CSLA Resource Library

How do we halve the emissions of the built environment this decade?  How can landscape architects, architects, planners and engineers be agents of mitigation and systems change?  Kelly Alvarez Doran speaks to the unique agency and advocacy landscape architects and designers have to address the challenges we face, sharing recent work focused on low-carbon, climate adaptive design approaches to landscape and public infrastructure.

Joanna Eyquem discusses progress and examples of efforts to mainstream consideration of nature-based solutions, ranging from strategic approaches and technical guidance, to integration in municipal management and financial reporting.

Covering every Canadian treaty from 1763 to the present, the Yellowhead Institute's Treaty Map aims to challenge the commonly held view of treaties as land surrenders and offers a comprehensive, interactive learning and teaching tool, grounded in Indigenous perspectives of treaties.

Use this interactive web map to find nurseries and stores specializing in native plants across Canada. This web map is created and maintained by Network of Nature developers and volunteers. This map was last updated to the best of our abilities in early 2024. 

Canada’s current provincial and national risk assessment frameworks focus predominantly on the built environment and infrastructure, neglecting the more extensive social-ecological system. This narrow focus fails to capture the full extent of climate risks or contexts, particularly those affecting Indigenous communities, and excludes the social and political structures that compound risk within Indigenous communities. While Canada is grappling with applying a standard risk assessment framework, Indigenous communities, nationally and globally, are deeply concerned that such limited understandings of “risk” could contribute to neglecting climate impacts within the larger ecosystems. 

"Landscape architects need to better understand how local and state governments and developers calculate economic benefits and make go or no-go decisions on projects. This guide will help ASLA members: Understand the economic and financial context in which public and private clients operate; Become familiar with basic economic language and better communicate with clients about economic benefits; Show the benefits of using nature-based solutions in different types and sizes of projects"

The products and materials that landscape architects specify for their projects play a significant role in the overall global warming potential (GWP) of a project. They can also impact biodiversity, air and water quality. The guide outlines how environmental product declarations (EPDs) and other environmental reporting can be used to understand the environmental impacts of landscape materials and products and make decisions to reduce those impacts. It defines the standard types of environmental data that are applicable to landscape design and construction and helps landscape architects navigate product and material research. Landscape architects will learn about EPDs and other types of reporting and how they can inform decision making. Product manufacturers seeking to develop EPDs will gain new insights.   

Open Urban Forests – Establishing the First National View of Urban Forestry Geospatial Data in Canada is an innovative project established by the CIF-IFC, enabling access to urban forestry geospatial data across Canada and open access resources through the creation of an interactive learning hub. Data from this hub can be used to support decision-making and measure the continuous effects of climate change and other trends on urban forests across Canada.

The Environmental Finance Center received a grant from the ASLA Fund to develop this brief, which summarized findings from research literature, national and international reports, and 175 case studies. The brief finds that landscape architects increase economic value through their approach to planning and designing nature-based solutions. Their work on nature-based solutions creates economic benefits in five key areas: Improved Human Health and Livability; Expanded Investment and Sustainable Jobs; Increased Biodiversity; Going Beyond Net-Zero; Strengthened Resilience  

The goal of these guidelines is to make it easier for landscape architects to more effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from project design and construction. Sections cover seven key design principles and 18 areas of specification. These guidelines are written for landscape architects and designers, specifiers, contractors, manufacturers, and leaders in our discipline and industry who want to cut emissions and increase carbon sequestration faster. They are thematic and condensed to provide a “CliffsNotes” overview of best practices.

Climate equity is an approach that applies an equity framework to how we experience, understand, and respond to climate change. It ensures the equitable distribution of climate protection efforts and reduces the unequal burdens created by climate change. The Practical Guide to Promoting Climate Equity in Coastal Climate Change Adaptation is a tool developed by the SHIFT Collaborative for Natural Resources Canada's Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities (CCRC) Program to support practitioners in developing more inclusive and equitable climate projects.  Craig, K., Klein, K. & Aixin, L. (2024). Practical guide to promoting climate equity in coastal climate change adaptation. 46.

This guide offers a phase-by-phase structure to decarbonize design through big ideas, strategies, and best practices. It is high-level, offering approaches that can be implemented regardless of project type, scope, and scale. The guide offers decarbonization opportunities for: Project kickoff, Schematic design, Design development, Construction documents, Construction administration, Operations and maintenance