ASLA 2024 Conference Education Session Highlights, Part 1

September 13, 2024
U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. / image: National Capital Planning Commission

The ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture is coming up at a rapid clip. With just three weeks to go, now is the time to familiarize yourself with what's happening when so you don't miss a thing. Explore the 140+ sessions offering professional development hours (PDH) through the conference website and mobile app (available for iOS and Android) by track, speaker, continuing education type (LA CES/HSW, LA CES/non-HSW, FL, NY, AICP, GBCI, ISA, and more), and target audience.

In case you need one more way to peruse this extensive education program, ASLA's Professional Practice Network (PPN) leadership teams—in addition to organizing their PPN events at the conference—also review the conference education program to highlight sessions relevant to their practice areas. Below, we run through the first half of these education highlights:

[For education session highlights from ASLA's other PPNs, see part 2.]

If you can’t make it to Washington, D.C., this year, a number of education sessions will be recorded and shared via ASLA Online Learning so you can still learn about the latest in landscape architecture and earn PDH on-demand.

See below for the education sessions related to each PPN practice area, or click the PPN name above to jump to that section.

SUN-FS-11: Placemaking with Green Infrastructure in the DMV, Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, University of Maryland / image: HDR

Campus Planning & Design

SUN-C06: Adapting the Campus Landscape: Climate Resilience, Sociability, and Well-Being SUN-FS-11: Placemaking with Green Infrastructure in the DMV SUN-FS-18: Unlocking the Potential: A Sustainable and History-Rich Educational Urban Campus MON-A08: 25-Year Transformative Planning and Design Legacy at the University of Dubuque WED-FS-07: Dumbarton Oaks Gardens and Dumbarton Oaks Park – sold out! WED-FS-13: DeafScape Auditing: An Immersive & Inclusive Intro to Investigating DeafSpaces – sold out!

Children's Outdoor Environments

SUN-DD-01: Disability-based Voices & Perspectives on Accessibility vs. Inclusive+ and Equity vs. Justice SUN-C07: Cultivating Compassion: Designing Healing Gardens for Neurodiversity, Unveiling Insights and Impacts MON-A09: Sensory-Responsive Design: Qualitative Insights and Design Methodologies for Crafting Neuro-Inclusive Environments MON-B05: A Conversation with Congress: How Landscape Architects Green Schools TUE-A08: A Texas Approach to Systematic Change in Nature Access and Outdoor Learning TUE-C02: Youth-Led Community Resilience: Trauma-Informed Practices Fostering Equitable Development WED-A05: Widening the Tent: Elevating Multigenerational, Inclusive, and Accessible Play in Civic Spaces

In addition to these education sessions, a number of Learning Labs, which will take place on the EXPO floor, also feature relevant topics, from inclusive play areas to promoting intergenerational play.

Annapolis, MD / image: Campion Hruby Landscape Architects

Community Design

SUN-A07: Never a Blank Slate: Fostering Community in the Presence of Profound Change SUN-A09: Addressing Health, Equity, and Healing: Design Processes that Engender Systems of Change SUN-B09: Trash to Treasure—Wasteyard Modernization at New York Public Housing SUN-D03: Shifting Ground—Homelessness and the Fight for Equitable and Compassionate Design MON-B07: Washington D.C.—A Tapestry of Towns and Small Gardens TUE-A02: Canary in the Coal Mine: Reviving Landscape Architecture with Community Input TUE-C02: Youth-Led Community Resilience: Trauma-Informed Practices Fostering Equitable Development WED-A02: History Erased: Bringing Life Back to a Community Legacy WED-FS-05: The 11th Street Bridge Park: Building Trust and Strengthening Community Resilience – sold out! WED-FS-10: Walking the Wharf: The District’s Urban Waterfront & Neighborhood – sold out!
The Wharf, Washington, D.C. / image: Andrew Ruggen, Wolf Josey

Design-Build

SUN-A03: Concrete Confidential: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Ubiquitous Building Material SUN-A04: From Waste to Resource: Increasing Circularity in Engineered Soils Through Renewable Materials SUN-A08: Sustaining Green: Innovative Partners and Funding in Systems-Based Design, Construction, and Maintenance SUN-FS-03: From Vision to Reality: Innovative Biophilic Park Renaissance in Arlington County SUN-FS-05: Making of a High-Performance Landscape: Story of Inspiration, Collaboration, and Continued Dynamism – sold out! SUN-B02: Design for Freedom: Eliminating Forced Labor in the Building Materials Supply Chain SUN-C04: Making Materials Work for Climate Action and SITES SUN-DD-02: Professional Practice: Project Delivery Structure, High-Value Contract Terms, and Negotiation Tactics SUN-D10: Blueprint 2.0: Reimagining Prosperity Around the World’s Largest Airport MON-A02: Greenspeak: Dialogue Between Landscape Architects and Native Plant Producers to Promote BNG MON-B09: Hard as a Rock! Detailing Natural Stone Paving for Timeless Durability MON-C05: You Thought Writing the Constitution Was Hard? Try Renovating Constitution Gardens! TUE-A01: Outdoor Lighting—Beautiful, Biologically Appropriate, and Ecologically Responsible TUE-A03: Collective Strength: Building a Worker-owned Design Firm Cooperative TUE-A09: The Point: Transforming the Utah State Prison into an Innovative Urban Center TUE-C07: From Afterthought to Forethought—Approaches to Construction Administration
D.C. Water Headquarters Rooftop, Washington, D.C. / image: MKSK

Digital Technology

MON-B02: Generative Planting at Scale: Systems Design for Ecological Impact TUE-B06: When 1 × 1 = ♾️: Design Ethics, Storytelling, and Collaboration with AI
Brookside Gardens, Montgomery County, MD / image: M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks

Ecology & Restoration

SUN-FS-02: Tale of Two Waterways: Investments in Natural System Solutions along Baltimore Waterways – sold out! SUN-FS-09: Navy Yard: Reclaiming the “Forgotten River” by Shifting Flows and Narratives SUN-B01: Rewilding a Post-industrial Landscape: A Story About Diversity SUN-C01: The Complex Nature of Mini-Forests: Promises and Perils of Urban Restorative Forest-Making SUN-C09: Eating Ecologies: Growing Edible Green Infrastructure and Environmental Justice SUN-D01: Restoring to What? Addressing Biodiversity in the Era of Climate Change SUN-D05: Federal to Local, Making Tree Equity a Reality SUN-D07: Rubble Ridges: A Nature-Based Solution for Great Lakes Coastal Communities MON-A02: Greenspeak: Dialogue Between Landscape Architects and Native Plant Producers to Promote BNG MON-A03: Four Coasts: Improving Coastal Design Through Landscape Architecture and Engineering With Nature MON-C01: New Tools for Managing and Designing for Urban Biodiversity: Battery Park City MON-C07: Performance-based Plant Selection: Developing a National Bioretention Plant Selection Tool TUE-B02: Tackling the Water and Biodiversity Crisis in Florida: The OUTSIDE Collaborative WED-A01: Planting for the Next 125 Years: Landscape Architecture’s Role in Combating Invasives WED-B01: Breaking Down Barriers: Restoring Community and Landscape Connections at the Harlem Meer
Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. / image: Thaïsa Way, FASLA

Education & Practice

SUN-C06: Adapting the Campus Landscape: Climate Resilience, Sociability, and Well-Being SUN-D04: Silt Sand Slurry: Nontraditional Practice with the Dredge Research Collaborative MON-A10: The Research-practice Ecotone: Models for Authentic Inquiry and Discovery TUE-B03: Nothing Special: Fostering Innovation in Learning, Teaching, and Practice TUE-C02: Youth-Led Community Resilience: Trauma-Informed Practices Fostering Equitable Development WED-B03: Designing for Energy Transition: The Opportunity of Renewable Energy Landscapes
Anacostia River, Washington, D.C. / image: Timmons Group

Environmental Justice

SUN-A07: Never a Blank Slate: Fostering Community in the Presence of Profound Change SUN-A09: Addressing Health, Equity, and Healing: Design Processes that Engender Systems of Change SUN-DD-01: Disability-based Voices & Perspectives on Accessibility vs. Inclusive+ and Equity vs. Justice SUN-B04: Power Sharing and Community-driven Design for Parks in LA County SUN-B05: Rematriate the Land: Our Obligations to Truth and Healing SUN-B07: My Place: Using Signs and Graphics to Enhance Personal Connections to Space SUN-C02: All Are Welcome: Integrating Equity in Civic Spaces SUN-C03: How We Practice Matters: Making Space for Landscape Activism SUN-C05: The Sustainable Square Mile: Healing a Community with Neighborhood-Scale Green Infrastructure SUN-C09: Eating Ecologies: Growing Edible Green Infrastructure and Environmental Justice SUN-D02: Indigenous Design: Design Adapted to Place SUN-D03: Shifting Ground—Homelessness and the Fight for Equitable and Compassionate Design SUN-D05: Federal to Local, Making Tree Equity a Reality MON-A05: A Conversation: The Power of Equity in Climate Action MON-C02: Dignified Design: Bus Shelters that Elevate the Transit Experience in Underserved Communities MON-C03: Nothing About Us Without Us: Empowering Inclusive Design TUE-A02: Canary in the Coal Mine: Reviving Landscape Architecture with Community Input TUE-A04: Cool-Kit: Extreme Heat and Equitable Solutions to Promote Heat Resilience TUE-A06: Transcending Anglo/American Olmstedian Design to Create Culturally Responsive Spaces and Places TUE-A07: Doing Good: Building and Sustaining an Ethical Practice TUE-B01: Inside the LA Studio—PUSH studio Landscape and Urban Design TUE-C02: Youth-Led Community Resilience: Trauma-Informed Practices Fostering Equitable Development TUE-C05: Bringing Nature into the Heart of Darkness: Restorative Justice in the Garden TUE-C09: Green Stormwater Infrastructure for the People!—but Which People? WED-A02: History Erased: Bringing Life Back to a Community Legacy WED-B07: Reframing the Plantation Narrative: A Community-driven Evolution of Latta Place WED-FS-05: The 11th Street Bridge Park: Building Trust and Strengthening Community Resilience – sold out!
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C. / image: Smithsonian

Healthcare & Therapeutic Design

SUN-A02: Sound and the City: Designing Aural Environments for Healthy Communities SUN-A09: Addressing Health, Equity, and Healing: Design Processes that Engender Systems of Change SUN-C07: Cultivating Compassion: Designing Healing Gardens for Neurodiversity, Unveiling Insights and Impacts SUN-D06: Connection to Nature Is Still the Best Medicine in Contemporary Healthcare MON-A06: Evidence-Based Design for Human and Environmental Health MON-A09: Sensory-Responsive Design: Qualitative Insights and Design Methodologies for Crafting Neuro-Inclusive Environments
Commission of Fine Arts Proposal / image: National Park Service Frederick Law Olmsted
National Historic Site

Historic Preservation

SUN-FS-01: Waterfront Gardens of Annapolis Over Time: Historic and Modern Perspectives SUN-FS-04: Constructing National Memory: Composition, Renovation, and Adaptation within the Monumental Core – sold out! SUN-FS-07: Looking Back/Looking Forward: Celebrating and Adapting the Olmsted Legacy in Washington – sold out! SUN-B05: Rematriate the Land: Our Obligations to Truth and Healing SUN-B07: My Place: Using Signs and Graphics to Enhance Personal Connections to Space SUN-C03: How We Practice Matters: Making Space for Landscape Activism SUN-D02: Indigenous Design: Design Adapted to Place MON-B08: Franklin Park: Designing Toward an Invitation to Participate MON-C05: You Thought Writing the Constitution Was Hard? Try Renovating Constitution Gardens! TUE-A06: Transcending Anglo/American Olmstedian Design to Create Culturally Responsive Spaces and Places TUE-B04: Reflection of the Gay Rights Movement in the Memorial Landscape WED-FS-04: Welcome Home, George Washington WED-FS-06: D.C. Hidden History: Beyond the National Mall WED-A02: History Erased: Bringing Life Back to a Community Legacy WED-B01: Breaking Down Barriers: Restoring Community and Landscape Connections at the Harlem Meer WED-B07: Reframing the Plantation Narrative: A Community-driven Evolution of Latta Place

Stay tuned: ASLA's 10 other PPNs will have their education session highlights covered here on The Field next week. [This next post has now been published—see part 2 for International Practice through Women in Landscape Architecture.]

Mount Vernon, VA / image: Mount Vernon Ladies Association

If you have already registered for the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture, don't forget to secure your field session and deep dive tickets—many have sold out already!

And please note: this post covers just the conference's education sessions. See the full schedule for EXPO events, PPN meetings, and all the other special events coming up very soon. See you in Washington, D.C.!