Landscape Architecture Foundation

Thank you for being a part of the LAF community! Whether you've participated in an LAF program, attended an event or webinar, made a donation, or just read our posts, we are deeply thankful for your engagement, support, and shared commitment to designing a better future where people and planet thrive together. Our work is founded in optimism, driven by passion, and sustained by the collective efforts of all who know the transformative power of landscape architecture. LAF plays a unique role in empowering individuals and strengthening the discipline, and we could not do this without you. So, from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU! Our small but mighty LAF team wishes you all the best this Thanksgiving!

Can popular public parks increase nearby residents' faith in local government? In a survey of 5,000 residents in 26 communities across the United States, residents living near popular parks reported 29% greater satisfaction with their parks and recreation department and 13% greater satisfaction with their mayor. For the full citation and link to access the study, visit: https://lnkd.in/eG5pn2KG This is just one of 200 entries in our Landscape Performance Series Fact Fact Library, a searchable collection of landscape benefits derived from published research. Browse the entire library at: https://lnkd.in/e4WDkUpB

On Wed, Dec 4 at 3pm EST, the eight authors of ""Practice-Based Research Now: Purpose, Approach, and a Proposition", a new open-access article in the November issue of Landscape Journal, will hold a virtual panel discussion with significant opportunity for audience participation. In this free webinar, they will explore the importance and implications of pursuing research in practice, identify opportunities, and discuss common barriers and how they can be overcome. The webinar is intended for practitioners who are seeking partnership and community, as well as students interested in pursuing research in their future careers. Above all, the webinar will expand the dialogue and reinforce the need for new paradigms, partnerships, and approaches to generate the knowledge that is most needed by today's landscape architects. https://lnkd.in/eksvSfcC

Olmsted Scholar Umme Haque is an MLA student at Texas Tech University. She also holds a bachelor's in architecture from the University of Asia Pacific. She is interested in creating nature-based play areas for children with autism. Umme adores learning from her surroundings and believes living itself is an art and design is a tool to glorify it. She believes being humble, sincere, and sensitive are always the right things to choose. As a fervent learner, Umme holds the conviction that almost anything is possible with the right effort. Named for Frederick Law Olmsted, the LAF Olmsted Scholars Program is the premier leadership recognition program for landscape architecture students. Now in its 17th year, the program honors students who advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits through ideas, influence, communication, service, and leadership. #landscapearchitecture #landscapearchitecturestudents

Happy to share two new resources – developed and released for #COP29 by friends and partners – that use examples and data from our Landscape Performance Series case studies. "WORKS with Nature: Low Carbon Adaptation Techniques for a Changing World" is by Pamela Conrad (a 2018-19 LAF Fellow), Kotchakorn Voraakhom, and many contributors and collaborators. It compiles 100 landscape-based techniques for adapting, mitigating, and restoring communities and ecosystems. The document is intended to serve as inspiration for countries developing their National Adaptation Plans, as well as others around the world. https://lnkd.in/ewJkGq6c "An Analysis of Benefit Values: 175 Landscape Architecture Case Studies in the U.S." by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center aims to illustrate how landscape architects make design decisions that can maximize the economic benefits of nature-based solutions. Using LAF's Landscape Performance Series case studies, the researchers aggregated the data and applied environmental benefit valuation techniques to show the annual value of benefits in ASLA's 5 key areas. https://lnkd.in/eyRpCXyU LAF has worked hard to build the Landscape Performance Series and make it a go-to place to find precedents, show value, and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions. So we are thrilled to see it being used by others to advocate for nature-based solutions on the world stage! Big thank you to all of the researchers, design firms, students, and clients who have worked on case studies to build the library over the last 14 years! If you haven't checked it out lately, be sure to at: LandscapePerformance.org

Time is running out to complete our 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Survey for Landscape Architects and Designers. https://lnkd.in/eeD5RCMY As the expert on your own experiences, LAF wants to hear from you! The survey will help LAF and allied organizations identify areas of opportunity to continue supporting the landscape architecture profession in becoming more equitable and inclusive. The survey follows up on a 2019 effort, and the results will help us understand where progress has been made and where there is still need. All responses are anonymous. (Note that this survey is for individuals who are landscape architecture professionals, not students or educators. If you are not a trained landscape architect by experience or education, please do not complete the survey.)

Love seeing this new resource by Pamela Conrad (a 2018-19 LAF Fellow), Kotchakorn Voraakhom, and many contributors and collaborators! Of the 100 low-carbon landscape-based adaptation techniques featured, 23 projects are case studies in our LandscapePerformance.org database.

LAF Olmsted Scholar Elisa Gutierrez is a recent graduate of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Elisa now works as a landscape designer at MVVA. She is deeply interested in the intersection of nature and education, particularly in designing schoolyards that enhance childhood experiences with nature. Her studies have led her to explore naturalized schoolyards in different eco-regions, including a thesis research project conducted in Spain. She aims to transform existing schoolyards into vibrant, sustainable spaces that benefit students and the community, fostering environmental stewardship and cultural appreciation. Named for Frederick Law Olmsted, the LAF Olmsted Scholars Program is the premier leadership recognition program for landscape architecture students. Now in its 17th year, the program honors students who advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits through ideas, influence, communication, service, and leadership. #landscapearchitecture #landscapearchitecturestudents

Landscape architects can create accessible and inclusive environments for diverse users as well as spaces specifically tailored to address distinct needs, all while providing co-benefits for people and planet. In this free webinar, three research teams from LAF's 2024 Case Study Investigation (CSI) program will present these exemplary projects and the findings from their work to quantify their environmental, social, and economic benefits: - South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park, Dallas, TX - Power to Be Basecamp, Victoria, BC - Boston Children's Hospital Master Plan & Implementation, Boston, MA Register to join us Nov 20, 12-1pm EST. 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW) may be earned upon completion of a short quiz following the webinar. https://lnkd.in/eTimQkNn Want to see more of the 2024 CSI research? Look for the final case studies to start rolling out on LandscapePerformance.org later this month. If you missed the first two webinars in the series, you can watch the recordings.

Olmsted Scholar SooBin An recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a BLA, minoring in Studio Art. Her interest in community design, environmental resiliency, and inclusivity led her to intern at Inspire Placemaking Collective, an interdisciplinary placemaking firm based in Orlando, Florida, where she now works as a Landscape Designer. Named for Frederick Law Olmsted, the LAF Olmsted Scholars Program is the premier leadership recognition program for landscape architecture students. Now in its 17th year, the program honors students who advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits through ideas, influence, communication, service, and leadership. #landscapearchitecture #landscapearchitecturestudents