Just a couple days before Christmas I got a text from my cousin who lives in the Yukon. He attached a pic of the weather . . . 41-below . . . Coincidently, at that exact same time I was watching the sunrise on a (frigid or balmy?) 41-above morning . . . Cold is relative, I guess . . . Except for the cold truth that while he was hunkered down, forced to do all his Christmas shopping online, I was going golfing, and then heading out to the mall . . . And while he tried to convince me that they were fine, with the better part of a moose in the freezer, I am confident he would have rather been out and about, as well.

It's pretty cool, yet for many an afterthought, that we have the ability to Christmas shop while sitting on the couch watching TV . . . Can you say WALL-E . . . However, there is something even more special in the adventure of stepping out and going to the mall or heading downtown to check out the shops and grabbing a little lunch or dinner. That's where you step in . . .

 
Landscape Architects are more than just plant material and water use consultants. This profession is in the prime position to bridge the gap between commerce and community. You don't exist just to restore nature in large public lands. Instead, you are there to develop outdoor space into something that can be optimized, appreciated, and used without being abused. While the ASLA is doubling down on climate legislation (see page 66), which opposes the building industry and exasperates the housing crisis, we should never forget that one of the most important aspects of the business of landscape architecture is working with developers to bring landscape into commerce, setting the stage for the gathering of people. A large percentage of landscape architectural projects have a lot to do with accommodating and moving people from one space to another and not so much to do with actual nature. Still, even in these projects we lead the world in sustainability . . . By far. It wouldn't hurt to advocate for the world to catch up a bit before we push to burden our developers with even more legislation.

ASLA should not be acting out against housing and commerce. There's a time and a place for everything and this is not the time. Builders need the services you provide, but they don't necessarily know that they need you. They just know that they want to develop a site, and while you hold the environment as a scarf around your neck, your ability to build responsibly and connect commerce with community is what brings the profession out of the cold and into the forefront of the developer's mindset.

This is an area of growth and stability for the profession. Landscape Architects should not be anti-development. That blueprint will never get built. You can't lead from the outside. But what you can do is show the development industry that you are the ones who can optimize their investment, attract the community, calm the traffic, keep them safe, and encourage interaction while making the project environmentally sustainable and ultimately protecting the public's health, safety and welfare . . .


Happy New Year and God Bless . . .
George Schmok, Publisher
gschmok@landscapearchitect.com