About

Timeline: ASLA and the Profession

1899

ASLA is founded in New York City with 11 charter members, including one woman, Beatrix Farrand. The first ASLA Annual Meeting also takes place.

1900

Harvard University becomes the first university to offer a degree in landscape architecture.

1910

Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM) is founded by three ASLA members.

1910

National examining board is established and continues until 1948.

1913

First ASLA chapter is founded in Boston; as of 2024 there are 49 chapters representing all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

1916

American Society of Landscape Architects Inc. is incorporated in Massachusetts.

1930

First Code of Professional Ethics is adopted; ASLA membership reaches 252.

1939

Katherine Bashford is elected first female chapter president by the Southern California chapter.

1953

California adopts registration of the title “Landscape Architect,” followed by the adoption of practice acts by New York and Connecticut.

1960

ASLA headquarters offices moves to Washington, D.C.; ASLA membership reaches 1,647.

1961

Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) is organized to coordinate and assist the growing number of state registration boards.

1962

The ASLA monthly newsletter Landscape Architecture News Digest (LAND) is started.

1965

ASLA medal program is established; today, ASLA’s expanded medals and awards program continues to recognize outstanding achievement in landscape architecture with annual awards.

1966

ASLA Foundation is incorporated with the purpose to solicit and coordinate funds for research and other educational projects; it is reorganized in the mid-1970s as the independent Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF).

1970

ASLA Professional Awards program begins and continues to recognize outstanding works in landscape architecture each year.

1970

CLARB is incorporated as a separate organization and begins administering the Uniform National Exam (UNE) for landscape architectural licensure; UNE later evolves into the Landscape Architecture Registration Exam (LARE), which continues today.

1973

Official policy supporting equal opportunities and treatment for women in the profession is approved by ASLA’s Board of Trustees.

1974

A new Student Awards program was announced after a long hiatus.

1979

Edward Pryce, FASLA, becomes the first African American Fellow.

1980

ASLA membership reaches 5,000.

1984

Darwina Neal, FASLA, becomes ASLA’s first female national president.

1988

Brian S. Kubota, FASLA, becomes ASLA's first Asian American national president.

1995

ASLA establishes a website at asla.org.

2005

The Sustainable SITES Initiative® (SITES)® is established as a partnership between ASLA and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin with the goal of developing the first national rating system for sustainable landscapes with or without buildings. In 2006 the United States Botanic Garden joins the partnership.

2005

The ASLA Fund receives 501(c)(3) status.

2005

Residential Design category added to the ASLA Professional Awards.

2006

ASLA dedicates new Green Roof Demonstration Project at ASLA headquarters.

2008

The Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) is established as a collaborative project of ASLA, Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), and Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) to offer continuing professional education in landscape architecture.

2008

Perry Howard, FASLA, becomes the first African American national president.

2013

ASLA convened its first annual Diversity Summit.

2014

Mark Focht, FASLA, becomes the first openly gay national president.

2015

SITES is purchased by Green Business Certification Inc. ASLA continues its support as a licensee.

2015

National Landscape Architecture Month in April becomes World Landscape Architecture Month as ASLA works with colleagues around the globe to raise awareness of the profession.

2017  

Construction is completed on the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture.

2018  

Presidents' Council issues a commitment to diversity: Mirroring the Nation: Landscape Architecture and the Future of the Profession

2020

Urban Design category added to the ASLA Professional Awards.

2021  

ASLA becomes an official NGO observer to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

2021  

ASLA releases its first Racial Equity Action Plan.

2022  

ASLA releases its first Climate Action Plan.

2023  

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designates landscape architecture a STEM discipline.

2023  

ASLA and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) inaugurate the ASLA/IFLA Global Impact Award.

2023  

SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, becomes the first Asian American women national president.

Contact

ASLA General Inquiries:
info@asla.org  

ASLA Center Event
Space Inquiries: 
Janet W. Davis 
jdavis@asla.org

PR Inquiries:
communications@asla.org  

Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion
Lisa Jennings
Senior Manager, Career Discovery
and Diversity
ljennings@asla.org 

Donations to the ASLA Fund: 
DonateToday@asla.org  

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