INTRODUCTION

In this thesis, l address the relationship between perception, knowledge, and aesthetic pleasure as these relate to the design of landscapes. Based on a close reading of relevant literature and a series of designer and visitor interviews, I question the use of visual "frames" to discuss aesthetic experience. Instead, l propose a discussion of aesthetics which is based on the literature of cognition and category formation in the context of shared culture.

The definition of landscape as a social construct that both reflects and influences our understanding of the natural world is common to the landscape literature in geography and design (Cosgrove 1988, Crandall 1993, Hunt 1992). However, many landscape architecture scholars point out that landscape interpretation which is informed by traditional aesthetics do not reflect our contemporary ecological understanding of the natural world (Howett 1987, Mozingo 1998, Spirn 1988). Moreover, environmental psychology studies show that the public's aesthetic reaction to many ecologically valuable landscapes is negative (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). Joan Nassauer (1995) argues that we are unable to recognize ecological quality directly, and must use cultural frames to define what is natural and what is valuable. She claims that the appreciation and preservation of ecological landscapes can be encouraged using aesthetic conventions to place ecological function in a recognizable context.

Nassauer describes the use of such conventions in her article, "Cultural Sustainability: Aligning Aesthetics and Ecology":

The cultural necessity that could make patterns for healthy landscape recognizable exists ready-made. We are deeply attached to beautiful landscapes, and we have strong cultural conventions for how an attractive landscape should look. Landscapes that we describe as beautiful tend to conform to aesthetic conventions for the scenic, but they are relatively rare. Landscapes that we describe as attractive tend to conform to aesthetic conventions for the display of care, which can be exhibited in virtually any landscape....Both the scenic aesthetic and the aesthetic of care are culturally ingrained and conceptually well developed. They are also resistant to change. Each creates a powerful cultural necessity for protecting and making landscapes (Nassauer 1997, pg. 67).1

Of course, the cultural necessity for beauty that Nassauer describes is based in a deeper cultural belief in the primacy of the visual sense that a growing number of scholars trace to the artistic, technological, and scientific developments of the Renaissance (Howett 1997). Thus, Nassauer's proposed use of aesthetic conventions to bring value and meaning to ecological landscapes implies more than that we will protect landscapes that we find beautiful. Indeed, it can be seen as an extension of an inherited world view that characterizes the relationship between humans and the natural world in specific ways.

In Placing Nature - a recently published essay collection on culture and landscape ecology (edited by Nassauer) - two articles, one by philosopher Marcia Mulder Eaton and one by Nassauer, create a dialogue about aesthetics and ecology. In "The Beauty That Requires Health" Eaton (1997) extends Nassauer's general idea that we can create value in ecological landscapes by "setting characteristics of iandscape beauty and care side by side with characteristics of ecological health" (Nassauer 1992, pg. 248). In addition, Eaton proposes a model of aesthetic experience in which ecological health is considered beautiful. In this model, ecological forms in the landscape such as the multiple layers of vegetation found in a riparian zone, for example, would inspire our aesthetic appreciation. This type of appreciation, however, depends on our recognition of ecological health. Here, Eaton draws on the work of colleague Allen Carlson. Carlson (1981) argues that we don't really know how to aesthetically appreciate nature because, unlike art, we had no hand in creating it. He asserts that we need ecological knowledge about how natural elements are formed in order to aesthetically appreciate them. Without ecological knowledge Eaton's aesthetic model would fall apart.

Rather than frame ecological function in "familiar, attractive packages" as Nassauer suggests, Eaton proposes that we should learn about how natural forms and functions are associated, and in this way make a connection between ecological health and beauty. Nassauer responds to this proposal by asking, "How do we achieve greater ecological knowledge?" Her own answer to this question underscores our established cultural reliance on our visual sense to define the workings of the natural world. She says,

Perhaps the most powerfully omnipresent form of environmental education is simply viewing the landscape. Looking at the landscape as we go about our everyday travels, we constantly judge what we see and learn from it. We should design landscapes and policies to intentionally use the appearance of the landscape to help people recognize ecological health (Nassauer 1997, pg. 78).

This thesis asks if Nassauer's observation that aesthetic conventions can permit greater public knowledge and appreciation of ecological landscapes, holds true in two urban examples of ecological design: Gas Works Park and Waterworks Gardens in Seattle, WA. My specific question is, does aesthetic appreciation motivate peopie to acquire greater ecological knowledge in these two landscapes? The methodology used to answer this question included site observations and interviews and cognitive mapping with site visitors. It also included interviews with the two landscapes' designers, Rich Haag and Lorna Jordan. A literature review will bring together ideas from philosophy, cognitive science, geography and design to frame this discussion of urban landscape experience.

1. In "Appearance of Ecological System as a Matter of Policy", Nassauer (1992) warns against the use of scenic conventions to give a false identity to ecological systems. However, she argues that scenic conventions can and should be used, "without their intentions of blending or concealing", in a way that makes natural processes recognizable.