ASLA has launched an ambitious economic research agenda, which will be advanced through continuing education next year and our upcoming Biodiversity and Climate Action Plan for 2026-2030. 

To help members get started, ASLA has released a new 101 guide: Making the Economic Case for Nature-Based Solutions in Climate Projects. It was developed by Dr. Jennifer Egan, PhD, with the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center. 

ASLA is focusing on climate projects at first because our survey from last year found significant growth in demand for projects that reduce emissions, increase resilience, and restore biodiversity. We know more public and private investment is going to these critically important projects. 

So we need to better understand how local and state governments and developers calculate economic benefits and make go or no-go decisions on projects. 

This guide will help you: 

• Understand the economic and financial context in which public and private clients operate
• Become familiar with basic economic language and better communicate with clients about economic benefits
• Show the benefits of using nature-based solutions in different types and sizes of projects

This new guide is the third in a series on economic benefits we have released this year. Other resources in the series include: 

• Landscape Architecture: Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions Through Design: A 10-page brief that summarizes estimates of economic benefits for global and U.S. policymakers. 
• An Analysis of Benefit Values: 175 Landscape Architecture Case Studies in the U.S.: A 12-page supplementary summary for economic and landscape architecture researchers and educators that explores economic benefits found in the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF)’s Landscape Performance Series Case Study Briefs. 

ASLA’s economic research agenda will be guided by more conversations with developers, insurance companies, economists, market researchers, and policymakers next year. We will make these conversations public in the form of a new, free webinar series for ASLA members that ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA, will moderate. 

If you have comments on these new resources or economic research you would like to share, reach out to us at info@asla.org.