This course critically examines the role of landscape architecture and heritage conservation in the making of the modern city. While it distinguishes between nature and artifice (something created from human labour) it recognises that the earth is now both commodified and urbanised. As a consequence, the landscape and history of the city have become central to the human condition in direct proportion to the modification, manipulation and loss of these key components of urban identity. Therefore, a fundamental knowledge of the relationship between development impacts, heritage conservation and environmental sustainability is critical to an understanding of contemporary urbanisation. The course explores the relationship between ecology, history and urban morphology, showing how theoretical constructs within the discipline have changed with the changing landscapes of production and consumption which now characterise the cities of the world.