Peter Jacobs is Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture, Université de Montréal following a research and teaching career that has spanned 50 years. He has lectured throughout North America, Europe and Latin America and has served as Invited Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, USA; the Technion, Israel; l’Universidad del Valle, Columbia; and Tsinghau University, China. He has published widely on the cultural aspects of garden design, landscape perception, and sustainable and equitable development.
He is a Fellow and Past president of the CSLA, Fellow of the ASLA, and Honorary Member of the Columbian Society of Landscape Architects. He served as Canada's delegate to IFLA for ten years, and chaired the College of Senior Fellows, Landscape and Garden Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C., where he was named the first Beatrix Farrand Distinguished Fellow.
Emeritus Chairman of the Environmental Planning Commission, IUCN, Peter served for 36 years as President of the Kativik Environmental Quality Commission and was a member of numerous Canadian Committees, Commissions and public hearings concerned with conservation and development. He chaired the Public Advisory Committee on Canada's State of Environment Report, 1980-1990.
Peter has consulted on the planning and design of urban open space systems at all scales including the “Parc des trois sommets” on Mount-Royal mountain, the rehabilitation of Parc Jean Drapeau, the design of Place Émilie Gamlin and the Story Teller’s Garden for young children. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of the Arts and is Chair of the Montreal Heritage Council.
PUBLICATIONS
Jacobs, Peter, (2013); “Modern Garden Types”; in : A Cultural History of Gardens in the Modern Age; John Dixon Hunt and Michael Leslie, eds.; Bloomsbury Publishing; London
Jacobs, Peter, (2007); Echoes of Paradise: Fernando Chacel’s Gardens in the Coastal Plain of Jacarepaguà; In : Existence and Experience in Contemporary Garden Design; Harvard Press and Dumbarton Oaks; Washington DC.
Jacobs, Peter, (2007); “Nous sommes tous les urbains : esquisses et prospectives de l’environnement urbain”; Environnements urbains/Urban environements; Vol. 1, pp.1-9.
Jacobs, Peter, (2003); Après Baudelaire, quoi de neuf; Studies In the History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes; Vol. 23, no 4, October; pp. 328-339.
Jacobs, Peter; (1998); Paysage de Nunavik/Territoire du Nouveau Québec; in : Le paysage Territoire d’intentions; Harmattan, Montréal.
Jacobs, Peter et Sadler Barry, eds., (1990); Développement durable et évaluation environnementale : perspectives de planification d’un avenir commun; Conseil canadien de la recherche sur l’évaluation environnementale, Ottawa.
Jacobs, Peter & Munro, David, eds., (1987); Conservation with Equity: Strategies for Sustainable Development; Proceedings of the Ottawa Conference on Implementing the World Conservation Strategy, IUCN & Canadian Wildlife Federation.
Jacobs, Peter, ed. (1979); "Canada: Landscape Planning for People". Landscape Planning, Vol. 6, no. 2, August, 153 p.; Elsevier Scientific Publishing, Amsterdam.
