Landscape Architects Take Charge in Planning L.A. Rebuild
ASLA SoCal Wildfire Task Force Summit
In February, the Southern California Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA SoCal) held the first summit for the Wildfire Task Force that will guide the local response to the recent fires that devastated areas of Los Angeles County in January of this year.
Though both the Palisades and Eaton fires are fully contained, the process of recovery is only beginning, with the first phase regarding hazardous materials removal close to completion, according to Governor Gavin Newsom's office. As the second phase focuses on clearing structural debris, Landscape Architects are already advocating the profession's vital role so that design flaws are learned from and avoided in the rebuilding process.
ASLA SoCal President-Elect Melanie Buffa led a video call with upwards of 85 participants from all over California and even individuals from Washington, D.C., like ASLA Chief of Staff Curt Millay, PLA, LEED AP.
Outlining the Wildfire Task Force
In the call, Buffa stated that the purpose of the task force is to: "Create a coalition of diverse expertise to inform public policy and be an educational resource on climate issues leading to and resulting from catastrophic wildfires." Given that landscape architecture focuses not only the minute details of site design but also the longevity of a location, Buffa stressed that Landscape Architects are ideally situated to lead the rebuilding process with their zoomed-out perspective of time and space.
As part of the ASLA SoCal chapter's Climate Action Committee - led by Alyssa Leal-Moffitt, PLA - the Wildfire Task Force is made up of the following branches: Advocacy, Research, Education, and Volunteering. The purpose of each branch is to evaluate the status of landscape architecture at the legislative, professional, educational, and social levels to fill whatever holes may exist. See this LASN article for a more in-depth explanation of each branch.
The task force recognizes that no discipline lives in an island, so their plan is to include experts in other, related fields who will inform and learn from the efforts of Landscape Architects, creating a mutually beneficial relationship that ultimately helps those living in fire-prone areas. Buffa emphasized the importance of collaboration within the society, with peers in the region, and with other disciplines so that any effort made has the best chance of effecting positive change.
Open Discussion
After Buffa's presentation, the last half of the hour-long meeting was dedicated to open discussion, where attendees could share resources and ask questions.
Anson Wong - past president of the Northern California ASLA chapter, current advocacy chair with the California Council ASLA, and associate at Field Operations - mentioned a design resource by Brett Milligan and Emily Schlickman published in 2023 titled "Design by Fire: Resistance, Co-Creation, and Retreat in the Pyrocene." Another attendee mentioned SWA's 2023 publication "Playbook for the Pyrocene: Design Strategies for Fire-Prone Communities."
Jon Wreschinski, PLA and Trustee of the ASLA San Diego chapter, put forth the idea of including a volunteer liaison from the other three ASLA chapters in California, a suggestion that was eagerly accepted by other attendees and the ASLA SoCal board. He also mentioned looking to examples of communities who have rebuilt differently due to a natural disaster, noting that paying attention to the attitude and process of rebuilding in these communities can be extremely helpful whether or not the cause of the disaster was the same.
Stephanie Landregan, PLA, FASLA, LEED BD and C, and Director of the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture programs at UCLA Extension spoke on her work with Altadena Green to document trees in the Altadena burn area and protect salvageable trees. According to Landregan, 40-50% of the trees are salvageable, but many city departments want to clean efficiently and are indiscriminately bulldozing healthy trees in the process. She encouraged attendees to get involved with her work and to examine their own work in the burn areas to take stock of what worked and what didn't in terms of protecting the property from destruction.
Fleur Nooyen, an ISA-certified arborist and landscape designer at Fleur Nooyen & Associates, chimed in to share about her network of arborists who are willing to volunteer time for tree risk assessments.
Megan Horn, principal at Studio-MLA, mentioned that homeowners and insurance companies don't have the incentive or research to support preserving heritage trees while Landscape Architects do. She encouraged Landscape Architects to lean into this work by sharing research with the county and general public. Horn also cautioned against reading too much into the difference between which plants survived and which did not, as many survived due to the conditions of the fire in that area, not any characteristic of certain species. This caution is aimed to help avoid species-specific replanting with little evidence.
Julia Prince, PLA from Design workshop reminded attendees that "fires don't respect property lines." She went on to advocate for innovation in community-wide approaches, saying that while fire-prevention design strategies are good, but they work even better when designers look at the community as a whole.
A Call to Action
At the end of the summit, PLAs in attendance were invited to sign up to participate in one of the branches. Once formed, the committees of these branches will meet regularly, with monthly check-in meetings for the entire task force. The chapter's hope is that individuals across the country with expertise on any aspect of fire-resistant design and post-disaster rebuilding will join their efforts to create a wealth of knowledge available to Landscape Architects and other development professionals working in fire-prone areas. As such, there will be options for non-ASLA members and non-PLAs to join in this undertaking.
Buffa expressed her excitement in the midst of the gravity of the situation, commenting, "California has a lot of natives that grow after a fire; the people are the same, and [Landscape Architects] have to nurture that."
After the meeting, Buffa reflected: "I am happy we are having these conversations and I'm thrilled that so many peers attended and gave comment. When a climate disaster of this caliber strikes us, we can never be fully prepared, but we can learn so much and guide the discussion on preventative measures. With the [current] trajectory environmental protections [. . .] it's not a matter of if, but WHEN the next climate disaster strikes. When the force of nature exceeds our protective measures, how we respond to natural disasters is also a crucial part of our industry. I'm confident that the Wildfire Taskforce, along with the climate action committee and ASLA National as a whole, can create measures for both prevention and reaction to these catastrophic events if we all work together."
A forthcoming LASN article will dive into the mission and goals of the Wildfire Task Force as well as ways to get involved. The ASLA Southern California Chapter is also providing resources on their website for assisting with research, education, advocacy, and volunteering efforts. For more information, please go to: https://socal-asla.org/news/
