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This study uses computer-aided design to improve the ecological and environmental sustainability of early-stage landscape designs. Urban expansion on open land and natural habitats has led to a decline in biodiversity and increased climate change impacts, affecting urban inhabitants' quality of life and well-being. While sustainability indicators have been employed to assess the performance of buildings and neighbourhoods, landscape designs' ecological and environmental sustainability has received comparatively less attention, particularly in early-design stages where applying sustainability approaches is impactful.

The authors propose a computation framework for evaluating key landscape sustainability indicators and providing real-time feedback to designers. The method integrates spatial indicators with widely recognized sustainability rating system credits. A specialized tool was developed for measuring biomass optimization, precipitation management and urban heat mitigation, and a proof-of-concept experiment tested the tool's effectiveness on three Mediterranean neighbourhood-level designs.

The results show a clear connection between the applied design strategy to the indicator behaviour. This connection enhances the ability to establish sustainability benchmarks for different types of landscape developments using parametric design.

The study allows non-expert designers to measure and embed landscape sustainability early in the design stages, thus lowering the entry level for incorporating biodiversity enhancement and climate mitigation approaches.

This study expands the parametric vocabulary for measuring landscape sustainability by introducing spatial ecosystem services and architectural sustainability indicators on a unified platform, enabling the integration of critical climate and biodiversity-loss solutions earlier in the development process.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a measurable terrestrial ecosystem boundary to answer the question: what extent of landscapes, bioregions, continents, and the global Earth System must remain as connected and intact core ecological areas and agro-ecological buffers to sustain local and regional ecosystem services as well as the biosphere commons?

This observational study reviews planetary boundary, biosphere, climate, ecosystems, and ecological tipping point science. It presents a refinement to planetary boundary science to include a measurable terrestrial ecosystem boundary based on landscape ecology and percolation theory. The paper concludes with discussion of the urgency posed by ecosystem collapse.

A new planetary boundary threshold is proposed based on ecology's percolation theory: that across scales 60 percent of terrestrial ecosystems must remain, setting the boundary at 66 percent as a precaution, to maintain key biogeochemical processes that sustain the biosphere and for ecosystems to remain the context for human endeavors. Strict protection is proposed for 44 percent of global land, 22 percent as agro-ecological buffers, and 33 percent as zones of sustainable human use.

It is not possible to carry out controlled experiments on Earth's one biosphere, removing landscape connectivity to see long-term effects results upon ecological well-being.

Spatially explicit goals for the amount and connectivity of natural and agro-ecological ecosystems to maintain ecological connectivity across scales may help in planning land use, including protection and placement of ecological restoration activities.

This paper proposes the first measureable and spatially explicit terrestrial ecosystem loss threshold as part of planetary boundary science.

Approaches to land use planning have gone through considerable evolution during the past 30 years. Western nations have learned hard lessons about the consequences of not considering ecological process and structures when undertaking land use planning, development, and when harvesting resources. As a result, modern concepts of conservation biology and landscape level planning have developed and are beginning to be implemented in North America, Europe, Australia and portions of South America. An approach to ecological based landscape planning, as developed through several applications in Canada, is discussed. The approach incorporates principles of conservation biology and relies heavily on abiotic landscape components for mapping and interpretation. Landscape planning is defined and discussed according to three key components: (1) the planning framework; (2) ecological analysis; and (3) implementation of the whole. The planning framework includes the goals and objectives of the plan which is based on prevailing socio‐cultural values. The analysis attempts to determine full landscale representivity then maximize ecological integrity.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach aimed at facilitating nature conservation that builds on the ecological and social synergies that exist in traditionally managed landscapes in and around protected areas and integrates conservation and social goals to achieve a reduction in the levels of marginalization of indigenous and local communities while preventing ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.

Drawing on literature research and insights from political and historical ecology and systems theory, a framework was developed to aid the understanding of human‐environment interactions taking place in traditionally managed ecosystems and landscapes and to monitor the role that these interactions play in the maintenance of such systems.

Virtually all ecosystems and landscapes must be seen as coupled social‐ecological systems whose ability to respond to stresses and change derives from ecological and social characteristics, as well as from the link between these natural and human components. A variety of mechanisms by which indigenous and rural communities help anchor biodiversity and contribute to social‐ecological resilience were identified.

This paper challenges the rationale behind exclusionary approaches to nature conservation. Indicators are developed to facilitate a shift towards the widespread adoption of “human‐centered” conservation practices, in which nature conservation benefits from the inclusion and empowerment of human communities instead of their exclusion and marginalization.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Chinese municipal infrastructure management using urban landscape design smart technologies and to propose an adaptive approach to introduce the best policy and architectural sustainable planning in the country.

The topic of urban environment design is deemed significant as no universal model for the implementation of landscape design ideas in China have been proposed yet.

The study presents the authors' socioeconomic and socio-ecological vision of the strategies closely related to sustainable development concept. Besides, the paper provides a comparative analysis of the developed vision and other studies' approaches to determining Chinese cities' readiness for the implementation of smart services, architectural and territorial planning in conformity with the laws of nature. The study uncovered the main directions and residents' preferences for the introduction of urban environment design technologies in the cities of China for sustainable management of territories.

Step-by-step recommendations were developed for municipal infrastructure management. The article proposes directions for sustainable architectural planning and urban landscape design in compliance with the principle of harmonious human–nature coexistence and environmental safety.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of how ecological considerations can be integrated into campus strategic and statutory spatial planning. A process of developing ecological objectives and guidelines for inclusion in campus strategic and statutory spatial plans is presented.

This case study introduces a three-phase ecological assessment process developed and applied to the Technion – IIT campus. Ecological considerations are reviewed in multiple campus strategic and spatial plans (primarily in North America and Europe) and in institutional sustainability guidelines; biodiversity and ecosystem service surveys of the campus are conducted and considered with regard to planning; university administrative structures that enable the implementation of ecological planning guidelines are also assessed.

Ecological considerations (biodiversity conservation, habitat preservation and ecosystem integrity) play a relatively minor role in sustainability planning on university campuses. The concepts of connectivity and compactness are applied broadly, but generally refer to social and educational considerations. Physical planning provides an opportunity for integrating ecological priorities into the university’s mission.

Some of the insights may not be generalizable, so it is crucial to continue accumulating similar studies. It is crucial, too, to conduct follow-up research, reporting on the ecological outcomes of plan implementation.

Ecological stewardship is commensurate with the sustainability commitments of universities. Considering their spatial extent and diverse locations, universities can assume an important role in ecological conservation.

Relatively little attention has been given to ecological considerations (biodiversity, ecological integrity and ecosystem services) in campus plans and sustainability documents. This paper suggests how universities can move towards fulfilling a role as ecological stewards through strategic and spatial planning.

One of the crucial elements of addressing global climate challenges through urban tourism is the continuing existence of urban forests. The reasoning is that the ecological attraction of urban forests can impact visitors’ intention to conduct pro-environmental behavior, including low-carbon actions. Thus, more visitors to urban forests will positively affect enhancing the quality of the urban environment. However, the extent to which ecological attraction can influence pro-environmental behavior warrants further investigation due to the complexity of psychosocial factors that impact behavioral intention. The main objective of this research is to examine the effects of the ecological attractiveness of urban forests on the pro-environmental behavior of visitors by exploring motivation, ecological experience, perceived value and knowledge as mediators. Moreover, whether the nature of the urban forest and facilities attract visitors simultaneously is also studied.

Data were collected from 615 respondents who visited three urban forests in Bandung, the second-most populous city in Indonesia, by five-point Likert questionnaires. As an analytical tool, SEM PLS was applied to establish the effect of the ecological performance of the urban forest on the increase in environmentally conscious behavior among urban forest visitors.

The findings demonstrate that the attractiveness of an urban forest affects the growth of environmentally responsible behaviors. Nonetheless, the attractiveness of urban forests is dictated more by their infrastructure than their ecological function. On the contrary, the visitors’ knowledge level can improve their motivation, environmental experience and perceived environmental value. These findings show the significance of developing educational programs with an emphasis on the experience of the visitors so that their ecological performance can contribute to improved low-carbon behavior. In conclusion, this work contributes to the management of sustainable urban tourism.

This work also has some limitations. First, the medium R-square on intention behavior to low-carbon action suggests investigating other influential factors to produce a more robust conscious behavior. Mkono and Hughes (2020) mention that many complex factors that cause positive intention do not necessarily lead to environmental action. Thus, many psychosocial variables need to be explored in different models. Second, the convenient sampling used here does not represent the whole population, making generalization difficult. Thus, further work needs to apply more rigorous sampling techniques to validate the findings. Further investigations may also need to be conducted in other urban forests in another Asian country with a similar and different social context for benchmarking, as this study found that the type of attractive urban forest design is a more dense forest, which differs from other studies based in Europe. Exploring more influencing behavioral factors of pro-environmental action in the model is also suggested. Thus, we could contribute more to support recreational activities in urban forests.

As an implication for planning an urban forest to increase its recreational function, the authors illustrate the importance of producing educational programs. Although the improved knowledge of visitors has been shown to strengthen their commitment to perform pro-environmental actions, the mediating role of motivation, experience and perceived value reveals that some activities are required to achieve visitor motivation to actual behavior. Consequently, designing an urban forest requires not only the enhancement of eco-attractions and artificial elements for the convenience of visitors but also the development of an environmental education program that can improve visitors’ environmental experience and perception of ecological value. The designed educational program may use an experiential education approach incorporating objective knowledge of Earth’s current state. The urban forest education program must encourage visitors’ connection and participation with nature. Moreover, knowledge and information about Earth’s environmental quality can increase visitors’ perceived value, ensuring that their activities in the urban forest contribute to improved health, environmental quality and social environment. Thus, with well-managed and provided education, they are encouraged to adopt low-carbon action because it complements their contribution to a better quality environment.

The theoretical contribution of this research is generated through the role of urban forest attractiveness in the intention to conduct low-carbon action, which influences solutions to existing urban environmental problems. This work exhibits that both ecological attractiveness and attractiveness of artificial elements in urban forests can attract visitors and subsequently boost their outdoor recreation motivation, ecological experience and perceived value and then turn them to boost their intention to conduct low-carbon action. The physical characteristics of a site are behavioral stimuli that can increase a person’s motivation, experience and perception of the value of the environment, thereby increasing their intention to engage in low-carbon actions. This environment behavioral construction is fundamental in understanding that urban forests offer ecological benefits and influence the social quality of urban communities. Nevertheless, without visitor activity, urban forests are merely physical entities that become increasingly demanding to maintain. Due to this, an urban forest that is socially active and has an influence on promoting environmentally conscious behavior is needed, and its presence is becoming ever more crucial. This work shows the significance of integrating psychosocial approaches into managing tourism in urban forests.

Considers that in ecosystem, landscape and global ecology, an energetics reading of ecological systems is an expression of a cybernetic, systemic and holistic approach. In ecosystem ecology, the Odumian paradigm emphasizes the concept of emergence, but it has not been accompanied by the creation of a method that fully respects the complexity of the objects studied. In landscape ecology, although the emergentist, multi‐level, triadic methodology of J.K. Feibleman and D.T. Campbell has gained acceptance, the importance of emergent properties is still undervalued. In global ecology, the Gaia hypothesis is an expression of an organicist metaphor, while the emergentist terminology used is incongruent with the underlying physicalist cybernetics. More generally, an analytico‐additional methodology and the reduction of the properties of ecosystems to the laws of physical chemistry render purely formal any assertion about the emergentist and holistic nature of the ecological systems studied.

The economy of Fujian has caused tremendous development momentum and increased the economic exchanges between Taiwan and the mainland since the establishment of the free trade area of Fujian province. However, the contradiction between ecological protection and economic development should be considered on the basis of solving the problem of building trade zones. Performing regional trade zone planning from the ecological and economic perspectives is difficult, not only should the ecological and economic perspectives meet and emphasize the ecological and economical levels of interaction, but also achieve the optimization of eco-economic development potential of the free trade zone. In view of the above problems, according to the economy and resource allocation base of the new trade zone in Fujian Province, the space planning strategy development was carried out in this paper. In the overall layout of the new trade zone, the chain service area, the high-end service area, and the city near the port are taken as a major planning axis. North and South regions are gathering areas of shipping, logistics and new industries, developing on three partitions of function, improvement and advance around Haijing Road. The landscape is divided into Cai Jianwei mountain and Jing Kouyan mountain as the basis, and the third South China Sea Road and Haixin road form six corridors between mountain and sea. With the foundation of international cruise port development planning, the ease of east harbors should be promoted to north, and the development rhythm od airport planning areas should be strictly controlled, which can prepare for the later spatial release of the relocation of the airport from city planning areas. The main line of the important traffic node is reserved to improve the stock space, and the industrial neighborhood area near the central fishing port of Fujian and Taiwan is reserved, which can provide the regional space preparation for the planning of the new trade zone.

This paper investigates the adaptive capacity expressed by an agricultural region in response to changing conditions as a mean to address the future of cultural landscapes in a time of extreme uncertainty. Through the conceptual framework of biocultural diversity, the work assesses regimes shifts and persistence as a dialectic between natural and anthropogenic components of the landscape.

Specifically, the mechanisms of progressive landscape adaptation are explored by using an integrated method to align manifestations of biological and cultural diversity. Through a multidimensional approach applied to spatial analysis, the study determines a relationship between the footprint of past and modern landscape regimes and contemporary rural management practices in McLaren Vale, South Australia.

The biological and cultural diversity patterns along riparian corridors, or “biocultural corridors” are indicators of past and current adaptive capacity, which are able to convey novel trajectories of sustainable management in the landscape system.

Understanding the positive feedback loops between nature and human interactions as represented by their interrelationships in the landscape can inform planning decisions for sustainable agricultural development and enable effective regional long-term trajectories of resilience.