Drawing from diverse disciplines including philosophy, history, cultural criticism, visceral geography, urban studies, gender studies, and racial aesthetics, the 18th Issue of LA+ explores the elusive and enigmatic theme BEAUTY in relation to landscape architecture and the constructed environment. Rather than arrive at any one singular definition of beauty, within its pages, contributors challenge readers with alternative views through deep and critical reflection. What is a “beautiful” landscape today? Is there such a thing as “natural beauty”? Why do humans across the cultural spectrum concern themselves so much with the beautification of themselves, their objects, and their surroundings? Is beautification benevolent or nefarious? Is there value — economic or otherwise — in beauty, and whose interests do ideals of beauty serve? In the end, why does beauty matter at all?

LA+ BEAUTY is guest-edited by Colin Curley, a New York-based landscape architect and architect whose work navigates the complex environmental and socio-political dimensions of disturbed, contaminated industrial landscapes, and seeks to expand the range of their aesthetic and experiential potential.

Edited by Tatum L. Hands and Richard J. Weller. All contributors: Mariagrazia Portera, Luke Morgan, Elizabeth Meyer, Colin Curley, Jeffrey Blankenship, Jessica Hayes-Conroy, Gretchen Ernster Henderson, Sarem Sunderland, Dan van der Horst, Saskia Vermeylen, Winifred Curran, Michelle Stuhlmacher, Elsa Anderson, Brandi Thompson Summers, Libby Viera-Bland, Sanda Iliescu, Adrian Bejan, Vincent Baptist, Nicholas Holm