image: Bruce Damonte
Starting in August, we’ve asked ASLA members to comment on their interest and involvement in the practice area of Housing and Community Design. If you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, the survey is still open. Your feedback will help steer the direction of ASLA’s Housing and Community Design Professional Practice Network (PPN) going forward.
Here are a few highlights from the responses so far:
What aspects of housing and community design interest you most?
Urban outdoor space relative to housing of different densities and types. The use of shared open space and community gathering areas to unify mixed income, mixed housing type communities.
Redesign of streetscapes, open areas & mixed use corridors in the urban core & inner ring suburbs. Re-use of historic warehouses and buildings for housing or mixed use. Infill that blends with the existing historic fabric of a neighborhood or corridor. Incorporating wildlife habitat plantings.
How to connect with clients and form ideas for designs.
Human-centered design.
Innovations that affect behavior, ecology and affordability.
What types of projects do you work on most?
Extremely varied. Redevelopment, mixed use planning and design as well as streetscapes, particularly in small towns and historic areas.
Residential landscape and planting design using native species.
Environmental and community design.
Tax credit low income LEED.
What community design-focused websites or resources do you use regularly?
+Acumen
American Planning Association (APA)
CityLab
EPA WaterSense
Forum for Urban Design
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
Next City
Society for Allergy Friendly Environmental Gardening
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Green Building Council
Urban Land Institute
Name one book on community design that all landscape architects in this practice area should read:
Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises
by Cameron Sinclair
Housing As If People Mattered: Site Design Guidelines for the Planning of Medium-Density Family Housing
by Clare Cooper Marcus and Wendy Sarkissian
NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide
Now Urbanism: The Future City is Here
edited by Jeffrey Hou, ASLA, Benjamin Spencer, ASLA, Thaisa Way, ASLA, and Ken Yocom
The Allergy-Fighting Garden
by Thomas Leo Ogren
Don’t see your favorite book or community design web resource listed above, or have other ideas to share? Then take the survey, or comment below, to share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing from you!