Asserting Landscape Architecture's Role in Urban Design

A panel made up of some of the most prominent architecture and urban design critics from around the U.S. and Canada discussed the role of landscape architects in designing the contemporary city as the recent ASLA 2012 Annual Meeting in Phoenix. The consensus: landscape architecture is too often missing from the planning and design process.

Writing for The Dirt, Ben Wellington reported that, "[t]hroughout the session, landscape architecture was painted as a critical, but often missing, element of urban design. As cities grapple with climate change and the legacy of suburban sprawl, landscape architects need to assert themselves not only as designers of parks and gardens, but as designers of all public infrastructure."