Registration is now open for the 16th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Practical Tools and Innovative Strategies for Creating Great Communities Conference, held February 2-4, 2017 in St. Louis, MO. The conference will explore practical strategies for identifying and overcoming barriers to more sustainable development in the St.Louis region and the rest of the nation and will feature tools, strategies, focused training, and new technologies that will help communities now.

Early-bird rates are available now through November 30, 2016. This year’s conference will feature 80+ conference sessions – plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, focused training – and much more over three full days. Visit www.newpartners.org to register today!

ASLA, along with the Local Government Commission (LGC) will once again be leading the effort for Parklets 5.0 at the conference. Planning is underway to create several interactive spaces showcasing how a parklet can transform an under-utilized parking space (or two) into exciting opportunities for creating more vibrant spaces in communities. For additional information, check out Parklets 4.0 from the 15th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Portland, OR.

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Given the question What’s one thing you wish you knew when you started your career? in a 2014 survey,  members of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) responded with a wealth of insights into the profession and sound advice for emerging professionals. Among the topics mentioned most frequently were the importance of business management and marketing skills, and also being an effective communicator. In addition, several other key themes emerged, highlighting both the highs and lows of a career in landscape architecture.

Skills to Focus On

“How important communications are to being a good professional.”

“The best idea in the world is worthless unless it can be communicated to an audience.”

“How important/beneficial sketching can be and to take more art classes to hone that skill.”

“How to draw really well and how to take top-notch photographs.”

“The importance of collaboration with other trades (architects, engineers, sociologists, developers) and how to communicate better in multidisciplinary teams.”

“The importance of marketing skills for personal success in the profession.”

“The importance of public speaking and professional writing.”

“Artistic expression and creativity aren’t the only things you need. Writing, organization, and management skills are just as important.”

“It is very important to have good people skills and business skills. Our whole profession is based on selling ideas to people and managing people.”

“The business aspect of running a firm. So much of our work is trying to win new work.”

“I wish I had a better understanding of the business side of things, accounting, proposal writing, fee estimation, client coordination, etc.”

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In addition to where landscape architects spend most of their time—in the office or out on site—the primary media used to create and carry out designs, perform research, and manage projects also vary from one practitioner to the next. In a 2014 survey of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs), members were asked how they prefer to work: on a computer or sketching ideas out by hand.

Overall, sketching proved to be the more popular choice: 46 percent of respondents love to sketch, 31 percent prefer to work on a computer, and 23 percent favor a “hybrid approach,” using the “computer for efficiency” and the “hand for creativity,” as one respondent put it. Several key themes highlighting the pros and cons of each emerged in respondents’ comments.

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ASLA’s new online learning website continues to provide information on new and evolving practices and products, offering a convenient and affordable way to earn the Professional Development Hours (PDH) needed to meet state licensure requirements. PDH are approved by the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES) and can be earned after viewing a presentation by completing and passing a self-study exam. Your online learning profile will keep a record of webinars purchased and PDH certificates received, giving you the opportunity to view at your own pace, on your schedule.

Online Learning Opportunities

Over 100 recorded presentations are available for on-demand viewing, including:

• ASLA annual meeting education session recordings,
• The Professional Practice Network (PPN) Online Learning series,
• The Student & Emerging Professionals SPOTLIGHT mini-series,
• Sustainable SITES Initiative™ (SITES®) Education, and
• Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE) Prep.

Browsing among these presentations is now easier than ever, with 22 Topic Areas to choose from, including: Accessibility/ADA, Ecology and Restoration, International Practice, Project Management, Resilient Design, Transportation/Complete streets, and more!

Live Presentations

The ASLA Online Learning series also provides the opportunity to tune in live to ask experts questions, while earning PDH.

The next live presentation is coming up on Wednesday, November 16. Hosted by ASLA’s Children’s Outdoor Environments Professional Practice Network (PPN), Integrating and Planning for Children with Sensory Processing Disorders in Outdoor Play Environments (1.0 PDH LA CES / HSW) will be presented by PPN Co-Chairs Amy Wagenfeld, PhD, OTR/L, SCEM, CAPS, FAOTA, Affiliate ASLA, co-author of Therapeutic Gardens: Design for Healing Spaces and Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University, and Chad Kennedy, P.L.A., CPSI, LEED®AP BD+C, ISA, ASLA, Principal Landscape Architect at O’Dell Engineering.

NEW! Associate and Student Member Pricing

ASLA members, Associate ASLA members, and Student ASLA members are discounted at least 75% below non-member prices.

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With the action-packed ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in New Orleans this October now behind us, we can take a look at all the events and gatherings that took place throughout the meeting weekend through the new PPN Live format. Meeting attendees had numerous opportunities to network with colleagues from all 20 of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs) by:

• participating in the PPN meetings that took place in PPN Live,
• attending a PPN-themed exhibitor tour of the EXPO floor,
• and networking with PPN peers at the EXPO Reception featuring the PPNs.

Meetings in PPN Live

PPN meetings took place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23, and were open to all attendees, giving them the chance to meet fellow PPN members and explore different practice areas (all ASLA members receive one PPN membership for free, and additional PPNs for $15).

The EXPO’s new PPN Live space offered meeting rooms, the PPN Lounge area for networking, and a larger presentation space called City Park Stage, which hosted our largest PPN meeting to date: the joint meeting of the Campus Planning & Design and Education & Practice PPNs, which featured a series of short presentations on the theme How has technology changed the nature of the university campus?

During the PPN meetings that took place, new PPN leadership volunteers were identified for the Children’s Outdoor Environments, Design-Build, Ecology & Restoration, Environmental Justice, Historic Preservation, International Practice, Parks & Recreation, Planting Design, Transportation, Urban Design, and Women in Landscape Architecture PPNs. Interested in learning more about getting actively involved in a PPN? Check out the leadership positions to consider and send an email to propractice@asla.org if anything strikes you, or if you have any questions about the PPNs. We look forward to continuing to grow the PPN leadership teams, building on the momentum of the PPN meetings in New Orleans!

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