Research in disruptive times: Reflections on the new ‘new normal’

Abstract

In 2011, knowledge production and consumption was declared the ‘new normal’ in landscape architecture (Deming & Swaffield 2011). Yet even while the research terrain was being mapped, the discipline’s emerging methodologies were themselves being disrupted by environmental, economic and social upheavals. The magnitude and speed of change in the 21st century challenges the ways in which research can respond, with the need to negotiate the accelerating effects of climate change, financial crises and emerging trade wars, and the covid-19 pandemic. Extreme events disrupt local communities and landscapes, and social media and increasingly polarised political and social movements challenge existing knowledge institutions and public policy formation. What are the implications of such multi-scalar disruptions for Landscape Architecture research and scholarship? How can useful and valid knowledge be created in rapidly changing circumstances? What is the emerging new ‘new norm’? This presentation reflects critically on the methodological implications for landscape architecture research when contexts, values and priorities change faster than conventional research cycles. It draws upon 25 years of academic editing and peer review, analyses of the disciplines research methodologies, and our direct experience of multiple disruptive events over the past decade in Canterbury, NZ, including earthquakes, wildfires, a major terrorist attack, and covid-19. Such disruption has multiple dimensions. Research settings become more dynamic and follow unpredicted trajectories; new research questions emerge quickly and demand rapid responses; research institutions become unstable, and traditional roles (such as publication gatekeepers) are questioned; previously unheard voices demand greater equity and justice. These dynamics challenge current landscape research protocols, many of which are still provisional, and require the discipline to ask how can we quickly create, evaluate and share knowledge during disruption in ways that are ethical, valid, and trustworthy? Several potential pathways to a ‘nimble’ new normal are identified:- • Fitness for purpose - designing methodologies and validating new knowledge based upon context and need rather than normative protocols. • Inclusive and grounded - drawing values from indigenous and local ecologies and cultures and foregrounding a wide range of different voices to scope and prioritise action. ‘Citizen science’ and action research are examples of more inclusive methodologies. • Adaptative - learning from design practitioners’ flexibility and diagnostic techniques, using action-based strategies, and framing inquiry through cases that reveal distinctive qualities while enabling comparison. • Collaborative - parallel processes rather than sequential directed stages, cross disciplinary and international networks, and collaborators who include non-traditional researchers. For example, in Aotearoa New Zealand Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) is now a required component of all government funded research. These four potential pathways offer perspectives on ‘rapid response’ research approaches, and this paper includes examples of an emerging set of strategies in this dynamic setting.