A Continuum of Leadership to Set the Course
In 1966 as its first major initiative, LAF convened Ian McHarg, Grady Clay, and other leaders of the day to compose a Declaration of Concern decrying the burgeoning environmental crisis and outlining what was needed to multiply the effectiveness of landscape architects to solve it.
Fifty year later in 2016, LAF’s New Landscape Declaration: A Summit on Landscape Architecture and the Future brought a diverse group of the world’s leading landscape architects together to reflect on the half-century and define a new call to action for the discipline. A subsequent Action Plan translated this into straightforward actions individuals could take.
Now 60 years since LAF's founding, the Future Now summit will continue this momentum with a focus on strategic actions.
This June 2026 summit is built on the belief that strategic actions are fundamental to change.
Save the date!
June 4-6, 2026
Detroit, Michigan
The 3-day Future Now: Taking Action for People + Planet by Design summit will bring together seasoned and emerging voices to demonstrate how to take innovative ideas to action to answer the calls in LAF's New Landscape Declaration and help solve the defining issues of our time. It is a convening of landscape architecture professionals, academics, and students but also a broader call to all those making transformative change in the landscapes and resources we share, including those from allied disciplines and with non-design backgrounds. The goal is to identify, share, and scale bold innovations that reconcile deep-seated inequities and give resilience to the world's living systems.
- Day 1 includes keynotes and a series of 10-minute presentations, curated to energize and inspire.
- Day 2 consists of workshops and interactive sessions for attendees to learn skills and models for taking innovative ideas to action.
- An optional third day includes local field sessions to illustrate the ideas, innovation, and actions presented during Days 1 and 2.
More information on the summit, including the ability to purchase tickets, will be coming in February 2026. For now, mark your calendar!
From Reflection to Agenda Setting to Action
The Future Now summit marks ten years since LAF’s Summit on Landscape Architecture and the Future, when a diverse group of the world’s leading landscape architects reflected on the last half-century since LAF’s founding in 1966 and presented bold ideas for the future. Their ideas resulted in a new vision and 21st century agenda for the discipline of landscape architecture codified in the inspirational New Landscape Declaration call to action and subsequent Action Plan.
LAF’s 2026 Future Now summit will reflect on progress and change since that watershed moment and look to the future with speakers and workshops that demonstrate transformational leadership and share bold ideas, innovations, and actions that answer the calls to action in the New Landscape Declaration.
