Week 4 - Land

Activities affecting land may include:

• Roads / Transport (e.g changes to the Pokeno road - how does it affect landform and how does this affect people living either side or the road.  One mitigation for this work is the vegetative bund at the roadside which adds both an aesthetic quality and a noise barrier)
• Developments (Buildings)
• Coastal infrastructure
• Water infrastructure (large changes to subterranean structures, such as new wastewater mains, can affect land especially during building and maintenance. 
• Agriculture / Farming (use and management of farms can affect the land environment)
• Power infrastructure (e.g windfarms can have a negative or positive effect on the visual quality of the land but this view is subjective).
• Mining (often the effects are hidden but aerial photos demonstrate how the land is affected).

Case Study - Transmission Gully, Wellington

The new motorway at Transmission Gully will have a major affect on many local and visiting people to the Wellington area.  Wellington has a single road access via a coastal road which is vulnerable to flooding and events such as earthquakes may also isolate the city.  The proposed motorway over Transmission Gully (see photos) required significant landscape assessments. 

Landscape architects control landscape assessments.  These are a very recent type of assessment which are very specialized and require a need to engage and understand the architects as this can be greatly influential in obtaining a consent.