2023

Research Update: Visualizing Thermal Disparities

hannah — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 19:27:06 +0000

Research Update: Visualizing Thermal Disparities

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Image courtesy of Salvador Lindquist and Keenan Gibbons.

The LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell supports research relevant to design practice. In 2023, the $25,000 was awarded to Salvador Lindquist and Keenan Gibbons to fund an 18-month project beginning in June 2023. Six months into the project, they provided an update and compelling images illustrating their progress.

Their research project, Heat Waves: Visualizing Thermal Disparities is collecting and analyzing temperature data for Omaha, Nebraska, using commercially available thermal visualization tools in order to evaluate the positive impacts of nature based solutions on mitigating extreme heat. Salvador Lindquist (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) and Keenan Gibbons (SmithGroup/University of Michigan) believe visualizing heat disparities is a form of recognition of the disproportionate impacts heat has on vulnerable populations. They see images and maps as tools with the potential to enact positive change by revealing unjust systems and lived realities. Equitable access to shade and comfortable microclimates are often perceived as an amenity, but should be considered a public health concern. High quality visual data can make the distribution of extreme heat more tangible and aid in consensus building across disciplines and policy makers.

The prevailing method of visualizing heat in landscapes is Land Surface Temperature (LST), which is measured using United States Geological Survey (USGS) remote sensing data from Landsat, a series of satellites orbiting the earth. They capture raster-based images, which are then stitched together before being published on the USGS website. However, these images can only reach a resolution of 30m x 30m. According to Salvador and Keenan, this data works well at a city or regional scale but doesn’t serve the needs of landscape planners and policy makers designing more just and equitable cities because it overlooks the lived reality of heat. More granular thermal visualization methods are needed.

Using funding from the LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell, Salvador and Keenan are cataloging alternative ways to visualize the localized impacts of heat, including the use of drones. Drones have become more and more accessible over the last few years and can capture high resolution images as well as infrared thermography, allowing the researchers much more specific data, even to the point of pinpointing specific material temperature.

Images captured by the drone allowed the researchers to zoom in and pinpoint specific material temperature readings. Images courtesy of Salvador Lindquist and Keenan Gibbons.

While these high-resolution images from the drone are great at providing better detail from above, they still miss the on-the-ground impacts of heat. So the researchers have supplemented drone data with handheld tools, including a thermal camera, temperature gun, and heat stress tracker. The handheld images and data allowed them to target specific landscape interventions and study their potential for heat mitigation (or contribution to the heat island effect).

Their research will conclude in fall 2024. The primary output for this project will be a toolkit for landscape planners and policymakers to make better-informed decisions in designing more just and equitable cities by using thermal visualization tools to show positive design impacts at a level that is more granular and reflective of the lived experience of extreme heat in formerly redlined communities. Outputs will also support the City of Omaha’s climate action and resilience plan.

In September, the team and their work was featured on The Weather Channel. Additionally, the Heat Waves team has connected and begun collaborating with LAF Fellow Kimberly Garza and her Cool Conscious Cities project. Updates on Heat Waves are being posted on the @cool_conscious_cities Instagram. You can also follow their work on Instagram at @salvador.lindquist and @keenan.gibbons.

Stay tuned for a LAF webinar on their findings in fall 2024.

2024 CSI Teams and Projects Announced

hannah — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 17:00:00 +0000

2024 CSI Teams and Projects Announced

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Eleven faculty Research Fellows and ten high-performing landscape projects have been selected for LAF's 2024 Case Study Investigation program.

Case Study Investigation (CSI) is a unique research collaboration and training program for faculty, students, and practitioners. LAF funded faculty-student research teams work with designers to document the impacts of exemplary, high-performing landscape projects. Teams develop methods to quantify the environmental, social, and economic benefits of built projects and produce Case Study Briefs for LAF’s Landscape Performance Series.

Research Fellows lead the CSI collaboration and receive funding to support a student Research Assistant. The academic teams work with liaisons from design firms to evaluate and document each project. LAF provides training, supporting materials, and feedback throughout the process.

Among the projects selected for the 2024 program are an iconic San Francisco green roof, a Rebuild by Design stormwater park in Hoboken, a community-initiated neighborhood park in Dallas, a restored wetland park that replicates disappearing Manhattan ecosystems, and a signature creek restoration park in downtown Austin.

The geographically diverse projects also include an outdoor activity center that connects young people with disabilities to British Columbia’s natural systems; a museum landscape that makes art public in downtown Akron, Ohio; a biophilic resort with a local focus in Nayarit, Mexico; a Boston Children’s hospital landscape designed for a full range of emotional, cognitive, and sensory experiences; and a stormwater management park that supports daily life as well as game day in San Francisco’s Mission Creek neighborhood.

The 2024 CSI program kicks off in February and runs through early August. We look forward to working with this impressive group to document this wide range of outstanding projects and their impacts!

Florida International University
+ EDSA
CSI Research Fellow: Ebru Ozer, FASLA, PhD-ABD
Student Research Assistants: Anne Coke, Sofia Hernandez, and Raquel Rosati
Project: Naviva®, a Four Seasons Resort, Nayarit, Mexico

Harvard Graduate School of Design
+ Mikyoung Kim Design
CSI Research Fellow: Gareth Doherty
Student Research Assistants: Anne Tong and Garrett Craig-Lucas
Project: Boston Children’s Hospital Master Plan & Implementation, Boston, MA

The Ohio State University
+ OLIN
CSI Research Fellows: Tameka Baba and Jack Gruber
Student Research Assistant: Caressa Givens
Project: Bud and Susie Rogers Garden at the Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
+ Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners
CSI Research Fellow: Wolfram Hoefer, Dr.-Ing, ASLA, AKNW
Student Research Assistant: James Hill
Project: Southwest Resiliency Park, Hoboken, NJ

University of California, Berkeley
+ SWA
CSI Research Fellow: Nate Kauffman
Research Assistant: Gustavo Coronilla
Project: California Academy of Sciences Green Roof, San Francisco, CA

University of California, Berkeley
+ CMG Landscape Architecture
CSI Research Fellow: Victoria Mohr
Student Research Assistant: Mary Devlin
Project: Mission Creek Stormwater Park, San Francisco, CA

University of Connecticut
+ Field Operations
CSI Research Fellow: Sohyun Park, PhD, SITES AP, ASLA
Student Research Assistant: Zahra S. Ali
Project: Muscota Marsh, New York, NY

University of Texas at Arlington
+ StudioOutside
CSI Research Fellow: Letora Anderson, PLA, AICP
Student Research Assistants: Heena Shrestha and Molly White
Project: South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park, Dallas, TX

University of Texas at Austin
+ Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates
CSI Research Fellow: Allan W. Shearer, Ph.D., FASLA, FCELA
Student Research Assistant: Samantha Hodge
Project: Waterloo Park, Austin, TX

University of Victoria
+ Christine Lintott Architects, Inc. and MDI Landscape Architects
CSI Research Fellow: Eric Higgs, PhD, FRSC
Student Research Assistant: Shima Tajarloo
Project: Power to Be Basecamp, Victoria, British Columbia

LAF Welcomes New Communications Manager

hannah — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 18:32:40 +0000

LAF Welcomes New Communications Manager

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The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) is pleased to welcome Hannah Hethmon, who joined the organization December 11 as Communications Manager. Hannah will leverage marketing, communications, and public relations to build community and propel the landscape architecture discipline forward while supporting LAF programs, events, and fundraising efforts.

Hannah has had a varied career across communications and marketing. For the last five years, she ran her own business, Better Lemon Creative Audio, producing podcasts for cultural nonprofits in the US and UK like the Smithsonian Institution and The National Archives (UK). Prior to that, she completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Iceland and served as the Membership Marketing Coordinator for the American Association for State and Local History, a public history nonprofit based in Nashville, TN. She currently serves as a board member of the Friends of Maryland Olmsted Parks and Landscapes.

Hannah holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MA in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies from the University of Iceland. Her passion for green, equitable urban spaces is informed by her travels and her experiences living in London, Warsaw, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik. Hannah dedicates most of her spare time to her vegetable gardens and her work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for youth in foster care, but she also loves visiting art museums, parks, and local history sites.

We are excited to welcome Hannah to the team!

Quiz: Landscape Architect Changemakers

heather — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Quiz: Landscape Architect Changemakers

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Test your knowledge on the outsized impacts of landscape architects

Plant doctors? Sexy gardeners? Nah!

YOU know that landscape architects can design anything from intimate outdoor spaces to complex infrastructure to make the world a better place. But did you know that landscape architects have used their unique skills to profoundly influence policy, technology, culture, and more?

Test your knowledge of landscape architects making big impacts by taking this quiz (and consider sharing it with anyone who needs a broader perspective of what landscape architects can do.)

Students Selected for the Second Cycle of LAF Ignite

heather — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:29:08 +0000

Students Selected for the Second Cycle of LAF Ignite

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The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) is pleased to announce the second cohort and finalists for LAF Ignite, our scholarship-internship-mentorship program for BIPOC students.

Five landscape architecture students have been selected for the second cohort of LAF Ignite. This multi-year program provides participants with an annual $10,000 scholarship, annual paid summer internship, and various forms of mentorship. Each year, 3-5 students are selected to join the program, and participation is ongoing until they have completed their landscape architecture degree.

The program kicks off later this month with facilitated virtual meetings as the students begin to work on portfolios in preparation for the summer internship interview/selection process . The new awardees also join with the four students in the inaugural cohort for peer-to-peer mentorship.

Congratulations and welcome to the second cohort of LAF Ignite!

Kareem Harris
BLA Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Growing up in Northeast Washington, DC, Kareem has experienced firsthand the inequitable distribution and access to green spaces in the city and is driven to change this. Through landscape architecture he hopes to address meaningful issues like mental health and future impacts of climate change in the communities and spaces that need it most.

Anaya Marshall
BLA Candidate
Ball State University

With a minor in sustainability, Anaya is passionate about a career in landscape architecture to be a catalyst for change in the environment, as well as in her community, as an African American woman. She hopes to pay homage to people, places, and events through purposeful design. She has a particular interest in green burial and sustainable landscapes.

Kaia McKenney
MLA Candidate
University of Michigan

Kaia holds a BA in Environmental Studies with a minor in Spanish from Ohio University. Born and raised in Cincinnati, her past research looked at the effects of gentrification, displacement, and housing affordability there. She is interested in urban design that emphasizes environmental and social sustainability, as well as equitable food growing practices in cities.

Jade Rhodes
MLA Candidate
University of Hawaii

Jade is an aspiring urban ecologist, environmental justice advocate, and designer. She holds bachelors degrees in Pacific Island Studies and International Sustainability, Policy & Anthropology. Born and raised in Detroit, Jade's mission is to advocate for resilient community food systems, integrate indigenous knowledge, and inspire Black folks to reconnect with land and the outdoors.

Zaria Wetzel
MLA Candidate
Morgan State University

Zaria holds a BS in Environmental Science and Studies with a concentration in policy and management from Towson University. With roots in biology and ecology, she is deeply committed to using landscape architecture to reshape and bring about new urban landscapes where underserved populations can access the wide variety of benefits and spaces from which they have been historically barred.

LAF also recognizes four finalists who stood out during the Ignite selection process. These students will have access to LAF’s network for internship and mentorship opportunities.

Brendan Hall, MLA Candidate, Illinois Institute of Technology
Johnathan Hampton, MLA Candidate, University of Texas at Arlington
Jakobi Johnson, BLA Candidate, Michigan State University
Anastasia Marie, MLA Candidate, University of Michigan

About LAF Ignite

LAF Ignite was launched in 2022 thanks to the generous investment of 146 Founding Donors. Now in its second cycle, the multi-year program accepts 3-5 students each year who participate until they have completed their landscape architecture degree. Each new cohort joins the group of continuing students from past years. As such, the program will build over time with up to 15 Ignite participants total.

LAF Ignite students receive a $10,000 scholarship annually, are matched with a one-on-one mentor, and use paid summer internships to explore different career paths within landscape architecture. For the first few years, Ignite will focus on Black/African American students and then be broadened to other students of color.

Landscape architecture professionals who want to get involved can:

Become a mentor - Each year in late winter, LAF accepts applications from potential mentors for the newest cohort of LAF Ignite students.
Host a paid summer internship - Each fall, LAF accepts applications from potential internship providers for the following summer.
Donate - A financial gift to LAF supports Ignite and our other programs to strengthen research, cultivate leadership, and support the next generation of landscape architects.

Welcome 2023-24 Board of Directors!

heather — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome 2023-24 Board of Directors!

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The new board term brings the annual change in President, several Directors assuming new leadership roles, and welcoming 8 new Directors.

The 2023-24 LAF Board of Directors began its term on October 27, 2023 at LAF's Annual Board Meeting and events in Minneapolis. Michael Grove, FASLA, of Sasaki became President, succeeding Roberto Rovira of Florida International University who led the organization during a time of significant growth as LAF expanded staff, successfully completed a capital campaign, and launched a new multi-faceted program for BIPOC students. Alma Du Solier of Hood Design Studio became President-Elect after two years of service as Vice President of Leadership.

Directors Margie Simmons, Emily McCoy, and Alexis Landes stepped into Vice President roles, while two other officers continue in their positions on the executive leadership team:

Vice President of Finance: Margie Simmons, Landscape Forms
Vice President of Development: Elaine Kearney, TBG
Vice President of Research: Emily McCoy, FASLA, Design Workshop
Vice President of Leadership: Alexis C. Landes, SCAPE
Vice President of Education: Alpa Nawre, University of Florida
Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Alexa Bush, The Kresge Foundation

Sierra Bainbridge of MASS Design Group, Natalia Beard of SWA, Connie Chung of HR&A Advisors, and Signe Nielsen, FASLA, of MNLA retired off the board at the end of their terms. Jennifer Engelke, PhD, of Virginia Tech rotated off after serving as an Olmsted Scholar representative. Eugenia M. Martin, FASLA, of The Ohio State University rotated off after serving in an Ex Officio capacity as the ASLA Representative. Thank you for your dedicated service!

Eight new Directors joined the LAF board, bringing experience and knowledge from a range of professional practice firms as well as municipal government. Nicholas Jabs, a 2018 LAF National Olmsted Scholar Finalist, was selected for the open Director position for Olmsted Scholars. ASLA Immediate Past President Emily O'Mahoney, FASLA, will serve as the ASLA representative.

Welcome to the new board members:

Aida Curtis, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio
Jerico Farfan, BrightView Design Group
Diana Fernandez Bibeau, Boston Planning & Development Agency
Rikerrious Geter, Studio Zewde
Leah Hales, SWA
Nicholas Jabs, PORT
Emily O'Mahoney, FASLA, 2GHO
Veronica Rivera, Field Operations

LAF is honored to work with this distinguished group and the range of talents and experiences they bring. We look forward to the year ahead as we begin our strategic planning process and continue to deliver programs and initiatives to increase the influence and impact of landscape architects!

Research in Practice: Opportunities to Connect

heather — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 14:32:44 +0000

Research in Practice: Opportunities to Connect

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Join us Oct 28 for a happy hour to connect with landscape architects who are integrating research into their design practice, or fill out our poll.

Since our founding in 1966, bridging the gap between research and landscape architecture practice has been a core tenet for LAF. This has taken many forms over the years, from research grants to LAF’s quarterly Agora journal/magazine (1980-1987) to case studies.

In recent years, LAF’s efforts in this area have focused in two areas. Our Landscape Performance Series set of initiatives gives practitioners searchable access to case studies and research findings about the measurable benefits of landscape solutions. The case studies are produced through our Case Study Investigation (CSI) program, which serves a performance-focused research collaboration and training program for teams of faculty, students, and practitioners.

LAF supports the nexus of research and practice more broadly through an olio of initiatives. The $25,000 LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell funds research relevant to practice and prioritizes practitioner-academic collaborations. To strengthen research capacity within the discipline, we’ve produced guides, including A Case Study Method for Landscape Architecture and How to Develop a Research Question. LAF has also participated in or hosted numerous conference presentations, conversations, and webinars exploring practice-based research, design research, and the alignments/misalignments between current research and the knowledge needs of professional practices.

Along the way, we’ve been able to share and learn from a number of pioneering individuals and firms and look forward to continued dialogue. As we continue to explore and formalize efforts around research in practice, we invite practitioners to engage with us and share your activities and perspective.

Research + Practice Happy Hour

To support dialogue and build community around practice-based research, at the upcoming ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, LAF will host a happy hour for practitioners who are integrating research in practice or conducting practice-based research. The happy hour takes place at LAF’s booth in the EXPO hall and is sponsored by Land Kit by LANDAU Design + Technology.

Research + Practice Happy Hour
Sat, Oct 28, 5-6pm CT
Minneapolis Convention Center, EXPO Booth #2121

Even if you can’t attend, practitioners are invited to fill out this informal poll by Nov 1 to tell LAF how you are integrating research in practice and be notified of future practice-based research activities.

LAF at the 2023 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture

heather — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:00:00 +0000

LAF at the 2023 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture

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If you'll be in Minneapolis for the 2023 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Conference on Landscape Architecture, please join us for these events to celebrate, connect, and share. In addition to our popular Annual Benefit, LAF has a metrics-focused education session and a happy hour to connect with those doing practice-based research. And don't forget to stop by our EXPO booth to learn about LAF programs and initiatives and how you can get involved. We hope to see you!

LAF's 38th Annual Benefit
Fri, Oct 27, 7-10pm CT
McNamara Alumni Center (*Registration Required)
On the first evening of the conference, join us to catch up with friends from practice, academia, and industry over drinks and food in this stunning venue. Proceeds support LAF's research, scholarships, and leadership initiatives.

LAF Booth in ASLA EXPO Hall (#2121)
Sat, Oct 28, 9:30am-6pm and Sun, Oct 29, 10am-2pm
Minneapolis Convention Center
Stop by our booth to learn about LAF programs and funding opportunities, including the new LAF Ignite program for BIPOC landscape architecture students and how you can get involved as an internship provider or mentor.

How Do We Know What's Working? Getting Real with Landscape Metrics (SAT-C02)
Sat, Oct 28, 3:45-5pm CT
Minneapolis Convention Center, Room 200DE
It this Education Session, Kelly Farrell of Sasaki, Kristina Hill of UC Berkeley, and LAF's Megan Barnes offer an in-depth exploration of landscape metrics and best practices to assess climate resiliency, biodiversity, social equity, and carbon storage.

Research + Practice Happy Hour
Sat, Oct 28, 5-6pm CT
Minneapolis Convention Center, EXPO Booth #2121
Interested in practice-based research in landscape architecture? Join LAF and a group of passionate practitioners to network and share with others who are conducting and integrating research in their design practice. The happy hour is sponsored by Land Kit by LANDAU Design + Technology.

Perspectives: Anton Smith

tim — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 13:07:05 +0000

Perspectives: Anton Smith

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SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Anton Smith, ASLA, is an urbanist with over two decades of experience reimagining and revitalizing urban spaces through community-driven projects and inclusive, co-creative engagement processes. Based in the Los Angeles office of Studio-MLA, Anton is a strong advocate for the pivotal role of landscape architecture in urban planning and policymaking.

What drew you to landscape architecture?

The profession of landscape architecture has a unique capacity to mediate the constraints of various and often opposing systems of the built environment into a coalesced design response that supports sustainable outcomes through the promotion of holistic interconnectivity. There is an awareness that complex systems, whether they are architectural, environmental, social, political, or even biological, cannot be fully understood or effectively managed by looking at individual parts in isolation. In a sense, the profession of landscape architecture can be understood in its highest and perhaps glorified title as "ecosystem engineering" for the built and natural environment. While immersed in clutch moments of the practice, I must remind myself that I am creating a park in this instance, as opposed to figuring out the mathematical equations of a Mandelbrot set. Ecosystem engineering can be as simple as a leaf and as complex as a repeating fractal pattern — rewarding, nonetheless.

What is driving you professionally right now?

Community-based projects that prioritize equitable design approaches and co creative design/engagement processes have been my personal focus over the last 10 years. My work on Destination Crenshaw in Los Angeles has been the most rewarding and challenging for many reasons. For one, thanks to exceptional political and design leadership, the project objectives are set extremely high to provide a direct response toward decades of disinvestment in a vibrant community of color that is hanging onto its identity by a thread. Secondly, the project attempts to counteract issues of gentrification and cultural displacement while also creating affirmative Black space that is supported by a multitude of interpretive narratives and artworks to celebrate Black Los Angeles culture. Lastly, the project has conducted over 4 years of intensive and co-creative public engagement processes to ensure that the design is, in fact, a community-endorsed response infused with the voices of the Black Los Angeles diaspora. I remain optimistic that the outcome of Destination Crenshaw will be a great example of what is possible to achieve when there is an alignment of bold political will and design vision, robust community engagement, and substantial funding to create meaningful and resilient public cultural spaces in the 21st century. Destination Crenshaw will be the first outdoor public linear Art Museum ever realized!

What challenge is landscape architecture allowing you to address right now?

The recent pandemic and broader cultural awareness as a result of the events of 2020 have inspired the removal of more confederate monuments throughout the country and raised public awareness toward equitable processes within our systems of governance and policymaking. This has in turn created more direct opportunities for landscape architecture to address the importance of retelling cultural narratives in the public realm in more deliberate, interactive and meaningful ways. Storytelling is inherently a part of our work, and the views of the storyteller becomes integral to the story itself. Providing more opportunities for storytelling offers more opportunities for inclusivity, visibility, and a more complete recall of our collective history within public spaces.

What challenge would you give emerging leaders?

One, deliberately seek out opportunities to collaborate with the "other." Look for people both inside and outside of your profession who do not necessarily share your educational background, political view, nor your disposition toward design or approach to resolving issues concerning climate change and social equity. A diversified and collaborative effort will be required to yield the most resilient, future proof outcome.

Two, the profession of Landscape Architecture has a keen environmental focus but often struggles to lead by example in yielding carbon-neutral design solutions in both practice and implementation of the work. Our greatest challenge in all professions is to tread as lightly toward our environmentally resilient future and to ensure that our efforts contribute to a much healthier planet when we break ground. Let's find a way to work smarter, cleaner, and waste far less!

Where do you think the profession needs to go from here?

Landscape architecture is a collective practice of worldwide environmental stewardship and therefore the profession can best thrive by ascertaining more direct leadership roles in all matters related to land development, public transit, urban planning, and in particular, environmental policymaking. Imagine if the Los Angeles River channelization project of 1914 was mandated through governmental policy to be led by a landscape architectural firm in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers. A completely different set of metrics would have been implemented toward designing with nature, protecting the ecology of natural systems, and factoring the socio-economic importance of maintaining human access to waterways. I think we would have a much healthier, economically prosperous, and livable Los Angeles today!

LAF's Perspectives interview series showcases landscape architects from diverse backgrounds discussing how they came to the profession and where they see it heading. Any opinions expressed in this interview belong solely to the author. Their inclusion in this article does not reflect endorsement by LAF.

LAF Fellowship Spotlight: Cool Conscious Cities

tim — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:56:32 +0000

LAF Fellowship Spotlight: Cool Conscious Cities

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For Kimberly Garza, the tree-lined streets of Sacramento, CA, present an abundance of opportunity. As the founder and principal of Atlas Lab in Sacramento, Kimberly has experienced the benefits of the city’s roughly 1 million trees firsthand – most noticeably, the cooler temperatures found in the shade. At the same time, Kimberly has witnessed disparities in the city’s tree canopy cover, with lower-income communities having significantly fewer trees, higher temperatures, and more health risks brought on by the heat than wealthier neighborhoods.

Kimberly is now researching this disparity with a goal of providing replicable solutions as part of her 2023-24 LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership project titled “Cool Conscious Cities.” Inequities in tree canopy coverage among communities are being studied. Still, little has been done to raise awareness, advocate for changes in policy, or grow heat resiliency efforts for underserved communities, Kimberly said. That’s a gap she aims to fill with Sacramento, known as “The City of Trees,” serving as a case study.

“As we’re experiencing more extreme heat events, little has been done to increase education or provide resources, so this project has allowed me to utilize the community network I’ve been building since I started Atlas Lab six years ago and put it to good use,” Kimberly said. “It’s been a great opportunity to stay connected to the community and use the available resources to become an active leader.”

In response, this week, Kimberly launched the Atlas LAB research initiative “Cool Conscious Cities,” an online campaign that investigates the causes and impacts of heat disparity within disadvantaged communities and presents solutions to design and promote cool equity. Over the next year, she will use visual storytelling, combining photography, research, and data visualizations, to highlight the pressing need for heat mitigation solutions in the built environment. Across the country, ever-increasing heatwaves, for longer durations, are becoming the norm. As a result, ecological disparities are becoming apparent within disadvantaged communities. A 2021 study by Hsu et al. published by Nature Communications found that people of color and those living in poverty experience hotter temperatures in 97% of U.S. cities compared to white people and the wealthy.

Lack of resources, limited incomes, and physical and mental health concerns, coupled with high asphalt-to-planting ratios, have threatened the livelihoods of people of color and low-income communities. Led by landscape architects, Cool Conscious Cities provides research, tools, and solutions for city leaders, policymakers, planners, and allied design professionals to design and promote cool cities for all. As part of Kimberly’s long-term plans, she hopes to work with leaders across the country on implementable solutions.

Kimberly Garza is researching tree canopy disparities and urban heat islands as part of the 2023-24 LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership.

Along with visits to neighborhoods throughout Sacramento, Kimberly has spent the first few months of her fellowship meeting with numerous city leaders, including the mayor’s office and urban forest manager. She’s learning more about the conditions and policies that led to the disparity in canopy in a place known for its tree cover, along with the challenges Sacramento and other municipalities face. Some cities are discussing the impacts of climate change in the long-term and are engaged in tree planting efforts, but few are implementing short-term solutions to help residents of underserved neighborhoods. Even fewer municipalities are engaging in city-wide tree audits, education efforts, or maintenance plans for the trees that are being planted.

“All of this planting will fail without community advocates, education, resources, or maintenance," Kimberly said. "We need to study various cooling strategies outside of trees alone.”

Kimberly also has learned about the funding challenges and other “bottlenecks” local governments face, the impacts of drought and water conservation efforts, and tree abandonment issues that result from a lack of short- and long-term planning. Her project has included a lot of information-gathering and data analysis so far. She ultimately will examine all of the information she is collecting before she proposes possible solutions.

The heat island effect is important to Kimberly, who was born in San Antonio, Texas, but grew up in Sacramento. She recalls playing among the trees as a child and being fascinated by the environment around her. That fascination included an early curiosity about why communities appeared the way they did – whether that was a sidewalk ending abruptly at the edge of a development, a sprawling parking lot with little shade, or other features of the built environment.

Kimberly’s interest in the design of her community, along with a background in the arts, led her to the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture in 2006. She then worked as a landscape designer for three years before heading back to school to earn a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Kimberly spent the next three years working as a landscape architect at Reed Hildebrand in Massachusetts before moving back to Sacramento, where she founded Atlas Lab. As a mid-career professional, she is appreciative of the time the LAF fellowship provides outside of her duties at Atlas Lab to examine a topic that has been important to her for as long as she can remember.

“I’m taking everything I’ve learned over the years and I’m investing it back into my hometown,” she said.

Follow @atlaslab and @cool_conscious_cities on Instagram to learn more about her ongoing research.

Members of the 2023-2024 cohort of the LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership have been exploring their big ideas and advancing their proposed projects. The Fellows will present the culmination of their work at LAF’s Innovation + Leadership Symposium in June 2024 in Washington, DC. In the meantime, LAF is profiling each Fellow to share more about their progress and personal journeys.