The growth of landscape architecture has been led by government legislation since the 1940s, such as the New Towns Act which required landscape master plans to be prepared, and the European Environmental Impact Assessment Directive EIA Directive which has led to the increase in environmental impact assessments. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the public sector, particularly local authorities, were the largest employers of landscape architects, with a minority working in private practice. Today the private sector is the larger employer, although the largest single employer of landscape architects in the UK are the charitable Groundwork Trusts.
History
was the first President of the Institute of Landscape Architects in 1929, and also one of the first professionals in the UK to use 'landscape architect' as a professional title. Before becoming President of the ILA, Mawson had been a President of the Town Planning Institute. His own career had developed from garden design to urban design.
Membership
LI members include landscape designers, landscape managers, landscape planners, landscape scientists and urban designers. The Affiliate membership category is an open category with minimal requirements. To become a professional member, however, candidates must first have completed an LI-accredited university course or alternatively be assessed as a special case for admission as a Licentiate. Following this they proceed along the Pathway to Chartership, a mentored and supervised programme of learning which culminates in an interview with two examiners who are senior members of the profession, once the candidate has attained an agreed level of competency. This process was formerly known as 'Part IV' of the Landscape Institute's own design examination. Parts I to III were replaced by the system of accredited degree courses in the mid 1980s. Only fully qualified members of the LI are permitted to use the protected title 'Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute' and the designation 'CMLI'. Chartered membership of the LI is accepted throughout Europe, The USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. while many countries who lack their own chartered professional body for Landscape Architects recognized as a badge of excellence.
Activities
In 2008, the LI, supported by CABE launched a campaign, projected to run for five years, to increase the number of Landscape Architects in the UK. Entitled I want to be a Landscape Architect, it focused on increasing the number of postgraduate and undergraduate students taking LI accredited courses. As of July 2018, the I want to be a Landscape Architect initiative was replaced by a brand new careers campaign entitled #ChooseLandscape, which aims to raise awareness of landscape as a profession; improve and increase access to landscape education; and inspire young people to choose landscape as a career. This new campaign includes other landscape-related professions such as landscape management, landscape planning, landscape science and urban design. The LI is one of the steering group partners of Neighbourhoods Green, a partnership initiative which works with social landlords and housing associations to highlight the importance of, and raise the overall quality of design and management for, open and green space in social housing. It is also represented on the Board of The Parks Alliance and Building with Nature and has Memoranda of Understanding with the Institute of Place Management and NAAONB. Like most professional membership bodies the activities of the LI including maintaining a membership database, member communications including newsletters and the Journal, CPD, professional examinations, enforcing a Code of Conduct, policy and technical outputs, and advocacy. In 2018 major projects were undertaken to develop a new CRM and a new competency framework. The LI's more significant publications include: Guidance for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment 3rd Ed., Visualisation of Development and BIM for Landscape
