrangement of settlements, infrastructures, water features, nature reserves and other land uses in a region, including the relationships between them, their aesthetic appearance, and how this can be realized in the future (Kempenaar, Westerink, Van Lierop, Brinkhuijsen, & Van den Brink, 2016, p. 21). It is a form of design that engages with strategies and societal issues, such as adapting to climate change (Brand, Kersten, Pot, & Warmerdam, 2014; Wilson, 2006), transition to renewable energy sources (De Waal & Stremke, 2014; Stremke & Koh, 2010), or structural demographic changes (Kempenaar, Van Lierop, Westerink, Van der Valk, & Van den Brink, 2016; Sousa & Pinho, 2013). Examples of regional designing include the visions made for the Le Grand Paris exhibition in 2009 on the future urban development of the greater Paris region (Wells, 2009), the proposals for the Rebuild by Design competition, aimed at making the New York/New Jersey coast more resilient to future hurricanes (Bisker, Chester, & Eisenburg, 2015), and the ‘Landschaftszug’ approach for the spatial adaptation of the shrinking city of Dessau in Germany (Langner, 2014). In projects such as these regional designers aim to contribute to improving the spatial situation by producing long-term perspectives, strategies and pathways that can be used as navigation devices in the uncertain future that lies ahead (Langner, 2014). |