'Splash Pad Urbanism,' Threats to Open Space, and More Landscape Architecture Trends

There was plenty of good to go with the bad from a year of professional and academic practice in the field of landscape architecture.

1 minute read

December 13, 2017, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Splash Park

Oleg Mayorov / Shutterstock

Charles A. Birnbaum takes a tour of the year in the field of landscape architecture, noting the big trends in an up and down year for the profession.

Among the highlights of the year: Kate Orff, founder of SCAPE, earned a MacArthur genius grant, a first for the profession. Among examples of the best projects by landscape architecture around the country, Birnbaum explores Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee; and an eight-acre addition to the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Birnbaum is not as kind in assessing a trend that dominated landscape architecture in 2017—what Birnbaum calls "splash pad urbanism." According to Birnbaum, the reliance on splash pads as a one-size-fits-all park amenity raises the question: "are we becoming lazy?—or just willing to accept a little mediocrity in exchange for a planning board’s easy approval (and public buy-in)?" When considering the rise of splash pad urbanism, and its implications, recall also the term "bouncy house urbanism," coined by Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne. It seems there's a lowest common denominator available for every age bracket.

Also concerning Birnbaum is the ongoing threat to open space, which includes the Trump Administration's unprecedented decisions to shrink national monuments, but also the decision to site the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago

Monday, December 11, 2017 in Huffington Post

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

May 22 - CALmatters

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

May 22 - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

May 22 - The Urbanist