The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has recognized the need of good, practical tools to successfully put sustainable design theory into practice. Assembled to help designers and policy makers undertake and complete sustainable projects at regional, urban and local levels, ASLA’s Sustainability Toolkit provides an array of online resources: assessment tools, checklists, modeling software and case studies. The Sustainability Toolkit comes in three parts that cover three key areas of sustainable development: environmental, economic, and social.
The Environmental Models section takes a close look at the environmental aspects of sustainability, such as the use of green space, as well as other factors that might impact the environment: approaches to population growth, land and water use, energy production, transportation infrastructure and pollution. Each part of the Sustainability Toolkit is organized from a macro to micro outlook, spanning from the larger concerns of regional planning to city and community planning, and ultimately focusing on neighborhoods and individual buildings and landscapes. Accordingly, while toolkit resources for land and water use might be more of interest to regional planners, the ASLA includes a subsection that deals with mixed-use development and urban parks, and yet another section that contains links and other help for structure-specific items such as green roofs and low impact materials.
The Economic Models part of the toolkit provides resources for economic sustainability, focusing on the development of a healthy economy that supports people and environments long-term. To fit into a market-driven economy, sustainable projects must demonstrate economic value along with environmental social benefits. Regional planners will find links to information that will help them to possibly better enable areas to attract new businesses, promote tourism and raise real estate values. Community planners will find links that focus on transportation networks and downtown revitalization, while designers of smaller projects will find items of interest on green products and site-specific energy use.
The third part of the Sustainability Toolkit covers Social Models, which focus on social components such as community participation and public health. The emphasis is on developing communities that meet resident’s health and social needs consistently over the long-term. Key signs of a healthy socially sustainable community include: empowerment of residents, equal access to healthy green spaces, multiple transportation options and active public participation.
The ASLA notes that their Sustainability Toolkit is an ongoing work in progress and recommendations can be sent for consideration and inclusion.