Campus for Landscape Decarbonization

Project Basics

Project Sponsor: Center for the Built Environment

Amount Awarded: $43,500

Grant Awarded: Spring 2025

Project Status: In Progress

Project Description

Urban landscapes are an understudied source of carbon emissions and water consumption, yet their environmental impacts remain largely unmeasured. At UC Berkeley, where 40% of the campus is covered by landscaped spaces, hardscaping materials like concrete, steel, and asphalt contribute to embodied carbon and resource use. This project develops a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to quantify these impacts, identify high- and low-impact landscape elements, and propose sustainable design strategies for impact reduction. By integrating LCA into landscape architecture, we bridge a critical gap in climate action strategies, ensuring that outdoor spaces contribute to sustainability goals on campus. The findings will inform design guidelines, campus planning decisions, and industry best practices, providing a model for institutions and cities seeking to decarbonize their landscapes. Through educational outreach and collaboration with American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), this work advances the field of landscape architecture and informs designers to create resilient, low-impact environments.

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Topics

Theme: Energy Efficiency & Conservation topic page, Department Sponsor topic page, Large Projects (<$35K) topic page, Spring Grants topic page, In Progress Projects topic page

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