Growing community: A case for hybrid landscapes

Hybrid landscapes are community landscapes. They are generated by combining two place-making processes: the ways that traditional public parks and streets are designed and maintained, and the acts of small-scale appropriation and embellishment that lead to the diversity and richness of front and backyards in residential neighbourhoods. Hybrid landscapes facilitate environmental communication between the community and individuals, and strengthen community sentiment by serving as mechanisms for the propagation of valued neighbourhood qualities that are threatened by redevelopment. In that context, the paper discusses neighbourhoods as familiar, restorative, memorable and beautiful environments. A community greenway, a model hybrid landscape, is described as an example, and rules for making such landscapes are explained.