After the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre, landscape architects in North America have been called on to design public landscapes that are not only more secure but also aesthetically pleasing. In this article, the author explores the cultural and political implications of certain plant-based design strategies drawn from the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design movement—in particular those that facilitate visual surveillance of public landscapes. Taking a broadly socio-semiotic approach, the author attempts to use a consideration of the way particular techniques work, socially and practically speaking, to reveal forms of significance that would not otherwise be apparent. The author concludes with a brief analysis of the winning design for the new American Embassy in London, as an example of a landscape attempting to be both environmentally friendly and secure.
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