As global populations increasingly shift into urban environments, cities are facing more pressure to build and maintain sustainable, resilient places for their residents. Rapid urbanization often means rapid construction of buildings and paved roads, which can exacerbate air and water pollution, heat stress and other climate-related stressors.

Looking for new ways to earn SITES-specific CEUs? Want to learn how projects achieved SITES certification?

We’ve developed three new case studies that give you a behind-the-scenes look at the main challenges certified projects have faced, and the landscape strategies implemented to address them.

Across the globe, issues surrounding water use, its infrastructure and its quality are abundant. The demand for water in agriculture, industry and in communities is growing rapidly, and it’s becoming more important than ever to implement water treatment, reuse and conservation strategies to preserve this precious limited resource.

A new USGBC brief, “Greenspace for Good: Using the SITES System to Advance Resilience," highlights specific performance-based strategies within the SITES rating system that address resilience.

The profession of landscape architecture teaches us to look at everything through a filter of sustainability, stewardship and the overwhelming motivation to leave things better off than the way we found them. The Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) approach provides us with a framework to do just that.

Green infrastructure (GI) elements, such as green roofs, rain gardens and permeable pavement are widely used in municipalities across the country to address climate impacts, prevent damage and pollution caused by stormwater runoff, and enhance community resilience. GI strategies can also help conserve energy and address social equity.