Key programs and services include a national annual meeting and EXPO, Landscape Architecture magazine , Landscape Architecture News Digest , on-line electronic services, professional workshops and seminars, leadership training, employment referral, demonstration projects, and awards programs. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education has authorized ASLA to accredit programs of landscape architecture at U.S. colleges and universities. Clear differences do exist between landscape architecture and the other design professions. Architects primarily design buildings and structures with specific uses, such as homes, offices, schools and factories. Civil engineers apply scientific principles to the design of city infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and public utilities.
Urban planners develop a broad overview of development for entire cities and regions.
Landscape architects touch on all the above mentioned design professions, integrating elements from each of them. While having a working knowledge of architecture, civil engineering and urban planning, landscape architects take elements from each of these fields to design aesthetic and practical relationships with the land. Landscape architects design the built environment of neighborhoods, towns and cities while also protecting and managing the natural environment, from its forests and fields to rivers and coasts. Members of the profession have a special commitment to improving the quality of life through the best design of places for people and other living things. In fact, the work of landscape architects surrounds us.