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.

Land is a crucial component of the built environment. Too often, however, projects are designed without regard to their harmful impact on scarce resources, local culture and community, and underlying ecological systems.

Photo copyright: D. A. Horchner / Design Workshop, Inc.

As the world’s population grows, so does the rate of global urbanization and development. What is built on the land directly correlates to the impacts on ecological systems and to the health, safety and welfare of our communities.

Expected to draw over 6,000 landscape architects and students, the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, hosted October 19–22 in Philadelphia, will offer more than 135 education sessions, including three different sessions and a half-day workshop on SITES.

Heading to Philly? To make sure you know where to find SITES throughout the entire conference, we’ve rounded up a list of where and when to find SITES all weekend.

In June, the ASLA Sustainable Design & Development Professional Practice Network hosted a webinar, "SITES® v2 Precedent Studies and Lessons Learned," which is now available as a recording through ASLA Online Learning.

With the global population explosion, the pace and nature of conventional land development practice is negatively impacting the ecological systems that life on Earth depends on.