About
Video Series
Landscape Architects: Designing a Climate and Nature Positive World
"The world is both facing a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis. The heart of the solution for both of these problems is nature.
Landscape architects design with nature, so we can keep communities:
COOL
SAFE
HEALTHY
As landscape architects, we prepare all kinds of communities to adapt for a different and promising future.
Let's design with nature so we can achieve a sustainable, resilient, and bountiful future for everyone.
It is the only way we can solve our problems. And as you will see, provide so many other important benefits at the same time." — José Almiñana, FASLA, PLA, Principal, Andropogon
This 10-part video series explains solutions from ASLA's Climate Action Plan.
Watch on ASLA's Vimeo and YouTube.
WATCH INTRODUCTION
November 12
Almiñana kicks-off the video series with a call to action.
WATCH VIDEOS ON COOL SOLUTIONS
November 13: Schoolyards
John W. Cook Academy Space to Grow Schoolyard, Chicago, Illinois
"Replacing asphalt, which gets hot, with green spaces means we can absorb rainwater. This creates a cooler environment." — Mark Jirik, ASLA, PLA, Director of Horticulture, site design group
Learn more about this project
November 14: Cities
City of Phoenix Urban Forest Plan, Phoenix, Arizona
"The City of Phoenix is building a network of trees and shade structures to provide life-saving shade to the people in our city. Our goal is that everyone has enough shade to be able to walk safely on the streets of Phoenix" — Lora Martens, ASLA, PLA, Urban Tree Program Manager, Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, City of Phoenix
Learn more about this plan
WATCH VIDEOS ON SAFE SOLUTIONS
November 15: Sea Level Rise
Graffiti Pier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"This project really reveals the ways in which the places that we love have to change in order to endure and be resilient in a changing climate" — Sara Zewde, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Studio Zewde
Learn more about this project
November 16: Flooding
Sanya Dong'an Wetland Park, Hainan, People's Republic of China
"In the middle of the city, we created about a one square kilometer-sized urban park. By simple cut and fill, we create hundreds of islands over a lake, functioning like a green sponge, that can regulate over a million cubic meters of stormwater." — Kongjian Yu, FASLA, Founder, Turenscape
Learn more about this project
November 18: Wildfire
Playbook for the Pyrocene
"We are now able to see which urban design and landscape architecture approaches are the most impactful in adapting to wildfire" — Anya Domlesky, ASLA, PLA, Director of Research, SWA
Learn more about this guide
WATCH VIDEOS ON HEALTHY SOLUTIONS
November 19: Walking
Dequindre Cut and Joe Lewis Greenways, Detroit, Michigan
"We’ve converted old railroads into scenic trails and we’re reducing car use. We’re lowering greenhouse gas emissions and we’re revitalizing communities" — Matty Williams, ASLA, Senior Advisor on Neighborhood Economic Development, City of Detroit
Learn more about these projects
November 20: Biking
Jackson Street Reconstruction Project, Saint Paul, Minnesota
"Transportation emissions are high due to the heavy reliance on personal vehicles, which contribute to approximately 29 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. In the space of Jackson Street, we repurposed a travel lane and parking lane" — Cindy Zerger, ASLA, PLA, Urban Design Practice Lead, Toole Design
Learn more about this project
WATCH VIDEOS ON CLIMATE AND NATURE POSITIVE DESIGN
November 21: Biodiversity
Crissy Field, San Francisco, California
"Human beings depend on a biodiverse planet for survival. Crissy Field restored 40 acres of tidal marsh and dune habitat and reintroduced native plants, birds, and fish to the site." — Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, PLA, CEO and President, HargreavesJones
Learn more about this project
November 22: Climate Mitigation + Adaptation + Biodiversity
SHARE COMPILED VIDEO
November 25
Help Tell the Story of Landscape Architecture and Climate Action
The series of 10 videos will be available in one compiled 7-minute video you can
share with policymakers, community leaders, clients, and partners.
"We inspire communities to act. And together, we can create a path to a more sustainable future" — Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Climate Positive Design
CREDITS
This video series was produced by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and directed by LANDAU Design + Technology.
Thank you to all the member contributors.
And the production team at LANDAU:
Gina Rattanakone, Motion Graphics Designer
Chris Landau, Affil. ASLA, Founder and Principal
Daniel Rodríguez-Colón, Marketing and Product Manager
Image credits:
Header: Yerba Buena Park, San Francisco, California / CMG Landscape Architecture
Introduction: ASLA 2014 Professional General Design Honor Award. Shoemaker Green. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Andropogon / Barrett Doherty and Andropogon
Cool Schoolyards: The John W. Cook Academy Space to Grow Schoolyard, Chicago, Illinois. site design group, ltd. (site) / site design group, ltd. (site)
Cool Cities: Urban Forest Plan, Phoenix, Arizona / City of Phoenix
Sea Level Rise Solutions: Graffiti Pier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Studio Zewde
Flooding Solutions: Sanya Dong'an Wetland Park, Hainan, China / Turenscape
Wildfire Solutions: Playbook for the Pyrocene / SWA
Walkability Solutions: Dequindre Cut, Detroit, Michigan / SmithGroup
Bikeability Solutions: Jackson Street Reconstruction Project, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Toole Design / Bruce Buckley Photography for Toole Design
Biodiversity Solutions: ASLA 2022 Landmark Award. Crissy Field, San Francisco, California. HargreavesJones / HargreavesJones
Climate Mitigation + Adaptation + Biodiversity: Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco, California / CMG Landscape Architecture
Compiled video: ASLA 2018 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award. From Pixels to Stewardship: Advancing Conservation Through Digital Innovation. Austin, TX. Andropogon