Influence of Landscape Architects Rises With Urbanization

"Just as architects have shaped our surroundings, so have landscape architects who design our parks, plazas and many streetscapes that contribute to Vancouver's label as the world's most livable city. Yet you probably don't know their names."

"Margot Long, a principal at PWL Partnership, a local landscape architecture firm, won an award for her plan for Southeast False Creek, for Town and Gown Square at SFU and for her master plan for Mountain View Cemetery. She's working on the redesign for downtown Granville Street, the waterfront for East Fraserlands and the waterfront for Vancouver, Wash. But she doesn't care if you don't know who she is."

"As more people cram into cities, the work of landscape architects is becoming more important. 'Eighty per cent of the population live in the cities so our cities are so much more important, yet we as human beings still relate so much to the land and our landscape,' Long said."