Inside the first 2023 issue of the Journal of Landscape Architecture, the academic journal of the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools (ECLAS), a review by Swagata Das of Stefano Boeri Architetti’s book Green Obsession, Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests (ed. Actar, 2022) is published.
The text traces the path that Stefano Boeri Architetti has followed over the last fifteen years, aiming to redefine the relationship between city and nature. Analysing the main chapters of the book, the review attempts to reveal the processes and complexity involved in the search for a new type of urbanism, raising questions and opening up new scenarios on the relationship between the human species and living Nature.
Green Obsession proposes an alternative path to take, a paradigm shift to give voice to the ecological transition; it represents a starting philosophy for all of the firm’s projects – a philosophy that was honoured in 2023 with the UN SDG Action Award, which recognises initiatives that mobilise, inspire and connect communities to promote positive change.
Selected from more than 5,000 entries from 190 countries covering the full range of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Green Obsession – among the two finalists in the INSPIRE category – won the top prize, motivated by the jury as follows: “encourages a new perspective on cities, promotes global collaboration and supports transformative policy actions. It envisages sustainable cities and communities that prioritise good health and well-being, while intensifying climate action through its creative approach to urban planning, ecological connectivity and urban forestry – meeting SDGs 3, 11 and 13.”
For the full issue of the magazine: https://www.jola-lab.eu/issue/1_2023/