Trauma-Informed Design: An Evidence-Based Framework for Landscape Architecture

Pre-Event

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AIA/HSW, AICP, FL

Lead Speaker(s)

Julie Stevens, ASLA

Associate Professor
Iowa State University Department of Landscape Architecture
Chad Kennedy, ASLA, LEED AP

Principal Landscape Architect
O'Dell Engineering
Amy Wagenfeld, ASLA

Principal
Amy Wagenfeld | Design

Seventy percent of adults in the USA have been exposed to at least one physically and emotionally traumatic event. For children, traumatic events can significantly alter development. Underrecognized in practice and scholarship, this session introduces an evidence-based, trauma-informed design framework intended to buffer devastating impacts of traumatic events, particularly on children.

Learning Objectives:

Define and describe the nature and impact of trauma on children and adults based on existing research.
Understand evidence-based, trauma-informed principles intended to mitigate the negative and enduring impact of traumatic events through design of the physical environment.
Explore the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between landscape architecture, mental health practitioners, and others to create environments that support children and adults who have and are experiencing trauma.
Apply evidence-based fundamentals of trauma-informed design to functional design that supports physical, psychological, cognitive, and social development for children and adults who have or are experiencing trauma.