Service(s):
Leadership Group Facilitation
Focus:
Built Environment
Recreation
Social/Economic Health
Historical/Cultural Heritage
Scale:
National
Region(s):
National
Sector:
Non-Profit
The American Society of Landscape Architects works to raise public awareness and appreciation for landscape architecture, as well as the profession’s role in improving quality of life. ASLA is a vocal advocate for the profession on issues such as licensure, the environment, sustainable design, livable communities, surface transportation, historic preservation, and stormwater management at the local
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is a collaboration between the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and a variety of stakeholder organizations to create standards for landscape sustainability.
About Sustainable Sites. The Sustainable Sites Initiative was launched in 2005 and is a five-year project that will include pilot sites and create three products: Standards and Guidelines, a Rating System, and a Reference Guide. The goal of the initiative is to provide the required tools to those who design, build, operate, maintain, landscape architects, engineers who work on public.
It will also lay the groundwork for those who influence land development and management techniques to tackle increasingly pressing global issues such as climate change, species loss, and resource depletion. The U.S. Green Building Council is involved in the project and expects to integrate the final Sustainable Sites standards and guidelines into the next version of LEED (Leadership in Energy.
Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks. The first product is currently in development, and it will be titled the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks report. These guidelines will combine current study, technology, and best practices while also providing technical advice for creating and maintaining environmentally beneficial sites. In the fall of 2009, the Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks report should be published.
Rating System. The Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks will be used to establish a ranking system with particular site performance objectives after they have been completed. These ratings will reward achievement in achieving a sustainable website, much like the LEED® standards do for sustainable structures. Credits will be given for meeting performance objectives so that each location may be evaluated.
Pilot Projects. The project will examine how well the rating system works in design and construction techniques, as well as maintenance approaches, across 75 to 200 diverse projects throughout the country. The rating system will be improved based on data from the projects.
Reference Guide. This will be a user guide that describes how various pilot projects were able to achieve sustainability goals. It will include evaluations of each project as well as details on how they resolved site issues.