Landscape Architecture Magazine

KIM O’CONNELL (“The View from the Front Porch,” page 78) is a journalist based in Arlington, Virginia, who writes about nature, history, preservation, and design for a range of national and regional publications. You can follow her work at linkedin.com/in/kimaoconnell. “I am always amazed by the creativity of municipal and community leaders when it comes to activating moribund places—the popup exhibits, the local lectures, the walking tours, the vendors selling wares.” DAVID TOBENKIN (“Your Mileage May Vary,” page 88) is a freelance writer based in the greater Washington, D.C., area covering business, technology, and human-interest topics. You can contact him at dtobenkin@hotmail.com. “I was impressed by the dedication of the landscape architects and architecture firm executives with whom I spoke, addressing the societal and environmental impacts of AI. It is…

In regard to Michael Grove’s essay from February, “Time Will Tell,” I find that the framing of the argument negates the point of the argument itself. While the research and background are thoughtful and contribute to a growing body of work on Indigenous modes of landscape architecture, the language used in this narrative model does not reflect the author’s assertion. The conceptual frame of a 60-year land lease inherently conflicts with Indigenous ideologies, the connection to architecture as a practice further undermines landscape architects’ position as experts on these issues, and the idea of permanence as a driving force in our field is overstated. The concept of a “lease” implies the colonial position of a lessor, or landlord, and reinforces a hierarchy of ownership, control, and extraction. The author describes…

As I prepare to send the final pages of an issue off to press, I occasionally hear the voices of LAM readers in my head. Invariably, they are disappointed or at least disapproving. I imagine they can see every error I missed and are omniknowledgeable—informed enough to immediately spot holes in the reporting or know that one person who would have taken a story to the next level but was overlooked. Sometimes this imaginary reader is just irritated that we covered a subject at all. Those imaginary readers were quite vocal as I edited “Your Mileage May Vary,” by David Tobenkin (page 88), a snapshot of how landscape architecture firms are using AI in ways that aren’t design per se but support the business of design. Tobenkin is a professional…

“It was like being the oldest child.” That’s how Molly Bourne, FASLA, a principal at MNLA, describes the experience of helping lead one of New York City’s first major post–Hurricane Sandy coastal resilience projects. A $1.45 billion fortification of 2.4 miles of waterfront along the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the project originated as part of the BIG U, a climate adaptation framework developed by the architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group for Rebuild by Design. Bringing the first elements of that plan to fruition, including a redesign of Stuyvesant Cove Park and East River Park, came with a steep learning curve for the city and its consultants. “We all held hands, kicking and screaming, through schematic design,” Bourne says of the design team. “There were a lot of lessons learned.”…

Modernist landscape architecture often goes unrecognized, but it’s the accompanying lack of public investment and maintenance in these spaces that frequently leads to loss. Advocates say that’s the case in San Francisco, where a flawed public process has brought one of the city’s largest public artworks, Vaillancourt Fountain, and its landscape counterpart, the Lawrence Halprin–designed Embarcadero Plaza, to the chopping block. This past November, city commissioners authorized the emergency removal of the disused 1971 fountain to make way for the plaza’s redevelopment as part of a publicprivate partnership between the city and the real estate firm BXP, which owns the Embarcadero Center. Advocates say that the city is abandoning a historically significant civic asset in the rush to design a new park. “The line is being moved,” says Charles Birnbaum,…

In 2024, job growth in landscape architecture in Nebraska exceeded the national rate by more than 200 percent. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) has the state’s only accredited landscape architecture degree program, which has steadily grown since being established in 2009 and boasts a 100 percent job placement rate, with 70 percent of those job seekers remaining in state. The degree program’s home, the College of Architecture, collectively contributed $25 million to Nebraska’s gross state product in 2024 alone. So it came as a shock in September 2025 when, as part of a plan to address a $21 million budget deficit, UNL’s landscape architecture program was selected for possible elimination. “It was surprising that a four-year professional degree with job placement was put on the list,” says Sarah Karle, an…