LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Happy World Landscape Architecture Month! There is a lot of exciting news to share and upcoming events to plan for. To celebrate WLAM, everyday this month we’re inviting our members to send in a photo of something that represents landscape architecture so we can share it on Facebook and Instagram. Please send images and captions to courtneym@dpsdesign.org.

On April 21st, come celebrate Earth Day (earthdayfestivalnm.com) at Balloon Fiesta Park with us and the rest of the Albuquerque. We’ll be there with activities for K-12 kids and information about current legislation aimed at making the environments of our schools and our communities healthier, more equitable, and more resilient.

In late spring/early summer, we’ll be hosting another climate action event with speakers, project tours, and continuing education credits. This year’s theme is biodiversity and environmental restoration. We’re going to bring it outside, keep it active and fun, and maybe even sketch a little. I hope to see you there.

If you haven’t heard, the Albuquerque City Council just adopted a green stormwater infrastructure ordinance. The existing Complete Streets Ordinance will now include a definition of arid adapted green stormwater infrastructure and a policy mandating that GSI be included in the development or redevelopment of street medians and landscape buffers. This is the result of years of dedication on the part of members of our community. Many thanks and congratulations to those who worked so hard to make this important milestone happen.

AridLID and the Student ASLA chapter at UNM have teamed up on a new series of lunch n’ learn presentations given by experts in our field and in our community. If you haven’t attended yet, keep your eye out for an announcement about the next one and show up or log-on to support the students, our colleagues, and our allied professionals.

Finally, with the onset of spring, I’ve been thinking about the inevitability of change and how change has always been an integral part of our profession as landscape architects. This makes us strongly positioned to take on the effects of climate change that we’re already seeing. Keep reading for an article on designing for extreme heat. How are we going to respond?

Though our world and our profession are facing an unsettling change as the climate shifts, I hope you are inspired by the positive changes our community is working toward every day. And at a personal level, I’m excited to watch the Rio Grande swell over the coming weeks as the snow melts and makes its way toward the river, signifying a new season of growth and adventure. What changes are you looking forward to this year?

Kristina Werenko, PLA, ASLA

Join the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM)! Celebrate the impact of landscape architecture on our world and inspire future generations of landscape architects.

Celebrate

• Join the conversation on social media using #WLAM2024. Share your unique perspective, or use our daily prompts for inspiration.

• Tag @NationalASLA for a chance to be featured on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X, as well as in Landscape Architecture Magazine!

Advocate

• Advocate for landscape architecture by participating in our ongoing iAdvocate campaigns.

• Encourage your local government to issue a proclamation recognizing the profession (ASLA member-only resource).

• Organize a site tour for elected officials to showcase how landscape architecture benefits your community.

Educate

• Spark girl power with STEM Literacy by Design. Engage young minds with storytime readings and design activities.

• Introduce PreK-12 students to landscape architecture through ASLA Dream Big with Design, a showcase of design learning.  

• Discover tools for teachers and Career Discovery resources. 

WLAM Specials

• ASLA members enjoy complimentary access to a webinar on Material Selection for Low Carbon Design hosted by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee on April 18 at 1 PM ET. Register today. 

• Celebrate ASLA's 125th anniversary with our limited edition tee, available for pre-order soon. All proceeds benefit the ASLA Fund.

Albuquerque Adopts Complete Streets

By Shelby Stimson, AridLID

On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, the Albuquerque City Council unanimously voted to approve Ordinance 0-24-6, establishing Complete Streets within the city.

The Complete Streets Ordinance will now include a definition of arid adapted green stormwater infrastructure and a policy mandating that GSI be included in the development or redevelopment of street medians and landscape buffers.

The City of Albuquerque now officially has a GSI policy on the books! This is a very exciting milestone, brought about by years of hard work and collaboration among our community. While we know there is still much progress left to be made towards our collective vision for stormwater management in the city, this is certainly a cause for celebration, and an acknowledgement of how far we've come.

What will this ordinance do:

• Increase options for safe, comfortable travel to your favorite neighborhood destinations.

• Increased focus on serving both our residents and those who use our streets while still providing for safe and efficient travel.

• Improve community health by reducing risk of injuries and encouraging walking and bicycling to help combat obesity and heart disease.

• Increase livability by creating more attractive public areas.  This will create public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being. It will also foster private investment.

• Create inviting streets that encourage alternative modes of travel. This will help ease congestion and air pollution.

• Contribute to economic development, growth and stability by encouraging private investment and redevelopment in the areas where the Complete Streets approach is being used.

By Dr. Daneilla Hirschfeld, ASLA

New Research from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund Shows Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund has released new peer-reviewed research on landscape architecture solutions to extreme heat, the deadliest climate impact.

The research was developed by Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation Planning in the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department at Utah State University. Dr. Hirschfeld won a competitive national grant from the ASLA Fund in 2023 to conduct the research.

“Extreme heat is expected to impact more people and places in the U.S. and across the globe in coming decades, with the greatest impacts to marginalized and underserved communities. An estimated 250,000 excess deaths are expected per year by 2050. Our research demonstrates the importance of maximizing the benefits of nature-based solutions to extreme heat. And landscape architects do that every day through their critically important planning and design work,” Dr. Hirschfeld said.

“While we were developing our Climate Action Plan, landscape architects told us what they needed most was authoritative evidence that demonstrates all the great benefits of their work. We are thrilled Daniella brought the research together to make the strongest case to policymakers, community groups, allied professionals, and the public,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “We now have the best science on landscape architecture strategies for extreme heat on hand.”

ASLA 2023 Professional General Design Honor Award. University of Arizona Environment + Natural Resource II. Tucson, Arizona. Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture / Marion Brenner

Dr. Hirschfeld and her team reviewed more than 100 peer-reviewed studies that looked at planning and designing nature-based solutions that reduce the impacts of extreme heat published from 2007 to 2022. They synthesized the findings in an executive summary, which includes case studies and project examples, and a research study.

Hirschfeld and her team found from the research that:

• Increasing the number of nature-based solutions within a community, the size of these solutions, and the amount of greenery or trees will decrease temperatures. While there is not a direct relationship between every tree and degree of temperature reduction, it’s clear from the literature that more greenery produces greater temperature benefits.

• The way nature-based solutions are distributed throughout a neighborhood or city makes a difference. Research shows that the more green spaces are connected to one another the greater temperature reductions benefits they provide.

Hirschfeld also found that four key landscape architecture strategies reduce heat impacts:

• Increase tree percentage in parks and green spaces

• Provide shade on sites

• Use plant materials and water instead of hardscape

• Use green ground cover, including grasses and shrubs

ASLA is conducting a survey to determine the Climate Actions your work in incorporating. Use the link below to participate.

APRIL 2024 - World Landscape Architecture Month

APRIL 21, 2024 - Earth Day Event, Balloon Fiesta Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico

MAY 13-15, 2024 - Mountain West Rails Conference, Vernal, Utah

OCTOBER 6-9, 2024 - ASLA National Conference, Washington, D.C