Landscape Architects: Designing a Climate and Nature Positive World

"The world is both facing a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis. The heart of the solution for both of these problems is nature.

Landscape architects design with nature, so we can keep communities:

COOL
SAFE
HEALTHY

As landscape architects, we prepare all kinds of communities to adapt for a different and promising future.

Let's design with nature so we can achieve a sustainable, resilient, and bountiful future for everyone.

It is the only way we can solve our problems. And as you will see, provide so many other important benefits at the same time." — José Almiñana, FASLA, PLA, Principal, Andropogon

This 10-part video series explains solutions from ASLA's Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan.

Watch on ASLA's Vimeo and YouTube.    

WATCH INTRODUCTION

Almiñana kicks-off the video series with a call to action.

WATCH VIDEOS ON COOL SOLUTIONS

Schoolyards

John W. Cook Academy Space to Grow Schoolyard, Chicago, Illinois    

"Replacing asphalt, which gets hot, with green spaces means we can absorb rainwater. This creates a cooler environment." — Mark Jirik, ASLA, PLA, Director of Horticulture, site design group

Cities

City of Phoenix Urban Forest Plan, Phoenix, Arizona

"The City of Phoenix is building a network of trees and shade structures to provide life-saving shade to the people in our city. Our goal is that everyone has enough shade to be able to walk safely on the streets of Phoenix" — Lora Martens, ASLA, PLA, Urban Tree Program Manager, Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, City of Phoenix

WATCH VIDEOS ON SAFE SOLUTIONS

Sea Level Rise

Graffiti Pier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  

"This project really reveals the ways in which the places that we love have to change in order to endure and be resilient in a changing climate" — Sara Zewde, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Studio Zewde

Flooding

Sanya Dong'an Wetland Park, Hainan, People's Republic of China

"In the middle of the city, we created about a one square kilometer-sized urban park. By simple cut and fill, we create hundreds of islands over a lake, functioning like a green sponge, that can regulate over a million cubic meters of stormwater." — Kongjian Yu, FASLA, Founder, Turenscape

Wildfire

Playbook for the Pyrocene

"We are now able to see which urban design and landscape architecture approaches are the most impactful in adapting to wildfire" — Anya Domlesky, ASLA, PLA, Director of Research, SWA

WATCH VIDEOS ON HEALTHY SOLUTIONS

Walking

Dequindre Cut and Joe Lewis Greenways, Detroit, Michigan

"We’ve converted old railroads into scenic trails and we’re reducing car use. We’re lowering greenhouse gas emissions and we’re revitalizing communities" — Matty Williams, ASLA, Senior Advisor on Neighborhood Economic Development, City of Detroit

Biking

Jackson Street Reconstruction Project, Saint Paul, Minnesota

"Transportation emissions are high due to the heavy reliance on personal vehicles, which contribute to approximately 29 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. In the space of Jackson Street, we repurposed a travel lane and parking lane" — Cindy Zerger, ASLA, PLA, Urban Design Practice Lead, Toole Design

WATCH VIDEOS ON CLIMATE AND NATURE POSITIVE DESIGN

Biodiversity

Crissy Field, San Francisco, California  

"Human beings depend on a biodiverse planet for survival. Crissy Field restored 40 acres of tidal marsh and dune habitat and reintroduced native plants, birds, and fish to the site." — Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, PLA, CEO and President, HargreavesJones 

Climate Mitigation + Adaptation + Biodiversity

Climate Positive Design

"We can design to remove carbon; protect our communities from flooding, heat, and drought; and provide habitat. These strategies are at the core of what landscape architects do" — Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Climate Positive Design

SHARE COMPILED VIDEO

Help Tell the Story of Landscape Architecture and Climate & Biodiversity Action  

The series of 10 videos are compiled in a 7-minute video you can share with policymakers, community leaders, clients, and partners (see video at top). 

"We inspire communities to act. And together, we can create a path to a more sustainable future"  — Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Climate Positive Design

CREDITS

This video series was produced by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and directed by LANDAU Design + Technology.

Thank you to all the member contributors.

And the production team at LANDAU:

Gina Rattanakone, Motion Graphics Designer
Chris Landau, Affil. ASLA, Founder and Principal
Daniel Rodríguez-Colón, Marketing and Product Manager