Economic crisis and what it means for us

Non-profit organizations are tax-exempt and able to charge much less for services, and are also able to accept grants and donations. Therefore they should be able to hire and keep employees even at a time when the economy is struggling and construction is halted on many projects, particularly private sector ones. Setting up a for-profit firm at a time when firms are laying off a third of their staff doesn’t sound like a particularly good business move to me. There are non-profit firms, I worked for one in the UK this past summer, and I know of another one in Charlotte NC that specializes in African-American neighborhood revitalization. I am interested in finding a firm that can ride out this economic storm because of its flexibility as a non-profit organization. Perhaps this won’t be necessary, there is always the hope that I will be able to get a job in May. But as a single Mother of two who has devoted the last three years to studying for a career that I am really enthusiastic about, it depresses me to think that I may not be able to find work and so I am brainstorming about ways to solve this problem. Especially with regards to participatory design and urban design, I think landscape architects can really make a difference in how our communities are planned and designed.

And thank you for correcting me on the licensing versus certification issue. However, I can assure you that I know of several landscape architects that are indisputably “certified”.

Pok, I think China is already slowing down, and you are right, this is disastrous. Landscape architects have a duty, in my mind, to be stewards of the earth. We are trained for this in school. (Some of us even listen!) If we are to practice sustainability as more than just a buzzword, we need to analyze the triangle (balance between economic, social and environmental issues) and make sure it is not bent too much in one direction. Of course, when the economy goes sour, everyone tends to forget about the other two components of that triangle – the people and the environment. That’s why planners, landscape architects, architects and economic development folks are (or should be) trained to work at keeping the system balanced. In America right now we are at a very advantageous point in terms of what we can accomplish with environmental issues: We have a new President in a few weeks who has promised to make environmental concerns a priority, and he has strength in congress to back him up. Now is the time to get creative and really start making those environmental manufacturing jobs happen. For example, the “big 3” auto makers are in financial crisis and may go bankrupt – why can’t we retrain those auto workers to build solar panels, or at very least, Toyota prius’?

As for the non-profit idea, I am only beginning to investigate the idea myself. I don’t know that much about the nuts and bolts of it, but I have worked for Groundwork, which is the largest employer of landscape architects in the UK and is non-profit. I also think a co-op idea may work – profit sharing and a sort of communal approach. I think each area of the country (or world, even) will have to find its own solutions to this issue, but what I really don’t want to see happen is that landscape architects lose their job and go into something else to make ends meet, especially if it is the career that they love and are passionate about. This profession, in my mind, is important – we can accomplish so much good for everyone if just given the chance.

It could very well be that I find a regular job next spring, with a regular firm, and then you might say this whole discussion has been unnecessary – but I disagree. Because even if little old me finds a job, there are thousands of people out there who haven’t. One firm in NC is rumored to have recently laid off one-third of their staff, and one of my professors estimates that 50% of this year’s graduates won’t have jobs. So to those people out there who are in that situation, I say: get creative. Find a way to keep working. If you can’t find work, make work. Laurence Halprin supposedly did the design for Ghirardelli Square in San Fran and then showed it to the clients, who loved it and implemented it. It may take that sort of initiative and foresight to make things happen. Landscape architects can’t just sit in their offices and wait for work to walk through the door, in this current economic environment. And, we have to work together and take care of each other. I have heard about firms cutting their salaries so they don’t have to let anyone go; I also know of a firm that has promised not to lay anyone off for the next three months, so that they can at least make it through Christmas before being laid off.

I understand what you are saying about design work in Asia, too…I worked on a project in Egypt, and it was similar there. They don’t have landscape architects in Egypt, not on any reasonable scale. Architects and urban designers make a lot of the decisions about parks, etc. In this new global environment, I would really like to see landscape architects working in impoverished areas more, to try to help the developing countries develop in a good way. I think the non-profit idea might afford firms the ability to do these sorts of projects.

What we really need is a lawyer or MBA who knows a lot about these types of businesses to get in here and describe them to us.

Unfortunately, Noah, I cannot take the LARE unless I have worked for a period of three years under a licensed landscape architect. therein lies the rub! If you are at Clemson, perhaps we can get together for coffee, it sounds like we could have an interesting discussion. 🙂