Tag: the-dirt | ArchDaily

Design Strategies for Increasing Biodiversity

Pamela Conrad — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 03:30:00 +0000

The world has lost 60 percent of animal populations since 1970. This staggering decline reflects the growing pressures on ecosystems, from habitat destruction to climate change. And 1 million species now face threats of extinction. As these problems continue to escalate, the importance of preserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems becomes clearer.

How Flood Defenses Can Enhance the Public Realm

Jared Green — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 03:30:00 +0000

Superstorm Sandy inundated Lower Manhattan, causing billions in property and infrastructure damage. To protect against future flooding, storm surges, and sea level rise, landscape architects are developing an innovative mix of green and grey solutions along the southern coast of Manhattan.

Landscape Architects Rise to the Challenge of Coastal Flooding

Pamela Conrad — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 03:30:00 +0000

It's that time of year again: students and their families are busy preparing for the start of school, while some of us are gearing up to step in front of the classroom. While preparing to teach an intro course on climate, I'm reminded of why we use the term climate change and not global warming.

Simple Design Strategies for Extreme Heat

Pamela Conrad — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 03:30:00 +0000

Anyone who walks during the summer in a city like Boston knows that a significant amount of time is spent charting routes with shade. But I can’t use that as my only excuse for being off-task. Honestly, I’m distracted. The swirling headlines of the U.S. presidential election, an unprecedented UN climate conference looming, and the phrase “decade of decisive action” weighs heavy on my shoulders. While it’s easy to get caught up in current events, those of us with solutions must stay focused.

Working Smarter, Not Harder to Reduce Emissions from Concrete and Steel

Pamela Conrad — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 03:30:00 +0000

It’s now clear that approximately 80% of emissions from landscape architecture projects come from materials. This includes the extraction of natural resources, and their manufacturing, transportation, and construction in parks, plazas, streets, campuses, and neighborhoods. A significant portion of emissions in the built environment can be traced back to two materials: concrete and metal, which includes steel and aluminum.

Climate Action Is About Choosing Local, Low-Carbon Materials

Jared Green — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:30:00 +0000

“Embodied carbon accounts for 75 to 95 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions from landscape architecture projects,” said Chris Hardy, ASLA, PLA, senior associate at Sasaki, during the third in a series of webinars organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee. But by selecting locally made low-carbon materials, landscape architects can significantly reduce the climate impacts of their work.

New Constitution Gardens Will Be a Biodiversity Mecca

Jared Green — Tue, 07 May 2024 03:30:00 +0000

“Constitution Gardens will become a biodiversity hotspot on the National Mall,” said Adam Greenspan, FASLA, design partner at PWP Landscape Architecture. “We will create a garden, based in nature, while respecting the historic design.” Constitution Gardens in Washington, D.C. opened in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the American revolution. Concepts outlined in the McMillan Plan and designs by Dan Kiley and SOM shaped the landscape.

Landscape Architects Lead Bhutan’s Mindfulness City

Jared Green — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 03:30:00 +0000

“The Mindfulness City will be a sustainable city. To be mindful is to be aware — to perform best,” said Giulia Frittoli, partner and head of landscape at BIG. The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist country in the eastern Himalayas, nestled between China and India. It covers 14,000 square miles and has a population of nearly 800,000.

How Landscape Architects are Taking on Embodied Carbon

Jared Green — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 03:30:00 +0000

“Landscape architects have started conversations about embodied carbon. There is a realization that we can no longer ignore the grey parts,” said Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum and the University of Washington, during the first in a series of webinars organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.

Designing Spaces That Are Good for Women and Everybody Else

Jared Green — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 03:30:00 +0000

"We are focused on creating a just public realm," said Chelina Odbert, Hon. ASLA, CEO and founding principal of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. And by just, "we mean free, inclusive, accessible, unbiased, and equitable". A "just public realm is open to everyone.” There is unlimited access to streets and public spaces so people can travel to school and work and be full members of their communities.

Socially Just Public Spaces Are Crucial to Flourishing Societies

Grace Mitchell Tada — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 03:30:00 +0000

One of the most radical instances of public space transformation happened recently. During the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, public space transformed into “a medical resource, a distribution hub, an overflow space, a center of protest and resistance, a gym, a senior center, a community center, a daycare center, a schoolyard, a night club, a transportation corridor, an outdoor restaurant, a shopping mall, a children’s playground, an outdoor theater, a music venue, a nature center, and a place of belonging and ‘being at home.’”

Confronting the Racist Legacy of Urban Highways

Diane Jones Allen — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 03:30:00 +0000

Highways, in their inanimate state, cannot be racist. However, the forces that located them and the consequences of their placement are inextricably connected to race. Deborah Archer, a law professor and civil rights lawyer, captures the central concept: “Highways were built through and around Black communities to entrench racial inequality and protect white spaces and privilege.”

Urban Parks Should Be a Greater Part of the Healthcare System

Jared Green — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 03:30:00 +0000

Each year, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) issues its ParkScore, which ranks the park systems of the 100 most populated cities in the U.S. This year, the organization also explored the positive health outcomes of top-scoring cities, looking at more than 800 innovative programs and practices that integrate park and healthcare systems.

Next Generation of Landscape Architecture Leaders Focus on Climate, Equity, and Technology

Jared Green — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 03:30:00 +0000

“Our fellows have shown courage, written books, founded mission-driven non-profits, created new coalitions, and disseminated new tools,” said Cindy Sanders, FASLA, CEO of OLIN, in her introduction of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership program at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

New High Line Bridge: A Safe, Ecological Connection

Jared Green — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 03:30:00 +0000

In midtown Manhattan, the street crossings surrounding the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel were once some of the most challenging in the city. A mess of highway ramps, missing sidewalks, and concrete barriers made the corner of Dyer Avenue and 30th Street an area to avoid.

The Landscapes of the Black Atlantic World

Jared Green — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 03:30:00 +0000

The institution of slavery shaped landscapes on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. And in turn enslaved and free Africans and their descendants created new landscapes in the United States, the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. African people had their own intimate relationships with the land, which enabled them to carve out their own agency and culture.

Vice President Harris Makes the Case for Nature-based Solutions

Jared Green — Wed, 24 May 2023 03:30:00 +0000

This Earth Day, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted the many benefits of nature-based solutions and recognized the important role of landscape architects in this work. At the University of Miami, she also announced $562 million in funding for coastal resilience projects, supporting 149 projects in 30 states, through the Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Vice President Harris’ remarks build on the Biden-Harris administration’s support for planning and designing with ecological systems in an equitable way.

Twenty Years of Transforming Transportation: Where Are We Now?

Jared Green — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 03:30:00 +0000

“Economic shocks, climate change, and COVID-19 have changed transportation systems in a fundamental way. We can’t waste a crisis. We can increase access to transportation while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We can achieve more mobility with fewer impacts,” argued Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute (WRI), at the 20th annual Transforming Transportation conference. For two days, global leaders reflected on the state of transportation systems worldwide at the hybrid event in Washington, D.C., which was also watched by tens of thousands online. The event was co-organized by WRI and the World Bank.