Fighting for the Home Front
April 2026 Residential Issue Commentary
There are some very cool residential projects being built across the country. Both Custom Residential and Multi-Family. Yet, in the midst of a 'housing shortage', these two important markets still need special attention by Landscape Architects.
On the Multi-Family front, PLAs are leading the way in making these properties usable and safe in myriad ways. Even better . . . These developments are becoming almost self-sufficient communities, either wrapped around or circling amenities like restaurants, and shopping and entertainment centers. They are great places for young people looking to connect and thrive, before they settle down and look to raise families in their own homes . . .
That's the American dream and that's where the profession first touches the public . . . As individuals. Where they live.
At the dividing line, where the infinity circle meets, is where a small-lot-resident wants to improve their property but might not need a landscape architect because a landscape architect has already planned that residential community, and the new work doesn't affect their neighbors.
However, there is that line, where the individual property becomes large enough that its landscape development matters to those around it. This is the point where a landscape designer, contractor, architect, or engineer, though oft debated, can no longer be trusted to protect the Public's Health Safety and Welfare for the landscape architecture of that land. This is a battleground . . .
It is important that Landscape Architects fight hard for the home turf on this most basic of fronts!
There was a great deal of momentum for PLAs getting mentioned in movies, TV shows and even in elections up until just a couple years ago. This started with the very first licensed Landscape Architect, Raymond Page, who was labeled by the Beverly Hills Times as "Mr. Beverly Hills", and was the PLA for the stars. Unfortunately, that momentum hit a brick wall when Melissa McCarthy was allowed to label PLAs as posy planters. Fortunately for the homeowners in this issue, and in the project reviews at LA.com, they were still smart enough to find a Landscape Architect to do the job.
Hard Stop . . . After the above was written, I received a copy of the new Design Overlap Guidelines put out by ICOR (see page 67). It's a good publication in many ways. For one, it's great to see the recognition of Landscape Architects at an international level, carving a strong niche for the profession and defining the battlegrounds. I've read the 100-page document and see many positives and a few negatives which LASN will explore in the future. If you read it, let us know what you think . . .
Back to the residential battleground . . . While it's great to see the guidelines being established within the licensed design professions, especially on commercial projects, there is still a battleground at the residential level that Landscape Architects need to fight. Perhaps there should be a similar set of guidelines for dealing with designers and contractors, especially at the residential level. More than 50% of PLAs work on custom residential, but AI is coming fast, landscape designers are organizing nationally, and a whole bunch of competitors are looking at your backyards!
With the ASLA elections coming up (see page 68), it's important that leadership fights to reestablish the PLA's reputation at the homeowner level, keeps battling for your space as designers, and secures the ground for Residential Landscape Architects to lead in this important development niche.
God Bless . . .
George Schmok, Publisher
As seen in LASN magazine, April 2026.
