Land Design’s fresh approach to a Superfund site brings the prospect of a better future for the residents of Butte, Montana.
By Sarah Chase Shaw
The Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area straddles residential, commercial, and industrial zones in the heart of Butte, Montana. Image courtesy Land Design, Inc.
In November 2018, Stacey Robinson, ASLA, stood up in front of a group of roughly 100 people at the Butte Brewing Company and unveiled a master plan for 160 acres along the upper Silver Bow Creek in Butte, Montana. The Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area Master Plan, designed by the Billings, Montana-based Land Design, Inc., where he is a principal, envisioned a lush greenway corridor through the middle of Butte, its interconnecting trails linking to other trail networks in Butte and beyond, as well as reconstructed creeks flowing into naturalized wetlands and parks, and playgrounds providing ample community gathering spaces. The land on which all this will be built is a designated Superfund site.Continue reading The Heart of the Hill→
Prioritizing health and safety helps focus resources and design skills on rural schoolyards.
By Timothy A. Schuler
The redesigned play area at Chiloquin Elementary School serves both students and the greater community. Photo courtesy Trust for Public Land.
Until recently, when the children of Oregon’s Chiloquin Elementary School went to recess, their play equipment consisted of a buckling blacktop, a single slide, a handful of swings, and some old tires. It was so dismal, recalls Art Ochoa, a retired principal who grew up in Chiloquin, that whenever students went on field trips to places like Klamath Falls, “the first thing the kids asked was, ‘Do we get to stop at a park? Can we go play?’”Continue reading Better By A Yard→
As hurricanes increase in frequency and intensity, Puerto Rico’s landscape architects have solutions for managing rivers, stormwater, erosion, and coastal development—if only the government would ask.
By Laurie A. Shuster
A road blocked by a mudslide caused by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico. Photo by Stephanie Rojas/AP/Shutterstock.
In 2017, back-to-back hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and taking roughly 3,000 lives. The territory was still recovering when Hurricane Fiona struck in September 2022, bringing up to 30 inches of rain in some areas, killing 25 people, knocking out power to the entire island, and causing some $10 billion in additional damage.Continue reading Storm Warnings→
Virtual views to help overtaxed teachers see the future in nature-based play spaces.
By Timothy A. Schuler
Muntazar Monsur designed virtual walk-throughs to allow educators to access high-performing outdoor environments. Courtesy Muntazar Monsur.
When Muntazar Monsur and his wife emigrated to the United States from Bangladesh in 2011, they enrolled their then 18-month-old daughter in childcare for the first time. They were both starting PhD programs at North Carolina State University, and the childcare center their daughter attended was an early demonstration site of the Natural Learning Initiative, established in 2000 at NC State to demonstrate the importance of nature in children’s development and play. “She went to that childcare center for three years, and I was one of the parents who saw how the daily life of my daughter changed,” says Monsur, now an assistant professor of landscape architecture at Texas Tech University.Continue reading Log In to Log Off→
Shorter, wilder courses and ample room for habitat are just some of the transformations coming to golf.
By Lisa Owens Viani
Ephemeral drainages will be restored in Larsen Meadow, the former back nine of San Geronimo Golf Course. Photo by Erica Williams, courtesy Trust for Public Land.
One outcome of the last housing boom was a glut of golf courses built to market new suburban developments. As courses have closed or sat vacant, planners and communities have debated their next best use.
As landscape architects push the profession to become more equitable, some landscape architects and planners say it’s time to replace the industry-standard term “master plan.” Continue reading Whose Plan?→
Florida’s Emerald Trail strides toward a more walkable future.
By Margaret Shakespeare
The trail will create connections to the water and offer opportunities for nature-based play. SCAPE, courtesy Groundwork Jacksonville
McCoys Creek Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida, is a major thoroughfare that increasingly is closed to traffic because of flooding, even after a routine afternoon shower. It’s one of many areas in the city that, due to aging infrastructure like undersized pipes and inadequate drainage—particularly in older residential neighborhoods—now experiences chronic flooding events. Continue reading Jacksonville Steps Ahead→
The Magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects
