Editor’s Letter

STEM and Landscape Architecture

Any categorization is a function of its selection criteria. The categorization of STEM fields is a case in point. Scientific administrators at the U.S. National Science Foundation introduced the acronym STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in 2001 (Hallinen, 2024). This was partly in response to declines in standardized scores for math and science tests taken by American elementary and high school students. Gaps between STEM education and the skills required in the workplace are ongoing concerns within industry, government, and academia (Jang, 2015).

Efforts to improve STEM education and literacy in the United States, however, has had mixed results. The absence of a clear definition of STEM contributed to disagreements about what professions qualified as STEM careers (Hallinen, 2024). If the intent was to help fields that emphasize innovation, problem‐solving, and critical thinking, the federal agencies promoting STEM education should have included architecture and landscape architecture on that original list. This omission may have prevented access to targeted funding for STEM education, research, and professional development.

The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) estimates there are as many as one million landscape architects worldwide. Many of them work in private practice, government agencies, and university faculties. This field has developed in important ways over the past quarter‐century. For example, the number of landscape architecture faculty with doctoral degrees continues its upward trend. Greater research capacity within the field has led to more funded research and more published scholarship. The field’s scholars regularly publish in peer‐reviewed journals that collectively span the arts and humanities, social sciences, and applied biological and physical sciences.

Persistent advocacy by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently convinced the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to add degrees in architecture and landscape architecture as recognized STEM programs. Most architects and landscape architects, like many engineers, are not scientists. Yet, all three professions apply science, technology, and mathematics in designing built environments to function as intended while protecting public health, safety, and well‐being. Landscape architects regularly collaborate with architects, engineers, and ecologists in designing these places where people work, live, learn, and play.

An interagency working group recently divided STEM occupations into two domains, each with two sub‐domains (Hallinen, 2024, 4).

The first domain is the Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Information Technology Domain, with the sub‐domains Life and Physical Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Information Technology Occupations; and Social Science Occupations.

The second domain is the Science‐ and Engineering‐Related Domain, with the sub‐domains Architecture Occupations and Health Occupations. The list of STEM occupations includes relevant education fields and social science as STEM careers.

Urban sustainability challenges—especially in the context of climate change—require the expertise of architects, landscape architects, engineers, and ecologists. Innovative collaborations are more likely to advance sustainability through designs that not only are functional and cost effective, but also yield added co‐benefits. Green roofs, for example, can be designed to generate energy, recycle rainwater, reduce building heating and cooling costs, and establish pollinator refuges, all while creating beautiful outdoor spaces for human enjoyment.

STEM professionals leverage cross‐disciplinary knowledge to solve complex problems and implement elegant design solutions (Jang, 2015; Jonassen et al., 2006). Efforts to collaboratively solve complex design problems often result in the diffusion of ideas across disciplines. As urban populations grow and climates change, the importance of climate resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities will place even greater demands on effective collaborations across allied disciplines and professions.