Dog-Led Urbanism: An Investigation To Improve The Dog-Friendly Public Landscape In Wellington City Central.

<p><strong>As one of the earliest animals raised by humans, dogs were domesticated and raised in the Neolithic Age 10,000 years ago. The main purposes of keeping dogs at that time were hunting, housekeeping and playing. With the development of society, more and more people are raising dogs. As pets, dogs have become the second most important biological group on the planet after humans. The isolation life caused by the epidemic has also created a need for many people living alone, especially the elderly, to keep dogs. People began to place their emotions on their dogs and treat dogs as family members. Dogs' social and behavioral needs should be met outside the private spaces of the home, i.e., urban public spaces. In today's urban public spaces, designers strive to meet people's needs and preferences to encourage people to get out. However, the needs of dogs as users of public spaces can easily be overlooked. Due to the limitations of travel methods for dog-owning residents living in the city center, when taking their dogs out, the public spaces available in large cities are often limited.There are now more than 600,000 registered pet dogs in New Zealand, and on average one in every three or four households has a dog. New Zealand still has huge potential as the second most pet-friendly country. Pet-friendly shops are everywhere in the capital, Wellington, but the lack of dog-friendly public spaces in urban areas is also evident. Wellington's dog-owning residents are clamoring for the city's existing public spaces. On the other hand, as one of the main groups of people who keep dogs in the city, the needs of the elderly living alone to take their dogs out also deserve the attention of designers.To address these challenges, landscape architecture has the potential to improve dogfriendly public spaces in cities. When land use in cities is relatively saturated, building roofs can serve as potential sites for landscape design. This study explores how landscape architecture can create interactive, interesting, multifunctional public spaces for people and dogs in cities. The case study site was selected as Wellington city centre, focusing on the busy area of Wellington city centre. During the research, it was discovered that the number of open spaces at ground level in Wellington city center was limited and crowded, so rooftops were explored as a site option for part of the design.</strong></p>