The Architect's Newspaper September/October Issue Focuses on Landscape and Environmental Politics

Key facts

• The September/October issue of The Architect's Newspaper focuses on landscape architecture ahead of the ASLA 2026 Conference in Los Angeles.
• The issue includes a studio visit with Coen+Partners and features projects like a flood-resilient park in Manhattan, a new park in New Orleans, streetscape improvements in Philadelphia, and a California winery by Surfacedesign.
• Roderick Wyllie of Surfacedesign is a juror for the Best of Design Awards, with submissions due September 18.
• David Rubin of Land Collective contributes thoughts on parks and the loneliness epidemic.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded oil and gas leasing on federal lands, called 'anti-environment' by the Center for American Progress.
• The federal government has spent almost $4 billion to cancel offshore wind leases this year.
• The Trump administration plans to open about 45 million acres of wilderness in national forests to road construction and logging by removing the 'roadless rule'.
• Federal funding for the National Park Service has been reduced, and park staffing has dropped 25 percent since January 2025.
• The proposed I-47 Future Interstate Act of 2026 would designate U.S. Highway 287 as an interstate, raising wildlife migration concerns.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $46.5 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for border wall infrastructure.
• In the Big Bend region, a coalition opposes walls and surveillance, with a peaceful demonstration at Santa Elena Canyon in April.
• CBP plans to spend $1.7 billion on patrol roads, technology, in-river buoys, and vehicle barriers in Big Bend, despite crossings being only 0.05 percent of the national total.
• Construction began without environmental reviews, prompting a lawsuit on religious grounds; Barnard Construction Company, led by a Trump donor, holds contracts worth billions.
• CBP has announced a temporary halt to construction in Big Bend after criticism.