Recorded Presentations

Mar 4, 2013 ‐ Dec 18, 2017

On March 4, 2019, experts from ASLA’s interdisciplinary Blue Ribbon Panel on Climate Change and Resilience presented their report, Smart Policies for a Changing Climate, during a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill. The report outlines a bold vision for 21^st century green infrastructure investment to create healthy, climate-smart, and resilient communities from coast to coast. It is a blueprint for securing a sustainable and resilient future through design and planning approaches as well as specific public policy recommendations.

Though we are all vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change, some groups are disproportionately affected. Climate-related health challenges are an environmental justice issue because certain communities that already experience multiple environmental health burdens are also disproportionately affected by climate change. Our challenge is to put these recommended planning approaches and public policies into practice as standard operating procedure for communities of all sizes and for all types of development.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify how green infrastructure uses trees, plants, and permeable hard surfaces to capture and filter stormwater to reduce pollution run-off, mitigate the urban heat-island effect, and provide community amenities and assets.
2. Illustrate how utilizing natural systems and integrating green infrastructure into the built environment can be the most cost effective solution for meeting multiple public policy objectives.
3. Discuss how to address environmental justice and racial and society equity issues that impact climate vulnerable communities.

Download ASLA's Smart Policies for a Changing Climate report.

Social/Ecological Resilience of Green Infrastructure When Design and Engineering Are Integrated - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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Social/Ecological Resilience of Green Infrastructure When Design and Engineering Are Integrated - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 10:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 10:00am

Credits: None available.

Green infrastructure has swept the nation the past 20 years. We can now learn from aged green infrastructure how to best plan and implement these design solutions. When functionality of engineered systems is paired with judicious design, GI is able to provide resilient social and ecological benefits to all communities.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Discuss the impact of functional GI systems that are designed as beautiful amenities in a social context.
• Explore the importance of appropriate plant and aggregate material selections to the long-term vitality and maintenance of the systems.
• Examine human spatial and technical design dimensions needed to achieve full ecosystem benefits.
• Understand the role of carbon in the design and operations of urban green infrastructure.

• Natalie Carmen, ASLA, Civil Engineering Intern, Stewart
• Peg Staeheli, FASLA, LEED AP, Principal, MIG|SvR
• Francisco X. Rivera, PE, Principal Civil Engineer, City of Chula Vista Engineering & Capital Projects Department

Inside the LA Studio with Design Workshop - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

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Inside the LA Studio with Design Workshop - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 9:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 9:00am

Credits: None available.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, Design Workshop is looking forward and positioning itself for the next 50 years. Learn the factors that have contributed to the firm’s longevity, what drives its passion for research, and explore the firm’s design thinking about the next generation.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Learn how a landscape architecture firm survives for 50 years and addresses issues of ownership and leadership transition.
• Understand how a firm with multiple offices builds a studio culture and drives design quality.
• Explore how a firm incorporates thought leadership and meaningful research into for-profit projects.
• Find out what the future holds for the profession from Design Workshop’s perspective and how the firm intends to position itself for that future.

• Mike Albert, ASLA, Partner, Design Workshop
• Robb Berg, ASLA, Principal, Design Workshop
• Stephanie Grigsby, ASLA, AICP, LEED Green Associate, Principal, Design Workshop
• Allyson Mendenhall, ASLA, LEED Green Associate, Principal, Director of Legacy Design, Design Workshop
• Frederick R. Steiner, FASLA, SITES AP, Dean, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

The Role of Stormwater Management in Landscape Architecture - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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The Role of Stormwater Management in Landscape Architecture - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 9:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 9:00am

Credits: None available.

ASLA advocacy of the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (H.R. 7279), a bill aimed at promoting better stormwater management, helped it become law. This session examines the benefits of green infrastructure design and low impact development, including satisfying regulatory requirements, earning rating systems credits, offering amenities, and designing within water budgets.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Learn about stormwater and water efficiency regulations and how stormwater storage features provide a local water supply.
• Explore stormwater features as amenities, including green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales, and green streets.
• Understand the challenges of designing a stormwater feature in terms of plant selection, soil media, and irrigation.
• Examine how stormwater features help designers achieve points and credits in the Sustainable SITES Program, LEED, and the Living Building Challenge.

• Neal Shapiro, LEED Green Associate, CPSWQ, CSM, ENV SP, Watershed Management Program Coordinator, City of Santa Monica, Office of Sustainability & the Environment
• Russell Ackerman, Affiliate ASLA, SITES AP, Sustainability Analyst, City of Santa Monica

Hot Topic: Integrating Wildfire Resilience into Planning and Design - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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Hot Topic: Integrating Wildfire Resilience into Planning and Design - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 9:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 9:00am

Credits: None available.

As communities across the country face growing wildfire threats and more people reside in areas at risk, learning to plan and design for wildfire is of critical importance. This session explores the relationship between wildfires, land use decisions, and the integration of wildfire resilience in planning and design.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Understand the urgency of our wildfire problem and identify common vulnerabilities.
• Explore the relationship between wildfires, land use decisions and the resulting built environment.
• Investigate key land use strategies, decision makers, and stakeholders to communicate wildfire risk.
• Examine strategies for integrating wildfire risk into community planning efforts and site-level design.

• Molly Mowery, AICP, Founder, Wildfire Planning International
• Carly Klein, ASLA, AICP, LEED Green Associate, Landscape Designer, Design Workshop
• Mikey Goralnik, AICP, LEED Green Associate, Community Design and Development Planner, Mariposa County Planning Department

The Evolution of the Front Yard: From Display Garden to Multiuse Space - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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The Evolution of the Front Yard: From Display Garden to Multiuse Space - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 9:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 9:00am

Credits: None available.

The suburban front yard, dominated by lawn, has long functioned as a passage from house to street and tidy foreground to the home. This session explores recent trends toward other uses of the front yard: for socializing, recreation, and cultivation, functions historically kept in the backyard.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Review the history of suburban residential front yard design, explore recent design trends, and learn what is driving those trends.
• Learn ways that homeowners are using small properties to the maximum potential.
• Learn how community governing boards (i.e., HOAs and municipal codes) are reacting to homeowners desires to change their front yards.
• See how these boards are changing their design guidelines to adapt to the homeowners’ requests.

• Katie C. Seidenwurm, ASLA, Landscape Architect/Owner, Zinnia Design
• Courtney Skybak, ASLA, Landscape Architect, Samuel H. Williamson Associates.
• Jim Taylor, ASLA, President, The Lightfoot Planning Group

The Economics of Parks: Creating and Sustaining Successful Public Realm - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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The Economics of Parks: Creating and Sustaining Successful Public Realm - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 8:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 8:00am

Credits: None available.

The economics of parks is ever more important: educating clients on the costs of creating public realm; developing funding strategies to build; balancing revenue generation with creating respite; planning for governance, operations, and maintenance to preserve investments for future generations; and valuing design.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Hear methods of educating clients on public realm development costs and learn from case studies how that has been achieved.
• Learn from case studies how revenue generation has supported operations and maintenance costs, and where the right balance has been struck and where it has not.
• Learn from governance models how best to plan for and preserve investment in the public realm.
• Discuss the value of design and how it can be retained in the face of the temptation to create “things to do” and demand for “economically self-sustaining” public realm.

• Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, Sr. Principal, Hargreaves Associates
• Candace Damon, Vice Chairman, HR&A
• Gina Ford, FASLA, Principal and Co-Founder, Agency Landscape + Planning

Fact Check: Assessing Landscape Performance in Research and Practice - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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Fact Check: Assessing Landscape Performance in Research and Practice - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 8:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 8:00am

Credits: None available.

Amid today’s science denial and “alternative facts,” it is imperative for landscape architects to advocate and prove design impacts with evidence. This panel shares experience in evaluating design and assessing landscape performance through collaborative research in practice, focusing on post-occupancy evaluation of environmental, social, and economic performance.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Understand the danger of greenwash and falsely claimed design achievements to the profession’s credibility.
• Learn about the constraints of conducting research and post-occupancy evaluation in landscape architecture practice.
• Understand the gap between the academic community and practitioners, and unleashed potential for broad collaboration.
• Hear the lessons learned by practitioners and researchers in measuring the environmental and socioeconomic performance of landscapes.

• Tao Zhang, ASLA, LEED AP, SITES AP, Principal, Sasaki
• Emily R. McCoy, ASLA, SITES AP, Landscape Architect, Design Workshop
• Skip Graffam, FASLA, LEED AP, Partner and Director of Research, OLIN

Urban Forest Futures: Climate Change, Social Equity, and the Contemporary City - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

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Urban Forest Futures: Climate Change, Social Equity, and the Contemporary City - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 8:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 8:00am

Credits: None available.

Our urban forests are in severe decline. Climate change, pests, diseases, and development pressures threaten the urban canopy's ecosystem and cultural value. This panel discusses a research-based urban forest master plan for Cambridge, Massachusetts, that joins ecological planning, progressive policy, and cutting-edge practices to build a resilient and equitable future.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Define the value of the urban forest in terms the public understands and assess the future risks of urban canopy decline.
• Discuss the challenges of developing research-driven findings and making evidence-based decisions on a limited budget and within a constrained timeframe.
• Explore the different tools available to reverse canopy loss, including changing practices, educating the public, and writing good policy and regulation.
• Learn how to structure the right team — bridging science, policy, and design so that you can communicate clearly to public officials, engineers, and the public.

• Eric Kramer, ASLA, Principal, Reed Hilderbrand
• Deanna Moran, AICP, Director of Environmental Planning, Conservation Law Foundation
• Kim A. Chapman, Principal Ecologist/Regional Director, Applied Ecological Services

Situation Normal: All Mocked Up - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Preview Available

Situation Normal: All Mocked Up - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 8:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 8:00am

Credits: None available.

Leaders at three prominent landscape architecture practices that focus on planted systems within their work explore planting mock-ups and plant trials. How can they aid or hinder the design and documentation process, help with plant sourcing and availability challenges, guide implementation, and ensure long-term success in planting strategies?

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Examine the success and failure of planting mock-ups across projects of varied size and scope.
• Discuss methods of evaluating complex planting strategies during the design process.
• Gain a better understanding of how to develop and implement planting mock-ups in varied project types.
• Learn how to source and implement diverse planting strategies in varied regions and climate.

• Adam Greenspan, ASLA, Partner, PWP Landscape Architecture
• Thomas Rainer, ASLA, Principal, Phyto Studio
• Herb Sweeney, ASLA, LEED AP, Associate Principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., Landscape Architects
• Seth Rodewald-Bates, ASLA, Landscape Architect, PWP Landscape Architecture

Two-way Street: Building Value Through Long-Term Relationships - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

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Two-way Street: Building Value Through Long-Term Relationships - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/non-HSW)

Dec 20, 2019 7:00am ‐ Dec 20, 2019 7:00am

Credits: None available.

Maintaining long-term owner/designer relationships is good for both business and design. In candid conversation, panelists will dissect their successful 12-year relationship while sharing lessons learned and practical advice on marketing; client interface; working across time, project type, and scales; and efficiently and effectively managing staff from novice designer to principal.

Please complete a brief evaluation of this Online Learning presentation.

• Understand the value of establishing durable relationships and building trust between all levels of the client and design teams.
• Learn how to create an internal ecosystem for effective staffing and workflow.
• Recognize how to establish teams and communication structures that bridge various scales of planning and capital projects — often taking place simultaneously.
• Understand how to develop effective strategies for continuity that transcend specific personalities and relationships.

• Mark Hough, FASLA, University Landscape Architect, Duke University
• Gary R. Hilderbrand, FASLA, Principal, Reed Hilderbrand
• Eric Kramer, ASLA, Principal, Reed Hilderbrand