Is this the year of the landscape architect?

What It Covers

Carolyn Gula, president-elect of the Landscape Institute, explains how new UK legislation for biodiversity net gain and sustainable drainage systems elevates landscape architecture's role in climate adaptation and urban development.

Key Questions Answered

• •Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): Mandatory from early 2024, SuDS keep rainwater on-site through ponds and streams rather than underground pipes, delaying water release over weeks to prevent flooding while creating wildlife habitats and reducing maintenance costs through accessible surface features.
• •Biodiversity Net Gain Legislation: Developers must now calculate and deliver measurable increases in wildlife habitat on development sites, placing nature at the heart of planning for the first time and preventing developers from avoiding environmental contributions through alternative compromises.
• •Urban Tree Management: Private land accounts for the majority of tree loss, not public spaces. Successful urban forestry requires planting multiple trees anticipating 20% survival rates, using larger species like oaks and limes despite higher maintenance costs, and planning 50-100 year maturity timelines.
• •Heritage Garden Climate Adaptation: National Trust properties face new pests like box moth caterpillar and drought stress requiring peat-free compost, electric machinery to reduce carbon footprint, quarantine areas for new plants, and replacement of historic plantings with pollinator-rich drought-tolerant species.