Methodological guidelines for optimizing the interaction between landscape architecture and urban planning

The article presents the results of research on optimization of interaction between natural and urban structures by applying the principles of landscape architecture. The research seeks to answer how landscape architecture can be beneficial in pursuit for the sustainable coexistence of nature and the city, what forms the creative field of landscape architecture in the urban environment and what determines the optimal expression of landscape architectural means in the urban landscape. The research is carried out in the city of Vilnius (Lithuania), but methods of the problem analysis and research can be easily adapted to other cities. The hypothesis of the research states that landscape architecture is an integral part of sustainable urban development and urban design paradigm, while applying the methods and principles of creation of landscape architecture, city's ecological, aesthetic and socio-functional needs are optimally matched and solved by combining them into a unified, sustainable three-member system operating in time and generating continuous natural and social processes. The article presents the conclusions of the research results concerning the factors determining the quality and specifics of interaction between landscape architecture and urbanism, in respect of optimal methods of interaction research, expression indicators and evaluation criteria.