A poll of more than 55 landscape architects and educators in 2024 identified some of the top issues and barriers facing communities and designers who seek to advance climate equity and justice work.
The poll also highlighted key messages that can help increase investment in this work by community-based organizations, developers, and local governments. And it identified the community engagement strategies most used by this group of landscape architects and educators.
Note: The poll was issued before policy changes made by the new federal administration but still provides useful context on climate equity and justice work supported by community organizations.
Of those polled last year, 60 percent stated they had worked with community-based organizations on climate justice or equity work.
Of the ASLA members polled:
- 57 percent are in private practice
- 16 percent are in public practice
- 10 percent are in academia
- 5 percent are in state or federal government
The poll was developed by members of the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee Subcommittee on Climate Agency and Community Resilience.
Landscape architects and educators identified the climate justice and equity issues experienced by the underserved communities with which they engage.
Top issues:
Lack of funding – 69%
Lack of natural resources (street trees, parks, recreation areas, etc) – 65%
Legacy of racist planning and design decisions – 56%
Lack of trust in local government – 53%
Disproportionate burden of climate impacts – 53%
Lack of public investment – 53%
Lack of access to natural resources – 49%
Disproportionate burden of public health impacts – 43%
Lack of community empowerment – 42%
Lack of social or political capital – 38%
Regulatory barriers – 38%
Racism – 25%
One respondent brought up another key issue: “often the communities that most need assistance don’t even know that there is help available. They are not aware and do not participate in what I would call [typical] public involvement processes.”
Landscape architects and educators then focused on the major barriers to equitable engagement in climate action work.
Top barriers:
Lack of trust – 42%
Lack of budget to pay people for their time – 42%
Community engagement fatigue – 40%
Lack of funding for community engagement – 34%
Lack of authentic engagement – 32%
Barriers to accessing community meetings – 29%
Time or scheduling challenges – 29%
Lack of project champion(s) from the community or project team – 27%
Barriers to accessing online engagement tools – 24%
Cultural and language barriers – 24%
Community engagement not valued – 21%
None of the above – 9%
Respondents also identified a few more important barriers:
- “There is a gap between in person participants and online participants.”
- It’s difficult to compensate community members for “time and input in a way that does not become a tax burden.”
- And overall, there is a “lack of knowledge of the importance of getting engaged.”
To encourage clients and decision-makers to invest in climate equity and justice work, the landscape architects and educators polled have used a few key messages.
Top messages:
“This work provides benefits to all community members” – 65%
“This work will help address current inequities” – 59%
“This work provides quality of life and economic benefits” – 59%
“This work will improve the overall project” – 44%
“This work will help address past inequities” – 37%
20 percent of those polled said they don’t make the case for climate equity and justice work to clients.
Other respondents offered variations on the messages, including: “this work benefits future generations” and “this work opens up additional funding opportunities.”
Lastly, the poll also asked landscape architects and educators to identify the best strategies for community engagement efforts.
Top strategies:
Attending existing community meetings or events to meet people where they are – 76%
Providing refreshments or food – 72%
Providing fun and engaging workshops and activities – 64%
Developing focused activities to engage kids and families – 56%
Collaborating with a community-based organization to design engagement activities – 56%
Providing translation services for meetings and materials – 55%
Identifying groups missing from the conversation and targeting outreach efforts to meet them – 49%
Social media – 43%
Compensating community liaisons or organizations for their time – 30%
Door to door surveys – 27%
None of the above – 16%
Respondents offered a few more smart strategies to boost engagement:
- Conduct canvassing and pop ups
- Direct calls to stakeholders to encourage attendance at meetings
- Ambassador programs
- Open houses
- Resource fairs
- Block parties
- Focus groups
- Youth workshops
- Providing care for kids at the site of engagement
- Facilitation and outreach with non-English speaking organizations (beyond translation alone)
- Online survey, translated into several languages