This course provides an overview of contemporary landscape architecture as a design discipline and a creative force in shaping the built environment, particularly in relation to issues of urbanisation, the environmental movement, and sustainable development. It includes an exploration of the influences on design thinking and practice, including philosophical, historical, theoretical, social and environmental. Assessment activities engage with the key projects, practitioners, issues and themes that have shaped the profession and practice of landscape architecture since the late 19th century. Students develop a landscape design vocabulary, the ability to critically analyse design projects, and the skills required for academic research and essay writing.