Over the past several years, California has seen some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire events in modern history. Experts caution that due to climate change, we have entered a new era of perennial megafires that will only become more destructive and costlier in the coming decades. While there are no easy solutions to these challenges, it is clear that landscape architects and urban designers have an important role to play. SWA has worked on a handful of projects that address landscape strategies for wildfire resilience in California, especially in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI. We have worked with the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the non-profit, The Nature Conservancy.
RESEARCH TEAM
Principal Investigator: Molly Mowery, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Kelly Johnston, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Katie Oran, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Jonah Susskind, Research Associate, SWA
Alison Ecker, Associate, SWA
THANKS TO
Matt Damon, California Office of State Fire Marshal/CAL FIRE
Claire McCoy, California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
Edith Hannigan, California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
Kristen Shive, The Nature Conservancy
Elizabeth Hiroyasu, The Nature Conservancy
Alison Ecker, Associate, SWA
Anya Domlesky, Director of Research, SWA
FEATURED
Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
Announcement
LA+ Journal
“Centering the Fringe”
FINDINGS
California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research
Wildland-Urban Interface Planning Guide: Examples and Best Practices for California Communities
RELATED PROJECTS
The Edge of Paradise: Landscape Strategies for Living with Fire
Playbook for the Pyrocene
Summer Student Program: Living on the Edge and California Burning
Rancho Mission Viejo
Paramount Ranch
Kenwood Ranch
Meadowood Masterplan
Adventist Hospital