Washington, D.C., May 10, 2016—The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) applauds President Obama's leadership in convening today’s White House Conference on Resilient Building Codes. The conference highlights the critical role of building codes in furthering community resilience and the importance of incorporating resilience and the future impacts of climate change in the codes and standards development process.

As the White House and members of the building industry bring increased attention to the importance of designing, planning and constructing our nation’s buildings and the surrounding spaces in a resilient manner, ASLA commits to continuing its efforts to work with stakeholders, policy makers and others to adopt landscape architecture principles and techniques, which at their core are about planning and designing spaces that are resilient, keeping the public safe from hazards and disasters, protecting natural resources, and sustainably managing the natural and built environments.

ASLA commits to urging state and local governments and the private sector to adopt the Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES®), a comprehensive rating system that assesses the sustainable planning, design, construction and maintenance of designed landscapes, for new and redevelopment projects. SITES was recently adopted by the General Services Administration for its capital construction program.

ASLA also commits to developing a sourcebook, with the working title Green, Complete, and Smart: A Sourcebook and Method for High Performance Streets, to provide professionals with the design and planning tools necessary for implementing resilient streets in urban and suburban neighborhoods.

Learn about landscape architecture and how landscape architects are creating resilient landscapes, public spaces and communities.

About the American Society of Landscape Architects

Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use "ASLA" after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural environments; the Society's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education and fellowship.