历史沿革与创始背景
美国景观设计师协会（American Society of Landscape Architects，简称 ASLA）成立于 1899 年，总部位于美国首都华盛顿特区，是全美历史最悠久、规模最大的景观设计专业协会。自 1899 年由 11 位景观设计先驱在纽约创立以来，ASLA 一直致力于推动景观设计这一融合艺术与科学的专业在美国的建立、规范化与公众认可。协会最初名为”美国景观园艺学会”（American Society of Landscape Architects），与同期成立的哈佛大学景观设计系、风景园林教育体系共同奠定了美国景观设计行业的三大基石。二十世纪初，ASLA 推动了景观设计从”园林造景”向”环境规划与公共空间设计”的角色转变，并在 1910 年代参与了国家公园与城市公园系统的早期规划咨询。如今 ASLA 代表全美约 16,000 名持证景观设计师与相关专业从业者，会员遍布全球 57 个国家，是全球最具影响力的景观设计行业组织之一。
组织架构与分会网络
ASLA 是一个 501(c)(6) 非营利专业协会，采用”全国总会 + 地方分会”双层治理结构。总会层设董事会（Board of Trustees，简称 BOT），由 49 个地方分会各推选一名理事组成，并配 1 名学生代表，共同制定协会政策与战略方向。董事会下设执行委员会（Executive Committee），负责日常行政与战略规划，成员包括 2025-2026 届主席 Bradley McCauley（FASLA, PLA）、候任主席 Gretchen Wilson、卸任主席 Kona Gray（FASLA）、政府事务副总裁 Om Khurjekar、财务副总裁 Bill Odle、传播副总裁 Kene Okigbo、专业事务副总裁 Jean Senechal Biggs（FASLA）、教育副总裁 Ashley Steffens、会员副总裁 April Westcott（FASLA），以及首席执行官 Torey Carter-Conneen（Honorary ASLA）、首席财务官 Greg Cohen、参谋长兼秘书 Curt Millay（FASLA）、议会程序监督员 Susan Jacobson（FASLA）、LAF（景观建筑基金会）代表 Alma DuSolier 等。在地方分会层，ASLA 下设覆盖全美 50 个州及海外属地的 49 个分会，以及 81 个学生分会和 7 个学生附属分会，使全国网络深入到每一个州与大学校园。
科普教育、学术出版与年度项目
ASLA 围绕”教育、出版、奖项”三条主线推动行业知识生产与传播。教育方面，ASLA 通过在线学习平台、专业发展课程、LAF 资助的研究员计划以及学生分会网络系统培养下一代景观设计师，并为不同背景的从业者提供 Full Member（北美观景学位或持证 + 3 年经验）、Associate Member（毕业未满 3 年）、International Member（北美以外学位）、Affiliate Member（相关行业支持者）、Student Member（全球学生免费）和 Corporate Member（企业会员）六类会员通道。出版方面，ASLA 编辑出版《Landscape Architecture Magazine》（LAM，全美景观设计行业旗舰月刊）以及可持续设计资源库、技术报告、白皮书等公开材料。奖项方面，ASLA 每年颁发专业荣誉奖（Professional Honor Awards）、学生奖（Student Awards）、新兴专业人士设计竞赛（Emerging Professionals Design Competition）、总统奖章（Presidential Medals）以及社区服务奖，是全球景观设计行业公认的年度风向标。其中专业奖按 General Design、Residential、Urban Design、Analysis & Planning、Research、Communication、Landmark 等多类目评选，2025 年最新获奖作品包括 The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund（MASS Design Group）等。
保护修复、社区倡导与立法参与
ASLA 的核心倡导工作聚焦五大议题：气候适应与生物多样性（Climate Resilience & Biodiversity）、健康社区（Healthy Communities）、公园（Parks）、交通（Transportation）以及水（Water）。在立法层面，ASLA 联合其他公共健康与城市规划组织，公开支持《Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act》（S. 1166 / H.R. 3703，2025 年 3 月由参议员 Ruben Gallego（D-AZ）和 Ed Markey（D-MA）重新提出，众议院版本由众议员 Yassamin Ansari（D-AZ）于 2025 年 6 月重新提出），主张通过植树、公交候车亭、屋顶绿化、公园开发等基于自然的方案缓解城市极端高温，保护景观设计师在建设更凉爽、更公平社区中的核心作用。在执业资格方面，ASLA 长期推动各州景观设计执业许可（licensure）立法，目前全美 50 个州均设有注册景观设计师（Registered Landscape Architect）制度，并联合 CLARB（Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards）建立统一考试与跨州互认机制。协会还在地方层级维护各州立法追踪系统（State Legislative Tracker），为分会与会员提供实时政策更新与倡导工具包。
战略规划、合作伙伴与会员服务
ASLA 的战略规划围绕”推动景观设计专业、扩大公众影响、深化可持续发展”三大支柱展开，并通过 ASLA Fund（景观建筑基金会）作为慈善与社区参与平台。ASLA Fund 通过企业捐赠、个人捐助以及”行业合作伙伴计划”（Industry Partnership Program）将资源投入到研究、教育与社区推广，目前每年发布多份《ASLA Fund Quarterly Newsletter》公开捐助与项目进展。在国际合作方面，ASLA 与国际景观设计师联盟（IFLA）、联合国人居署（UN-Habitat）、美国建筑师协会（AIA）、美国规划协会（APA）、美国土木工程师学会（ASCE）等机构保持长期协作，共同参与全球气候适应与公共空间议程。公众教育层面，ASLA 维护 FirmFinder（设计师事务所搜索）、Product Directory（产品材料目录）、JobLink（行业招聘平台）、IAdvocate（倡导者培训）四大在线资源，让公众与会员能够便捷地连接到景观设计专业服务、供应商与就业机会。年度财务、项目成果与治理详情均通过《Annual Reports》向会员与公众公开。
Historical Evolution and Founding Background
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., was founded in 1899 as the national professional association for landscape architects in the United States. Founded that year in New York by eleven pioneering practitioners, ASLA has grown into the country’s oldest and largest organization of its kind, representing nearly 16,000 members across all 50 states and 57 countries worldwide. In its earliest decades, the Society helped establish landscape architecture as a distinct profession separate from horticulture and civil engineering, working alongside the newly created Harvard Graduate School of Design (1900) and the country’s emerging land-grant university curricula. Throughout the twentieth century, ASLA played a leading role in shaping the profession’s transition from garden-making to environmental planning and public-space design, contributing early advisory work to the National Park Service and to the urban-park movements of the Progressive Era.
Governance Structure and Chapter Network
ASLA operates as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit professional association under a two-tier governance model. At the national level, a Board of Trustees (BOT) drawn from ASLA’s 49 chapters — plus one student representative — sets policy, priorities, and financial oversight. An Executive Committee of the Board manages day-to-day administration and strategic planning. Officers of the 2025–2026 term include President Bradley McCauley, FASLA, PLA; President-Elect Gretchen Wilson, ASLA; Immediate Past President Kona Gray, FASLA; Vice Presidents Om Khurjekar (Government Affairs), Bill Odle (Finance), Kene Okigbo (Communications), Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA (Professional Practice), Ashley Steffens, ASLA (Education), and April Westcott, FASLA (Membership); Chief Executive Officer Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA; Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer Greg Cohen; Chief of Staff & Secretary Curt Millay, FASLA; Parliamentarian Susan Jacobson, FASLA; and LAF Representative Alma DuSolier. At the local level, ASLA’s 49 chapters, 81 student chapters, and 7 student affiliate chapters extend the Society’s reach into every U.S. state, territory, and major university campus.
Education, Publications, and Annual Programs
ASLA invests in the profession’s intellectual and creative life through three interconnected pillars: education, publications, and awards. Its educational programs include an online learning platform, professional development courses, the LAF-funded research fellowship program, and student-chapter mentorship that collectively prepare the next generation of landscape architects. The Society welcomes practitioners at every career stage through six membership pathways: Full Member (graduates of North American LAAB-accredited programs or licensed practitioners with 3+ years of experience), Associate Member (recent graduates within three years of practice), International Member (graduates of programs outside North America), Affiliate Member (allied professionals), Student Member (free for students worldwide), and Corporate Member (suppliers of landscape-architecture products and services). Its flagship publication, Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM), is the leading monthly journal for the U.S. profession and is complemented by open-access sustainable-design resources, technical reports, and white papers. Each year ASLA awards Professional Honor Awards, Student Awards, the Emerging Professionals Design Competition, Presidential Medals, and Community Service Awards across categories including General Design, Residential, Urban Design, Analysis & Planning, Research, Communication, and Landmark — among the 2025 honorees, The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund by MASS Design Group received a General Design Honor Award.
Advocacy, Community Engagement, and Legislative Participation
ASLA channels its public-policy work through five priority focus areas: Climate Resilience & Biodiversity, Healthy Communities, Parks, Transportation, and Water. In federal advocacy, the Society has been a leading voice on legislation that uses nature-based solutions to address the climate and public-health crises. ASLA has publicly endorsed the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act (S. 1166 / H.R. 3703), reintroduced in the Senate on March 27, 2025 by Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Ed Markey (D-MA) and in the House on June 4, 2025 by Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), which would mobilize tree planting, transit-shelter greening, green roofs, and park development to combat extreme heat. “Extreme heat is a growing public health emergency that kills more Americans every year than any other weather-related causes — and breaks down American infrastructure,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. The bill affirms the role of landscape architects in designing cooler, healthier, more equitable communities. On licensure, ASLA partners with the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) to maintain uniform examinations and interstate reciprocity for the Registered Landscape Architect credential in all 50 states. The Society also maintains a State Legislative Tracker that gives chapters and members real-time visibility into policy developments across the country.
Strategic Plan, Partnerships, and Member Services
ASLA’s strategic plan is organized around three pillars: advancing the profession of landscape architecture, expanding public understanding of its value, and deepening the field’s commitment to sustainability. The ASLA Fund — the Society’s philanthropic arm — channels corporate gifts, individual donations, and Industry Partnership revenues into research, education, and community outreach, publishing quarterly progress reports to keep members and donors informed. On the international stage, ASLA maintains long-standing collaborations with the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), UN-Habitat, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Planning Association (APA), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), shaping global conversations on climate adaptation and the design of the public realm. For public engagement, ASLA operates four signature online resources: FirmFinder (a directory of landscape architecture firms searchable by name, location, or specialty), Product Directory (a curated index of materials from ASLA Industry Partners), JobLink (a profession-wide jobs board), and IAdvocate (an advocacy training hub for members and chapters). Annual Reports publish the Society’s full program and financial record in the open.
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