On the Edge: Merging Wildfire Research and Design in Reimagining Frontline Communities - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

As wildfires become more frequent and more destructive, landscape architects must design for this new environmental era. This panel brings together three experts exploring the intersection wildfire climate research, emerging predictive and protective technologies, and design tactics for the protection and creation of fire-resilient frontline communities.

Learning objectives:

Understand various factors increasing wildfire risk for vulnerable frontline communities, such as climate change, land use and settlement patterns, forest management practices, and insurance frameworks.
Explore emerging latest technologies for predicting, detecting, and suppressing wildfires to protect people and property.
Expand understanding of how "good fire" or prescribed burns can be used as a potent tool to improve habitats and protect surrounding communities.
Survey how emerging wildfire research can influence long-standing urban design principles to create more resilient communities.

Alison Ecker, ASLA, AICP

Associate

SWA Group

Alison is an Associate with SWA Group in Sausalito, California. She works as a designer and planner and is affiliated with SWA's XL research group. Her work mainly focuses on large-scale master planning projects in northern California, particularly those with signfigant wildfire risk. She has collaborated to produce SWA's "The Edge of Paradise: Landscape Strategies for Living with Fire" and co-led the 2022 SWA Summer Student Studio "California Burning: Designing with Fire."

Thomas Azwell

Environmental Scientist

University of California, College of Engineering

Thomas is an Environmental Scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. He combines his deep research experience with his skill base in corporate sustainability, remediation, agriculture, and oceanography to lead teams experimenting with solutions to emerging environmental issues. He founded the Disaster Lab (disasterlab.berkeley.edu) at UC Berkeley's College of Engineering. The lab supports student innovators and researchers – from various backgrounds and disciplines – to collaborate, explore, and develop new technical solutions for environmental issues, such as wildfire suppression and mitigation.