Silo-busting leads to cross-sector brawl: Landscape architecture versus planning & engineering

[Marisel Brown]

How would you/should you mediate a turf brawl between two groups you must have in a collaborative effort to create a healthy/walkable community? Overlooked aspects of silo-busting collaboration are turf battles between practitioners from related but distinct disciplines. As public health practitioners begin working more closely with land use, engineering, and design professionals, it might be useful to know a bit about the tensions that exist. Cruising the engineering/design/land use blogosphere makes cybereavesdropping possible. The conversion of an abandoned stretch of elevated transit rail into a well-trafficed urban park drew stinging words from engineers and city planners who were accused of "taking the lead in creating systems that replace natural functions on a grand scale to support sprawling populations". Read the opinion piece and comments from the insulted/appauled dissenters.
http://enr.construction.com/opinions/editorials/2009/0701-Landscape...

[Fiona Hyde]

The turf battle between professionals in these three fields is a bit overdone in the article. There is a new generation of professionals who have been exposed to the viewpoint/ways of thinking of each practice. We don't have too many people who are not able to be team players. There is money on the line and anyone who does not understand the "time is money" aspects of our work will not last long.