ASLA 2023 Landmark Award. Vista Hermosa Natural Park. Los Angeles. Studio-MLA / Hunter Kerhart
Clients are looking to landscape architects to increase resilience to climate impacts faster — and address biodiversity loss
ASLA has released the results of its second national survey on client demand for landscape architecture solutions to climate change. Over 500 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S. responded to the survey in March 2024. The survey asked many of the same questions as in the first national survey issued in 2021.
Nationwide, demand for planning and design solutions to climate change has increased over the past year.
- 70 percent of landscape architects and designers responding to the survey experienced at least a 10 percent increase in client demand for these solutions over the prior year.
- And 52 percent of landscape architects and designers experienced more than a 25 percent increase in demand.
“The survey shows that the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises only continue to worsen. But amid the growing damages, it is heartening that more communities are looking to smart, nature-based solutions that increase resilience, improve health and well-being, and provide economic benefits,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO.
According to the 2024 survey results, city and local governments are the foremost drivers of demand for climate planning and design projects. State governments, non-profit organizations, and the federal government, are also driving demand.
Clients are concerned about a range of climate impacts, but are most concerned with:
- Increased intensity of storms
- Increased duration and intensity of heat waves
- Loss of pollinators, such as bees and bats
- Changing / unreliable weather
- Increased spread and intensity of inland flooding
The top five concerns of clients are the same as in the ASLA survey results published in 2021, but there are significant increases in the percentage of landscape architects identifying these as client concerns.
The 2024 survey finds that landscape architects are also actively educating public, commercial, and residential clients about the importance of investing in more climate-smart practices.
Nationwide, 66 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed are recommending the integration of climate solutions to “all or most” of their clients, approximately the same as found in the 2021 survey. They are creating demand for more sustainable and resilient landscape planning and design practices through “advocacy by design” approaches that persuade city, local government, and other clients to update policies and regulations.
To increase resilience to climate impacts, enhance biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time, landscape architects are planning and designing infrastructure at all scales – from the city and county to district, neighborhood, and site.
Community-wide Solutions:
The top community-wide infrastructure solution clients are requesting is stormwater management to reduce flooding.
Solutions that reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which account for approximately a third of all U.S. emissions, take up the next top four in-demand solutions:
- Walkability improvements
- Trails
- Bike infrastructure
- Complete Streets
Improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure also increase community resilience to climate impacts by providing additional layers of safe transportation. This is largely the same as was found in 2021 survey results.
ASLA 2023 Professional Residential Design Award of Excellence. The Rain Gardens at 900 Block. Lexington, Kentucky. Gresham Smith
Economic Benefits:
The survey found that projects to increase the resilience of communities and reduce or store greenhouse gas emissions may also create positive economic impacts:
- 44 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed said the top economic benefit of their climate projects is they “avoided expected long-term climate damages.” 37 percent said a key benefit was “avoided expected short-term climate changes.” And 35 percent also cited reduced maintenance and operations costs.
- 42 percent of those surveyed estimate their climate projects have a construction value of more than $1 million, with 29 percent saying the value of this work is more than $10 million. This is a decrease from the 47 percent found in the 2021 survey results.
- The climate solutions landscape architects design result in well-paying creative and green jobs. 75 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed estimated their climate projects created local planning, design, construction, management, or maintenance jobs in the past year, approximately the same as in 2021. And 30 percent said their projects created more than 10 local jobs, a decrease of 15 percent from the 2021 survey results.
- 27 percent of landscape architects said their projects catalyzed more than $1 million in additional residential or commercial development, with 11 percent saying the development impact was more than $25 million.
The landscape architects surveyed were mixed on whether the maintenance and construction costs and design fees associated with climate projects were higher or lower than traditional projects:
- 49 percent responded that construction costs were higher than traditional projects; 19 percent said they were the same; and 4 percent said they were lower.
- 36 percent responded that maintenance costs were higher; 22 percent said they were lower; and 15 percent said they were the same.
- 43 percent said design fees for climate projects are the same as for traditional projects; 34 percent responded that fees were higher; and 3 percent said they were lower.
According to responses from landscape architects, factors that can affect the cost of climate projects include:
- The larger scale of these projects.
- The range of new, complex services required, including climate modeling and scenario planning.
- The cost of innovative, low-carbon materials.
- The time required to educate clients and communities on new climate-resilient approaches.
- The cost of additional certifications (SITES, LEED, etc).
- The cost of training maintenance teams on new approaches.
More key findings:
Designing resilience to climate impacts remains at the forefront. 41 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed stated that “all, a majority, or about half” of clients are now requesting plans and designs to increase resilience to existing or projected climate impacts, such as extreme heat, flooding, sea level rise, storm surges, and wildfires. This is a decrease from 48 percent of clients in 2021.
But in comparison with 2021, more clients are seeking to increase resilience to climate impacts faster:
- 43 percent of clients seek to increase resilience to immediate climate risks or impacts, an increase of 4 percent over 2021 survey results.
- 42 percent seek to increase resilience to climate impacts projected over the next 5-10 years, a 6 percent increase over 2021 survey results.
- 37 percent of clients are planning now for the long-term and seeking solutions for expected climate risks and impacts 10-50 years out, a 5 percent increase over 2021 survey results.
- 42 percent of clients seek to increase resilience over the next 2-5 years, approximately the same as in 2021 survey results.
Nature-based solutions to a range of climate impacts are in demand. Public, non-profit, community, and private clients are looking to landscape architects to plan and design solutions to impacts such as wildfires, sea level rise, flooding, drought, extreme heat, and biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
According to landscape architects, designers, and educators surveyed, these are the top solutions requested by clients for each climate impact area. Note: Not all climate impacts are relevant to the respondents’ regions.
Extreme heat solutions:
- Street trees (70%)
- Shade structures / canopies (62%)
- Parks (38%)
- Tree groves (34%)
- Green roofs (30%)
The same top five solutions were requested by clients in the 2021 survey results, but there is a 6 percent increase in demand for street trees as a heat solution since then.
ASLA 2023 Professional General Design Honor Award. The University of Texas at El Paso Transformation. El Paso, Texas. Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc / Adam Barbe
Wildfire solutions:
- Firewise landscape design strategies (30%)
- Defensible spaces (25%)
- Land-use planning and design changes (17%)
- Wildfire risk or impact assessment (15%)
- Controlled burns (12%)
A new solution to wildfires in the top five in 2024 is controlled burns. A solution listed in the top five in 2021 – forest management practices – is no longer in the top five in 2024.
Fire risk reduction strategy / SWA
Flooding solutions:
- Bioswales (72%)
- Rain gardens (70%)
- Permeable pavers (60%)
- Trees (54%)
- Stormwater-managing open spaces (47%)
The percentage of clients requesting bioswales increased by 10 percent, and rain gardens by 9 percent in comparison with the 2021 survey results. A new solution in the top five in 2024 is stormwater-managing open spaces. A solution listed in the top five in 2021 – wetland restoration – is no longer in the top five in 2024.
Laguna Canyon Foundation, Laguna Beach, Californian. Terremoto / Caitlin Atkinson
Drought solutions:
- Native, drought-tolerant plants (79%)
- Low-water, drought-tolerant plants (73%)
- Irrigation systems (51%)
- Landscape solutions that increase groundwater recharge (40%)
- Greywater reuse (33%)
The same top five solutions were requested by clients in the 2021 survey results, but there has been a 12 percent increase in demand for native, drought-tolerant plants, and a 5 percent increase in demand for “landscape solutions that increase groundwater recharge” as drought solutions since then.
ASLA 2023 Professional General Design Honor Award. University of Arizona Environment + Natural Resource II. Tucson, Arizona. Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture / Marion Brenner
Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation solutions:
- Increase diversity of native tree and plant species (65%)
- Native plant gardens (64%)
- Increase use of plant species pollinators rely on (58%)
- Ecological landscape design (48%)
- Ecological restoration (38%)
The same top five solutions were requested by clients in the 2021 survey results, but there has been an 8 percent jump in demand for “increase diversity of native tree and plant species,” a 6 percent jump in demand for native plant gardens, a 6 percent increase in demand for “increase use of plant species pollinators rely on,” and a 7 percent increase in demand for “ecological landscape design” as biodiversity loss and degradation solutions since then.
ASLA 2023 Professional General Design Honor Award. The Meadow at the Old Chicago Post Office. Chicago, Illinois. Hoerr Schaudt / Dave Burk
Sea level rise solutions:
- Nature-based solutions (35%)
- Erosion management (29%)
- Beach / dune restoration (23%)
- Other coastal ecosystem restoration (20%)
- Sea walls (19%)
A new solution to sea level rise in the top five in 2024 is sea walls. A solution listed in the top five in 2021 – berms – is no longer in the top five in 2024.
ASLA 2017 Professional Analysis and Planning Award of Excellence. Storm + Sand + Sea + Strand — Barrier Island Resiliency Planning for Galveston Island State Park. Galveston, TX, Studio Outside
Reducing or storing greenhouse gas emissions is a priority for some clients, but many climate resilience and biodiversity solutions already provide carbon benefits.
Landscape architects are using tools like Climate Positive Design’s Pathfinder and Sasaki’s Carbon Conscience to plan and design projects that absorb more carbon than they emit over their lifespans.
Projects at all scales can be designed to not only increase resilience and biodiversity, but also act as natural and designed carbon sinks, storing carbon in trees, shrubs, and carbon-sequestering materials, such as woods and pavers.
13 percent of respondents stated that “all, a majority, or about half” of clients are specifically requesting projects that reduce or store greenhouse gas emissions now, down from 27 percent in 2021.
Top ten strategies sought by clients to reduce or store greenhouse emissions include:
- Parks and open space (53%)
- Habitat creation / restoration (52%)
- Elimination of high-maintenance lawns (47%)
- Bicycle and pedestrian-oriented transportation plans (42%)
- Tree and shrub placement to reduce building energy use (42%)
- Material reuse – 34%
- Low-carbon materials research / specification – 22%
- Minimizing soil disturbance – 22%
- Carbon-neutral landscape planning and design – 21%
- Afforestation – 18%
New solutions in the top ten in 2024 are bicycle and pedestrian-oriented transportation plans and material reuse. There is a 4 percent increase in demand for “habitat creation / restoration” since 2021.
ASLA 2023 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award. Joe Louis Greenway Framework Plan. Detroit, Michigan. SmithGroup
Explore the full survey results and highlighted commentary from landscape architects