Ecology
In An Ecological Method, Mcharg introduces the idea of an indispensable basis for landscape architecture upon which all organisms and physical environments accommodate, while Banham in Autopia, elaborates on the concept that an existing ecology can be any artificial environmental condition. In accordance with Banham, any current urban or regulated environment can replicate the formal system infused by ecology.
Mcharg argues that “People and their habitat coexist”, hence the reason why ecology pays such an important role in any primitive form of life. From cities to societies, ecology is the perpetual system in which these entities develop and form. Their physical and biological evolutions correspond to their interactions with their surrounding environments. Weather this environments are similar or extremely diverse, it’s the understanding of this environment system that forms the hints of progression and evolution on their respected. Yet this seems to be ignored in the conscious by their users since every single aspect of influence comes from the inherit.
Banham in the contrary argues that any environment can and is capable of replicating this effects of its people. He uses Angelino’s as his example of a society who has effectively embraced its artificial environment. This societies understanding of the context in which they live limits them to develop a previous idea of the current environment, hence the reason why they embrace and expertise in their own environment. “The fact that no single ordinance, specification, or instruction manual describes the system in its totality, does not make it any less complete or all-embracing.”The understanding this society has of its environment begins to disprove the idea of ecology as being innate of completely derive from nature. This society obeys, respects, and involve themselves, in multiple aspects that completely revolve over their current artificial scenario. They understand signs, traffic, culture, and economy.
The idea of any environment playing the mayor leading role of its society may be at glance obvious, yet it can be a means of generalizing and standardizing complete societies. If all cities were to be designed and developed exactly the same, societies could begin to unify and correlate in organization.