Professional Practice
Public Practice Landscape Architecture
What is Public Practice Landscape Architecture?
The not-for-profit enterprise whose mission is to design, implement, and manage functional, liveable, safe, and attractive places for the public, often developed with a larger social objective in mind—community gathering, preservation/acknowledgement of history/place, environmental resilience, and economic vitality.
Initiatives, Presentations, Media Relations, Progress Reporting, Public Education
Procurement Proposals, Bid Documents, Advertising, Negotiations, Grants/Funding, Scope-of-work Refinement, Budgets, Billing
GIS - Mapping, Surveys, Record Reviews, Site Condition Assessment (Grading and Drainage, Erosion, Circulation, Climatic Conditions)
Drive design vision, advocate for landscape architecture components, create design standards, direct design processes
Political Bodies, Stakeholders, Owners, Community Interest Groups, Programming, Inter-Organizational Relations
Synthesize project components, Resolve project-wide issues, Quality Assurance, Construction document review, Budget and project expenditure monitoring, Process and permit administration
Inspections, Maintenance, Stewardship, Health & Safety, Inventories, Acquisitions & Agreements
Public Policy Development, Ordinances, Development Standards & Guidelines, Zoning Review, Permitting, Specifications
Coordination, Collaboration, Team Leadership, Subject Matter Expertise, Agency Liaison, Task Force Member, Public Guardian
Precedent/Benchmark/Case Studies, Historical Record Review, Preservation Studies, Informational Resources
This resource was created by ASLA's Public Practice Advisory Committee, which became the Public Practice Subcommittee of the SKILL | ED Practice Management Institute Committee. Many thanks to the authors and contributors:
Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA, Vice President, Professional Practice
Adrian Smith, FASLA, Immediate Past Vice President, Professional Practice
Maureen Colaizzi, ASLA
Mark Heinicke, ASLA
Derek Holmer, ASLA
Bradley Jones, ASLA
Om Khurjekar, ASLA
Jill Ochs Zick, ASLA
Jennifer Shagin, ASLA
Kris Sorich, ASLA
Amie Wojtech, ASLA
Jon Wreschinsky, ASLA
Bethany Znidersic, ASLA
For more profiles of public practice landscape architects see The Field blog and the Common Space interview series, published in the LAND newsletter:
- Kat Shiffler, Associate ASLA
Landscape Architect, Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program, National Park Service
- Matt Boehner, PLA, ASLA
Senior Planner / Landscape Architect, Columbia Parks & Recreation
- Maria Debye Saxinger, ASLA
PROS Master Plan Manager | Planning, Design, and Construction Excellence Division, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces (PROS)
- Steph Thisius-Sanders, PLA, ASLA
Planning & Construction Director, North of the River Recreation and Park District
- Brandon Hartz, ASLA, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP
Senior Landscape Architect, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
- Irene Cambeyro Gonzalez, Associate ASLA, ENV SP
Park Planner 2, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department
- Jennifer Shagin, ASLA
Landscape Designer, NES
- Kris Sorich, ASLA
Senior Landscape Architect, Chicago Department of Transportation
- Haley Blakeman, FASLA, PLA
Suzanne L. Turner Professor at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University
- Jon Wreschinsky, ASLA, PLA
Facilities Planner, San Diego Unified School District
You may also explore the online resources for ASLA’s Parks and Recreation and Transportation Professional Practice Networks (PPNs), and see these related ASLA Online Learning webinars: