What a National Green Infrastructure Plan Looks Like

The American Society of Landscape Architects this week announced a list of green infrastructure priorities, full of specifics, without mentioning the Trump Administration.

1 minute read

March 30, 2017, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) urges policy makers and stakeholders to support an infrastructure plan that not only addresses today’s crumbling infrastructure, but also creates tomorrow’s resilient systems," according to a post on The Dirt.

The post lays out a four-point agenda, with detailed descriptions of the challenge, and specific policy and funding priorities to support each of the organizing principles:

  • Fixing our nation's water infrastructure
  • Upgrading to a multimodal transportation network
  • Recognizing public lands, parks, and recreation as critical infrastructure
  • Designing for resilience

Never mentioned is the Trump Administration's initial actions, its draft budget proposal, or President Trump's promises of a $1 trillion infrastructure investment. Reading over this agenda, however, it's clear that the ASLA's infrastructure plan is not meant only for the federal government to implement. Local, state, and international action can also play a key role in implementing the vision described by the ASLA, as well as professionals in landscape architecture, planning, and other related design and engineering fields. For the record, the ASLA has already joined the American Planning Association in expressing disappointment with the Trump Administration's proposed federal budget.

Monday, March 27, 2017 in ASLA The Dirt

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