Meg West Published In ASLA Journal
The January '09 edition of the American Society of Landscape Architects' monthly journal features a letter written by Arcadia Studio's Meg West. Meg, a devoted conservationist, Yogini, and all around swell gal offers her fellow landscape architects a ray of optimism amidst economic crisis. The journal, Landscape Architecture, does not post letters on its website, but you can read Meg's below.
If you were asleep for the past month, you might have missed the end of credit as we know it and the historic election of Barack Obama. Wage freezes, layoffs, and difficulty getting projects will likely continue. Is there a silver lining to all this scary news?
Al Gore, Honorary ASLA, wrote in the New York Times recently, "Here is the good news: the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis."
Or, to put it another way:
"When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters: one represents danger (w_i) and the other represents opportunity (j_)." - John F. Kennedy, 12 April 1959.
What are the opportunities that Landscape Architects should be aware of?
1. Educate yourself about sustainable practices and market them to your clients
Here is a real opportunity for Landscape Architects to lead clients and design teams toward more environmentally friendly practices. Many of us have been passionate about this topic for years, and the economic crisis has provided us with an opportunity to market green in a new way. Municipal and commercial clients will be more receptive then ever to ideas that combine saving money with saving the environment. Residential clients will be amenable to removing lawns and planting native plants if your concept is beautifully designed and presented. Educate yourself about the options and commit to a real marketing effort for sustainability. Have the courage to use your knowledge and design skills to show how things can be done differently!
2. Lead by example
Instead of spending time worrying about the economy, do something that saves you money and decreases your resource consumption. Can you take the bus or ride your bike to work? Set a goal for a paperless office and start filing things electronically? Make a change to your house to become more energy efficient? Are you always too busy to spend time on projects of this nature? You might have a little more time on your hands these days - use it to change something in your lifestyle that has an impact, no matter how small.
3. Landscape Architects as leaders and visionaries
As population growth continues, and humans continue to impact more and more of the planet, we require visionary designers to create a new paradigm. Razing land to build strip malls and constructing endless jam-packed highways is clearly a thing of the past. Our future landscape can be as efficient, sustainable, and beautiful as our most inspired designs. Dare I say it……"Yes, we can!"