About
ASLA Is Committed to Climate Action
Landscape Architecture: A Solution to the Climate Crisis
Explore ASLA resources on climate change, organized by type:
Commitments | Policy Recommendations | Case Studies | Awards | Resource Guides | News | Federal Advocacy | Education
Since its founding in 1899, ASLA has promoted sustainable land use planning and design, the conservation of critical land and water resources, and the protection of biodiversity, which supports all life on Earth. In the past few decades, ASLA and its 15,000 members have become more active proponents of planning and designing nature-based solutions to both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and help communities adapt to a changing climate. Landscape architects plan and design smart climate solutions that work for all communities. See ASLA public policies that shape our advocacy work.
ASLA’s members agree to a code of environmental ethics, which states that members will make “every effort within our sphere of influence to enhance, respect, and restore the life-sustaining integrity of the landscape for all living things.”
The Kresge Foundation analyzed more than 30 professional societies and
found ASLA to be one of just nine organizations that have “adopted a
holistic approach” to educating the public about
climate change “that includes adaptation, mitigation, and the explicit
consideration of social justice.” Read the report.
Commitments
We Are Still In Declaration
In 2018, ASLA became one of 63 cultural institutions to sign the We Are Still In Declaration. Some 3,800 leaders representing 70 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and 65 percent of the population have signed the declaration, committing to the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and America’s contribution to it.
Policy Recommendations
Smart Policies for a Changing Climate
In 2017, ASLA convened a panel of leading landscape architects and representatives from allied professions, which resulted in a report that offers 36 policy recommendations across five areas to federal, state, and local policy-makers. Six core planning and design principles guide the recommendations.
Case Studies
Easy to understand case studies outline how landscape architects plan and design nature-based solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase communities' resilience to climate shocks. The case studies were made possible through multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes
Sustainable planning and design, which preserves, develops, and enhances natural resource for future generations, is the basis of any climate solution. Explore 40 case studies that have moved sustainable landscape planning and design forward.
Professional and Student Awards
ASLA professional awards honor the best of the landscape architecture profession. The ASLA Student Awards honor the best creative work of emerging leaders in the profession. Explore hundreds of award winners from 2019 to 2005 that improved the sustainability and resilience of communities around the world.
ASLA Student Awards
Browse and search for creative plans, designs, and community service projects.
Resource Guides
ASLA's popular resources guides highlight the solutions landscape architects plan and design with communities and include links to hundreds of vetted projects, case studies, and reports. The guides are rooted in ASLA's public policies, and many are shaped by advisory groups of leading landscape architects.
Climate Change Mitigation
Resilient Design
Green Infrastructure
Transportation
Sustainable Residential Design
Sustainable Urban Development
News
ASLA's publications have covered how landscape architects plan and design climate solutions for more than a decade. Explore hundreds of articles and interviews.
Federal Advocacy
Guided by the policy priorities of ASLA's members, ASLA's Government Affairs team has been a strong advocate on Capitol Hill for legislation that makes communities more resilient to climate change. ASLA also advocates for climate-smart policies and regulations to a range of Federal agencies. Current legislative priorities include: the Living Shorelines Act, Safeguarding America's Future and Environment (SAFE) Act, and the Environmental Justice Act.
Education
ASLA educates the public, K-12 students and teachers, and its members on the ecological, social, and economic impacts of the climate crisis. Educational resources created by members focus on how to plan and design real-world solutions that increase sustainability while making communities more resilient to change.
Sketchup Animations and Companion Educational Guides
Explore SketchUp Animations
Explore Educational Resource Guides (K-12)
With the NEA's support, ASLA produced a series of 10 short educational SketchUp animations with Daniel Tal, ASLA, on landscape planning and design solutions to climate change. Each has a companion educational guide featuring games, curricula, and other resources for K-12 teachers and students.
ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture
ASLA Online Learning
Explore Online Learning
Approximately 30 percent of ASLA member-created webinars relate to climate change, resilience, and sustainability.