I have been doing a kind of plant-focused landscape criticism for a number of years now. Plants are essential to human … More
Author: Erin Despard
On leaving Scotland
Life in Quebec is easier than life in Scotland, and therefore happier; it feels like home. I am not sorry we … More
Reading urban plants for soil conditions
I have been helping out with a public arts initiative during Glasgow International (festival of visual arts). Soil City is … More
Glasgow City Council’s planning committee visits the North Kelvin Meadow
For eight years, a property developer called New City Vision (NCV) has been trying to gain permission to build condos … More
On living the urban good life, elsewhere. Or, what bikes and plants can do.
We moved to Glasgow from Los Angeles, which many people imagine must have been a difficult move. We did (and … More
Writing about trees
A new planning application has been submitted by New City Vision, who want to build 100 “owner-occupied units” on what … More
collective gardening in an age of social media
The snowdrops and crocuses are up here in Glasgow which means that true spring is somewhere not too far around the … More
Valuing neglected and unregulated landscapes part 4
This post has been a long time coming, and some things have happened in the meantime that have caused me … More
Valuing neglected and unregulated landscapes part 3
The value I want to describe in this post (in a very preliminary fashion), is that associated with the quality or effect of … More
A footnote on landscape ‘values’
As I work through this train of thought (see previous posts on “valuing neglected and unregulated landscapes”), I realize some … More
Communicative Landscapes 