Ingenuity Magazine Summer 2021

To create these tailored, sustainable designs, we look at each project as its own ecosystem. Every resident, the existing ecology, site conditions, and the topography of the area are all factors that inform our design. The Pond team visits project sites to experience and document the conditions on the ground to better understand the lay of the land, the surrounding features and uses, drainage and utilities, and most importantly, how people interact with the space. Additionally, our teams frequently solicit public input, through public meetings, online and in-person surveys, and virtual mapping/ interactive methods. This approach enables us to customize our design solutions to the unique underlying needs of both the people and existing biodiversity. For example, to be executed successfully the design of urban trail connectors will require an entirely different design and implementation paradigm from a hiking trail at a nature preserve. Even projects with similar external circumstances and programmatic requirements can require wildly different approaches and solutions because of the unique underlying needs of the owner, the users, and the existing site conditions. To that end, the perspectives needed to complete these vastly different projects cannot be acquired from only looking to examples within our designers’ own communities. As Landscape Architects, it is incumbent upon us to step outside of our homogenous communities, travel the globe, and immerse ourselves in the perspectives of those who are markedly different from ourselves. It is only through these experiences that we can truly understand the depth and breadth of what can be done within our field. Several years ago, I spent some time exploring the Netherlands by bicycle and foot. The examples that I saw and learned about through the Dutch focus on safety and sustainability have informed nearly every streetscape and pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure- related project I have worked on since. Particularly inspiring was their focus on non-motorized transportation. Not only did this heighten my sensitivity towards affording adequate space in my projects for safe bicycle and pedestrian traffic, it also informed how I travel personally. I ride my bike whenever possible and love being given the opportunity to share this passion with the areas I serve. More Than Just Parks/Spaces To Gather, It’s The Commute, It’s Where You Work The accommodations of increased bicycle and foot traffic within our built environment reflect some of the major trends in landscape architecture. After years of building infrastructure at a frenzied pace, we have made an important realization as an industry: while we want to keep up with the demand for new construction, we must embrace sustainable practices. The rapid cross-county urbanization in areas such as Metro-Atlanta has already impacted the health and biodiversity of countless natural ecosystems. Many areas are hitting a tipping point where we have stripped the natural world of its ability to flourish or rebound from our impact. As more architects, constructors, and engineers grow to understand this, landscape architects have become a valuable ally to these industries and the natural world alike. As we move into a post-pandemic building boom, it is imperative that landscape architects continue to advocate for measured preservation, incorporation and enhancement of natural site features. It is important to partner with our clients, team members and other stakeholders, guiding them to identify those portions of existing greenspace and the ecosystem that need to remain intact to assure that any growth and development is sustainable and can serve the community for generations to come. 1 White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. Spending at least 120minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Sci Rep 9, 7730 (2019) Andrea Greco, PLA, ASLA Senior Project Manager Author Andrea Greco leading community input meeting Author Andrea Greco enjoying bike route in Chattanooga, Tennessee The community gathers in Cabbagetown Park in Atlanta, Georgia for movie night To create these tailored, sustainable designs, we look at each project as its own ecosystem. Pond Ingenuity | Summer 2021 9