About
Racial Equity Plan of Action
Our Work Continues: A Message from Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO
Each day this February, as part of Black History Month, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) highlighted a Black landscape architect or a project designed by a Black landscape architect as part of our Design Excellence by Black Landscape Architects social media campaign. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and many people mentioned how much they learned about the history of our profession and the excellent work being led by Black landscape architects.
运动后修正美国2020年,for the first time, we took a deep dive into issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Sessions and marquee discussions examined diversity in the landscape architecture profession and the role landscape architects play in addressing issues of environmental justice and equitable access. During my opening comments for reVISION ASLA 2020, I mentioned that we are at an inflection point in the history of the profession, the nation, and the world. I spoke about this being both a time of great uncertainly and also a transformative moment for all of us together to take an unblinking look at the myriad ways that racism has poisoned our communities and limited our prosperity as a nation. These issues are not unique to landscape architecture or landscape architects. But the solutions for our professional community must come directly from us. Our Black History Month awareness campaign and reVISION ASLA 2020 are just two of the most recent examples of ASLA’s commitment to moving the profession towards a more just and inclusive community. And that work must continue with a rigor that is new and refreshing for many and perhaps curious to some.
Last summer, in eight minutes and forty-six seconds, the murder of George Floyd brought ASLA and the world to a full stop, reminding us all that the road to a more just and fair society is long and winding. Even today, each time Mr. Floyd’s name is mentioned, I’m reminded of the video of his death. I can hear his blood curdling cries for his mother and weeping during the last minutes of his life ringing in my ears. I see his face being pressed against the ground with a knee on his neck, squeezing the last breaths from his body. Let us not forget this image. Instead, let’s use that memory to inspire us to eradicate the systems and structures within our professional community that have resulted in limited opportunities, limited chances for advancement, and limited recognition of the deserving Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) landscape architects and professionals who have led and produced important, ground-breaking, and honorable work.
The landscape architecture profession and global design community needs ASLA’s leadership now more than ever, and I am firmly committed to position us to meet the moment. It is far easier to speak about change than it is to see it through. Purely symbolic rhetoric without deliberate and concrete actions leads to sub-optimal outcomes. Our team of talented professionals and volunteer leaders commit to rolling up our sleeves and leaning into the truth, pushing forward toward progress to do the necessary work. We will follow the leadership examples of Bayard Rustin, an openly gay, African-American civil rights activist, adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr., and the main organizer of the March on Washington in 1963; the leadership examples of Ella Baker, an African-American civil rights activist who was known for her influential efforts as a community organizer; and the leadership examples of many others who were on the front lines of change many years ago. ASLA is in the business of changing the world through the art and science of design and this Five-Point Plan of Action is the next progression of our journey together. We still have a dream…that dream is clearer than ever, and the time to design the future of our profession is now.
"The new dawn blooms as we free it
因为总是有光
If only we’re brave enough to see it
如果我们够勇敢,be it."
- Amanda Gorman
ASLA’s Racial Equity Plan of Action
ASLA rejects bigotry and racism in all its forms, and anti-Black racism in particular, as wrong and fundamentally inconsistent with our mission and values.
ASLA's Five-point Plan:
1）多样化管道：使我们的学生和机构领导这项工作
2) Acknowledging Racism in the Profession and Honoring the Forgotten: Making It Clear Where We Stand and Where We Aim to Go
3) Reshaping the Conversation and Transforming Frameworks: Establishing Enduring Structures for the Journey Ahead
4) Leading Through Education, Conversation, and Policy: Developing and Disseminating Content on Advancing Racial Equity
5) Accountability: Maintaining Meaningful, Measurable Progress
DIVERSIFYING THE PIPELINE:
Equipping Our Students and Institutions to Lead in This Work
ASLA will develop outreach guidelines and measurable metrics to help organizations recruit and retain Black students into landscape architecture programs and develop those students into successful professionals in landscape architecture. ASLA will provide ongoing financial, intellectual, and in-kind support to Historically Black University and College (HBCU) landscape architecture programs and work to recruit and provide ongoing support for Black landscape architecture students. ASLA will identify and engage high schools and community colleges with high concentrations of Black students to encourage joining the landscape architecture profession. Emphasis will be on schools with design-oriented curricula.
阿斯拉（Asla）努力加强各种学生的管道始于最小的学生。我们的PreK – 122合作伙伴关系和合作将扩展到优先考虑多样性，公平和包容性的群体，并专注于科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）教育的多样性。我们为建立牢固的社区关系，发展质量的PreK – 12外展活动以及与教育工作者和咨询专业人士的合作的努力有意专注于所有学生的支持和晋升，并着重于BIPOC社区。作为一个协会，我们致力于建模有效的参与策略，这些策略可以由全国各地的ASLA章节采用和衡量。
ACKNOWLEDGING RACISM IN THE PROFESSION AND HONORING THE FORGOTTEN:
Making It Clear Where We Stand and Where We Aim to Go
ASLA will work to increase the profession’s understanding of the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion. We will make significant contributions to achieving a more equitable and inclusive world by increasing awareness of the Black landscape narrative and amplifying the current and historic voices and experiences of Black practitioners and design organizations. We will also work with firms to provide guidance on dismantling bias and colorism within organizational systems and within structures that limit growth opportunities for Black landscape architects and other colleagues of color. This will require intentional and targeted education and engagement, funding, new policies, and operational practices. The cultural shift will begin in education, where we will train and equip the next generation of landscape architects with these skills to design solutions and landscapes with racial equity and justice as foundational components of their work.
重塑对话并改造框架：
Establishing Enduring Structures for the Journey Ahead
ASLA will collaborate with sister, allied, and other organizations to develop an action plan that addresses racial inequality in the landscape architecture community, compiles accurate data on the impact of Blacks and other people of color in landscape architecture, and raises awareness of Black historic landscapes and pioneering Black landscape architects. Our combined efforts will help us achieve justice, equity, and inclusion in the profession more effectively.
我们将与ASLA章节合作，以确定和招募黑人从业人员担任分会志愿者和领导职务。阿斯拉还将继续认可并尊重黑人景观建筑师和项目，以表彰他们对专业和整个社会的贡献，以鼓励更多的黑人候选人获得ASLA荣誉和奖项。
LEADING THROUGH EDUCATION, CONVERSATION, AND ADVOCACY:
Developing and Disseminating Content on Advancing Racial Equity
We believe that policy makers at all levels of government can and should seek to eradicate the inequities that harm underserved communities, including communities of color, low-income populations, and Tribal and Indigenous communities across the country. ASLA will continue to work with the current administration to eliminate the disproportionate impacts that plague these communities and to advance regulations that promote a just society for all.
ASLA will work to ensure that the Conference on Landscape Architecture and other meetings include programming to address and combat racial inequity in the profession. We will increase representation of BIPOC experts on panels, educational sessions, workshops, and other ASLA and industry forums, and we will highlight BIPOC experts as keynote and general session speakers. We will develop design guidelines and techniques that help dismantle racial and environmental injustice. We will also begin to develop tools to assist practitioners in working with Black and other minority communities, and publish reports and case studies on projects that successfully worked with these communities to achieve shared community goals.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
保持有意义的，可衡量的进度
These aren’t easy or comfortable conversations to have, and we recognize that driving this kind of transformation will take time. We are committed to integrating this work into the fabric of our organization and our profession. As a part of this commitment, ASLA is updating its Vision and Strategic Plan, incorporating goals and metrics that will be established and measured in our annual operating plans. This will help ensure we are making progress in addressing these issues and making appropriate adjustments to our tactics to deliver on our promise to have an impact on and lead change in our profession, the design community, and in the world.