Landscape Architecture is a discipline that is deeply rooted in the design and stewardship of our urban, rural, and natural environments. The profession integrates aspects of land planning and urban form, arrangement and character of buildings, transportation and circulation, civil engineering, environmental systems, and the fine arts.
Landscape Architecture Origins and Vision
The legacy of Landscape Architecture in the United States spans the many city plans created by John Nolen (who founded the American City Planning Institute and inspired the Congress for the New Urbanism); the great civic parks systems and campus plans of Frederick Law Olmsted (which includes Central Park and Stanford University). It also includes the efforts of conservationists such as John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt, which resulted in the creation of the National Park Service and Sierra Club to manage our nation’s distinctive natural ecosystems from the Yosemite Valley to the Everglades.
The impact and responsibility of the profession connects to many topics of critical concern today. Landscape Architecture compositions inform matters of community character, health and wellness, social equity, housing and neighborhood stability, economic development, recreation, cultural engagement, urban ecology, resource sustainability, climate change, and resiliency. Landscape Architects incorporate elements from regional concepts to the details of human interaction in their work.
GAI’s Community-Centric Landscape Architecture Approach
View the video below to see the various ways in which GAI’s Community Solutions Group professionals incorporate Landscape Architecture concepts to create tangible, positive outcomes in the communities they serve.
Contact GAI’s Community Solutions Group leader Pete Sechler, PLA, AICP, MBA, 312.319.3126, for more information about GAI’s range of landscape architecture and community and parks planning services—message GAI online and start the conversation about how our multidisciplinary professionals can meet your unique project needs.
