Guide to 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.

Aerial drawing of the reimagined brownfield site known as the Lafitte Greenway

Explore Public Practice Landscape Architecture

Engagement facilitated conversation among residents and community members through sketching

Public Communications

Initiatives, Presentations, Media Relations, Progress Reporting, Public Education

Contract Administration

Procurement Proposals, Bid Documents, Advertising, Negotiations, Grants/Funding, Scope-of-work Refinement, Budgets, Billing

Data Collection & Analysis

GIS - Mapping, Surveys, Record Reviews, Site Condition Assessment (Grading and Drainage, Erosion, Circulation, Climatic Conditions)

Design

Drive design vision, advocate for landscape architecture components, create design standards, direct design processes

Engagement

Political Bodies, Stakeholders, Owners, Community Interest Groups, Programming, Inter-Organizational Relations

Project Management

Synthesize project components, Resolve project-wide issues, Quality Assurance, Construction document review, Budget and project expenditure monitoring, Process and permit administration

Aerial View of the Eastern End of Orange Mall

Public Asset Management

Inspections, Maintenance, Stewardship, Health & Safety, Inventories, Acquisitions & Agreements

Enhanced pathways traverse the Penn and Fountain Landfills, which rise 130 feet above Jamaica Bay.

Regulation & Compliance

Public Policy Development, Ordinances, Development Standards & Guidelines, Zoning Review, Permitting, Specifications

Representation

Coordination, Collaboration, Team Leadership, Subject Matter Expertise, Agency Liaison, Task Force Member, Public Guardian

Academic researchers meet with a firm liaison to discuss a research project

Research & Documentation

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

Public Practitioner Profiles

For profiles of public practice landscape architects, see ASLA's Member Spotlight series, 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

ASLA Online Learning: Public Practice

See these related webinars:

  • A group of visitors at Machicomoco State Park listening to a park guide
Related Professional Practice Network

Public Practice & Service

This network is for: Practitioners working at the local, state, and federal levels; faculty at public universities; and professionals employed by community organizations and nonprofits.

Public Practice & Service