LAF is pleased to share two new resources – developed and released for COP29 by friends and partners – that use examples and data from our collection of 200+ Landscape Performance Series case studies.

• “WORKS with Nature: Low Carbon Adaptation Techniques for a Changing World” is by Pamela Conrad (a 2018-19 LAF Fellow), Kotchakorn Voraakhom, and many contributors and collaborators. It compiles 100 landscape-based techniques for adapting, mitigating, and restoring communities and ecosystems. Of these, 23 are Landscape Performance Series Case Study Briefs. The document is intended to serve as inspiration for countries developing their National Adaptation Plans, as well as others around the world. This collaborative effort with the United Nations National Adaptation Planning team was supported by Climate Positive Design, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), Vestre, and Landscape Forms. 
• “An Analysis of Benefit Values: 175 Landscape Architecture Case Studies in the U.S.” by ASLA and the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center aims to illustrate how landscape architects make design decisions that can maximize the economic benefits of nature-based solutions. Using LAF’s Landscape Performance Series case studies, the researchers aggregated the data and applied environmental benefit valuation techniques to show the annual value of benefits in ASLA’s 5 key areas. The document was released as a supplement to “Landscape Architecture: Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions Through Design”, a 10-page brief that summarizes economic benefits for global and U.S. policymakers. 

LAF has worked hard to build the Landscape Performance Series and make it a go-to place to find precedents, show value, and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions. So we are thrilled to see it being used by others to advocate for nature-based solutions on the world stage! A big thank you to all of the researchers, design firms, students, and clients who have worked on case studies to build the library over the last 14 years.

Originally posted on LAFoundation.org