Archinect - News

Leading landscape architecture firms pledge zero emissions by 2040

2024-09-19T14:28:00-04:00

Twenty-six CEOs from some of the world’s most influential landscape architecture firms have publicly committed to making their profession zero emissions by 2040, aligning with the goals set out in the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA Climate Action Plan).

Collectively generating over $350 million in annual revenue, these firms contribute to projects exceeding $1 billion in construction value each year and influence millions of acres across more than 50 countries. Their commitment underscores the crucial role landscape architects play in addressing climate change through nature-based solutions.

“These are people who have the skills and imagination to make it happen,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “They’re already designing resilient waterfronts, parks that soak up stormwater, and urban forests that take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and cool our cities.”

The CEOs’ public letter also calls on governments, clients, and allied professionals to strengthen cli...

DTLA 2040 rezoning plan gets one step closer to Los Angeles City Council approval

2021-09-27T15:15:00-04:00

After a pair of marathon hearings, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission has amended and approved the draft DTLA 2040 plan, sending the proposed rezoning of the city's Downtown core on to the City Council for consideration next.

The area has been particularly beset by the pandemic, which is being seen more and more as a potential hub for housing in the city (and state) whose political landscape is increasingly shaped by affordability issues.

Ten new land use designations, proposed under the DTLA 2040 plan for Downtown Los Angeles, will establish baselines and universal building standards in the expanded area, which will accommodate approximately 20% of the anticipated residential growth that could add capacity for 175,000 additional residents to the area in just under two decades.

The plan would eliminate parking requirements for developers as well as scrapping much of a decades-old TFAR program. Urbanize LA has more on the proposed plan’s details here.

Minneapolis, Tackling Housing Crisis and Inequity, Votes to End Single-Family Zoning

2018-12-14T00:36:00-05:00

In a bold move to address its affordable-housing crisis and confront a history of racist housing practices, Minneapolis has decided to eliminate single-family zoning, a classification that has long perpetuated segregation.